Most everyone knows we need vitamins and minerals and Dr. Wallach has demonstrated that they are not sufficiently in our food – so we purchase them and start supplementing. Good.
Whether you take over-the-counter “chelated mineral supplements” (absorption rate about 40%) or Youngevity “colloidal” minerals (absorption rate increases to 98%) – your main question is still “how do I know they (and the vitamins) are going to the places in my body that need them?”
The first obvious answer is to observe if things improve in your body – duh!
I worked this through in my situation recognizing my arthritis is gone, my early signs of TIA’s are gone and energy and general good health are being enjoyed….BUT there is still that pesky tinnitus (ringing in the ears) that is bugging me. What’s the deal?
Even though I am faithfully gluten-free, follow the Good Food/Bad Food guide for digestive purposes and am consistent in taking my Youngevity supplements — I wanted to know if there was something I was missing. (That brings out the “researcher” in me….so, here I go.)
I discovered what I had totally missed — which was hugely important – those sneaky little PHYTATES !!
Dr. Peter Glidden does a thorough job of explaining – and giving visuals – so I went to his DVD set titled “Healing is Easy”. Even though it was done in 2013, the naturopathic information is accurate and very helpful.
Popped in the DVD titled “Maximizing the Absorption of Supplements” and nodded away as he explained that the body can absorb very well the colloidal minerals (which is what Youngevity’s are).
Then he stopped me in my tracks when he followed the above statement with “…UNLESS you are eating foods that are high in phytates.” My mind screamed “WHAT are PHYTATES?” His explanation came next: they are “un-digestible by humans and bind to minerals”. Ugh, sounds bad…and it is.
A phytate is the molecule through which plants get phosphorus – which is very important for plants. And GOOD for plants, BUT NOT for us!
Imagine your fist of your right hand as representing the minerals you are putting in your body – and you want them to go to work all through your body. But then imagine your open left hand as representing the phytates entering your body through food. Now CLAMP your open left hand over your right-handed fist. That is how phytates clamp on to the minerals (like calcium) in your body and they don’t let go.
Now since phytates are not digestible, they just go straight through your digestive system and out of the body. The PROBLEM? If they are near minerals you put in your body, they clamp on to the minerals and transport them out of the body not allowing them to be absorbed – and that is BAD! Because minerals are over 66% of the body’s nutrients you need – and you need them to get absorbed, not dragged straight through and out of your body providing no nutritional help at all!
Like me, you probably at this point are wanting to know what foods have phytates, those “bad dudes”. Here is the list Dr. Glidden mentioned specifically:
- Linseeds
- Sesame Seeds
- Brazil nuts
- Coconuts
- Peanuts
- Walnuts
- Oats
- Rice
- Pinto beans
- Lentils
- Tofu
- Spinach
- Almonds
- Hazelnuts
- Corn
- Wheat
- Chickpeas, hummus
- Soybeans, soy milk
I hear your groans! I like lots of these! Glidden said you can eat these foods, as much as you want, and they are not going to hurt you—they are good, but just be aware they BIND to minerals. So, when you are taking a mineral supplement, you need to not eat a food that has phytates in it. Everyone wants to know “how long do you have to wait between the phytate food and your minerals going in?”
Sadly, it is one of those “who knows?” answers, but there is a “rule of thumb” Glidden offers. It is basically to take your mineral supplements 1.5 hours before you eat food with phytates and 1.5 hours after. BUT AGAIN, be safe – his recommendation is give it 3 hours either side, before or after. Easier to remember and safer.
As Dr. Glidden explained, “This is why sometimes people are very compliant, eliminate the 10 bad foods and are taking all the supplements appropriate for their body weight and they just aren’t getting better – or they have plateaued. It is because they are having spinach for salad every day. Or they are a hummus connoisseur. Or love peanuts and hazelnuts, seeds, whatever.” And they take their mineral supplements close to the same time.
It hit me – I pop almonds after every meal (for the protein) and take my supplements at the same time as I eat. Often, my lettuce for salad at lunch has spinach and I add seeds (pepitas) plus I love hummus. And supplements come in at the same time. Dang! I’m wasting money and losing supplement absorption and support!
And it begs the question—which Youngevity supplements have minerals in them? Sad to say, a whole bunch of them. All the Healthy Body Start Paks, Beyond Tangy Tangerine, OsteoFx, Plant Derived Minerals, all liquid calcium supplements. I also checked the ingredients on many of the capsules I take – they had minerals in them.
So I will share what I did as my remedy for this situation – you can adapt your own system to your lifestyle and habits. But maybe viewing mine will help as you craft yours.
FIRST, I checked the supplements I take and identified which had minerals in the ingredients (the majority of them). If you wonder what ingredients are minerals, you can look at the list of minerals on the Plant-Derived Minerals bottle or go to my health link for the list HERE .
NEXT, I changed my routine with my mineral supplements to fit my eating pattern – that way I didn’t have to keep trying to remember what foods had phytates and which supplements had minerals. I had already settled into my pattern of eating two meals a day – lunch and dinner – so that helped. But here is how it shook out:
Morn – Beyond Tangy Tangerine, ½ Plant Derived Minerals, ½ liquid Gluco-gel – mixed in my sports bottle the night before and sipped over about an hour or so in the early part of my morning. During this time I take ½ my supplement capsules or caplets.
Noon – have my lunch food – often a salad – but no supplements with minerals (I take Enzymes before I eat) so I can eat as I wish.
3 pm – Take my second ½ of my supplement capsules or caplets.
6-7 pm – have my dinner food – no supplements with minerals so I can eat as I wish.
Before bed – Liquid OsteoFx, ½ Plant Derived Minerals, ½ liquid Gluco-gel and 2 evening supplements (capsules)
Knowledge is POWER – now that you know about those ‘Robber Baron’ Phytates, you can act wisely and get all the help from your vitamins and minerals going straight to work in your body!!
Food and dietary supplement products sold by Youngevity are intended to contribute to the daily diet and overall health and are not intended for use in the prevention, treatment, mitigation, or cure of any disease or health-related condition. Individuals who have or suspect they have an illness or who wish to commence a diet or exercise program should consult an appropriately licensed health care practitioner for a medical history evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and health recommendations.
