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The Willner Window Product Reference Catalog, Autumn, 2013
since 1911
• Willner Chemists •
the nutritional supplement professionals
letic field, or in the bedroom.
Using nutritional supplements to ensure
optimal levels of the essential nutrients is an
easy and logical way to achieve this goal.
Equally important, of course, is to strive for a
healthy, balanced diet, adequate exercise,
and avoidance of detrimental practices such
as smoking, excessive exposure to sun, and
overeating.
Supplements Can Be Used
Therapeutically
What is food? It is a substance consisting of
protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, and
minerals—that is, nutrients, ingested and
assimilated by the body to provide energy
and to promote the growth, repair, and
maintenance necessary for sustaining life.
Supplements provide these same nutrients,
but in concentrated or isolated form. The
nutrients serve the same purpose, preventing
life-threatening deficiencies and ensuring
optimal function.
What is a drug? There are various defini-
tions, but all of them boil down to "an agent
that treats or prevents a disease or condi-
tion." Going even further, from a regulatory
standpoint, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act considers something a drug merely if
there is a claim that it treats, cures, or ame-
liorates a disease associated with it.
Section 201(g) of the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act defines drugs as "articles
intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, miti-
gation, treatment, or prevention of disease in
man or other animals" and "articles (other
than food) intended to affect the structure or
any function of the body of man or other
animals (for example, articles intended for
weight reduction)."
It is the intended use that determines
whether an article is a drug. Thus, foods and
cosmetics may also be subject to the drug
requirements of the law if therapeutic claims
are made for them.
A food, or a dietary supplement, when
used to cure, mitigate or treat a disease, is no
longer functioning as a food. Instead, at least
legally, it is being used as a drug.
Theoretically, then, if a doctor prescribes
chicken soup to treat a cold, the chicken
soup is a drug.
Interestingly enough, many nutritional sup-
plements can function as drugs or therapeu-
tic agents. When vitamin B3 (niacin), for
example, is taken as a supplement in the
usual range of 20 to 50 milligrams, it is func-
tioning as a nutrient. As a vitamin, it will pre-
vent deficiency disease (pellagra), prevent
subclinical deficiencies, and promote optimal
metabolic function. But what happens when
a person takes a dose of 500 milligrams of
niacin two or three times a day? At this level,
niacin is being used to treat coronary artery
disease. It has been shown to be an effective
agent in lowering elevated low-density
lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglyc-
erides, and raising high-density lipoprotein
(HDL) cholesterol. At that dosage, it is func-
tioning as a drug, not a nutrient.
Today, the therapeutic use of dietary sup-
plements is both exciting and promising, not
because this is something new—to the con-
trary, this is one of the oldest forms of medi-
cine—but because many of these uses are
now being validated by modern medicine.
Ginkgo biloba may delay the onset of
Alzheimer's disease. Folic acid may prevent
birth defects and, in conjunction with vita-
mins B6 and B12, lower the risk of heart dis-
ease. Saw palmetto has been shown to be an
effective treatment for benign prostatic
hyperplasia. Niacin is a powerful cholesterol-
lowering agent. Alpha-lipoic acid may help in
treating diabetic neuropathy. Various antioxi-
dant vitamins and minerals may prevent
macular degeneration.
Are Supplements Really Necessary?
Our body is like a machine, a very com-
plex one. Compare it to an automobile
engine. We can put high-quality motor oil or
cheap oil into the engine. We can change
the oil frequently or rarely. Even if we use
low-quality oil and change it rarely, the
engine will not seize up and fail. It will, on
the other hand, wear more rapidly, lose
power and efficiency, and most likely require
frequent repairs and adjustments. With high-
er-quality oil, containing additives that
enhance its function, changed frequently, the
engine will run smoother, more powerfully,
and longer.
In this analogy, the seizing up of the
engine, or catastrophic failure, is similar to
the development of clinical deficiency dis-
ease. Low-quality oil and poor maintenance
will not cause catastrophic failure in the
automobile engine, just as a less than optimal
diet will not likely cause a full-blown clinical
deficiency disease. But it will cause less than
optimal function.
Ensuring that the engine runs well, runs
long, and runs efficiently without requiring
constant repair is similar to ensuring that our
body is not suffering from a subclinical nutri-
tional deficiency. For our body to function as
efficiently as possible, for our immune system
to function optimally, and for maximum
longevity, we have to provide it with optimal
levels of essential nutrients, not the minimal
levels needed to prevent catastrophic break-
down, or seizing up of the engine.
Nutritional supplementation offers an effec-
tive way to provide optimal levels of vita-
mins, minerals, and all essential food factors
that support optimal function. Optimal func-
tion, combined with the enhanced protective
actions of antioxidant nutrients, leads to pre-
vention.
When disease does strike, the choice of
treatment should involve an evaluation of risk
versus benefit. If more than one treatment is
available, it makes sense to choose the one
that is effective yet least toxic. It also makes
sense to treat the underlying cause of the dis-
ease rather than only the symptoms. The
therapeutic use of nutritional and herbal sup-
plements, either alone or as adjuncts to drug
treatments, is often more effective and less
damaging than drugs alone.
Many of us take greater care of our auto-
mobile engine than we do of our own bod-
ies. We are more concerned with what we
feed our pets than with what we feed our-
selves and our families. We take greater
interest in the chemical composition of the
fertilizer we spread on our lawns than we do
in the composition of the foods we eat.
We are not helpless when it comes to fight-
ing off cancer, Alzheimer's disease, heart dis-
ease, diabetes, and other degenerative disor-
ders. A good-quality, balanced multivitamin
and multimineral supplement, with adequate
amounts of calcium and magnesium and
extra antioxidants, is certainly not too diffi-
cult a pill to swallow! The potential benefit of
even this basic supplement regimen is
tremendous. The downside is minimal.
Why Not Just Eat Right?
In the past, we were told that all we had to
do was eat the right foods, properly pre-
pared. Easier said than done. Guidelines are
provided and repeatedly revised. We have
food groups and pyramids, which are well
meaning but of little relevance to the average
person. For many, breakfast is a donut or
muffin and coffee. Lunch may be a hot dog
and cola from the corner street vendor.
Dinner may be several beers and pizza, or a
trip to the fast-food outlet for a burger, fries,
and a soft drink. Most of the foods we are
enticed to buy are nutrient-poor and laden
with fat. They are heavily processed, which
removes vital nutrients, and are loaded with
sugar and salt.
In spite of the repeated insistence that diet
should serve as our only source of nutrition,
surveys repeatedly show that most Americans
do not consume a well-balanced diet. About
11 percent of Americans are estimated to be
deficient in folic acid, for example. Vitamin-
B6 deficiency is estimated to be present in
between 10 to 25 percent of the population
of the Western world. Mild vitamin-C defi-
ciency is estimated for 6 percent of the gen-
eral population. Roughly 6 to 14 percent of
healthy adult Western European populations
have been reported to be vitamin-D defi-
cient. Another study recently reported that
27 percent of the U.S. population had low
blood levels of vitamin E. Less than 10 per-
cent of women in America get adequate cal-
cium, and up to 25 percent of adult women
are deficient in magnesium.
A report of the U.S. Senate Committee on
Education and Labor stated that "85% of the
older population has one or more chronic
conditions that have been documented to
benefit from nutrition interventions."
According to the experts, 55 percent of
Americans are overweight. It is said that 49
million Americans are totally sedentary.
Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions.
We know we have a serious problem and we
have to accept the fact that telling people to
ignore the advertising promoting unhealthy
food and, instead, modify their eating habits
to comply with the food pyramid is just not
working.
Easier Said Than Done
Convenience and marketing pressures are
not the only factors working against eating
right. There are more subtle problems as
well. What is right? We were told for quite
some time, for example, that butter was
unhealthy and margarine was the healthy
alternative. A small group of nutritionists and
complementary medicine proponents voiced
concern about the presence of trans fatty
acids in margarine. Only recently has it been
acknowledged that these partially hydro-
genated oils and spreads (margarine) may be
dangerous.
Another example is eggs. Should we or
shouldn't we? And what about milk? Is it the
"perfect food" or something that should be
avoided by humans, especially adults?
Just how healthy is much of the food we
buy in the supermarket? Some of it is highly
processed, and only a portion of the nutri-
ents removed are replaced. Bread is a good
example.
Is Food Really Best?
It may be politically correct to assert that it
is always best to get the nutrients we need
from food, but in fact, that is not always the
case. There are times when nutrients in sup-
plement form are actually more efficiently
used by the body than nutrients in food
form.
Folic acid is a good example. Folic acid has
generated a great deal of attention because
of its role in preventing certain types of birth
defects and in lowering homocysteine levels.
Elevated homocysteine is considered to be a
risk marker for heart disease and Alzheimer's
disease. It turns out that folic acid, when
taken in supplement form and on an empty
stomach, is twice as effective as folate in
food.
Another problem with food involves pro-
cessing and contaminants. Fish is an excellent
example. While considered one of the most
healthy foods due to its omega-3 (EPA &
DHA) oil content, eating fish is a problem
because of potentially high levels of contami-
nants and environmental toxins such as mer-
we get the necessary levels of these critical
nutrients.
But even though we live in a nation of
plenty, we also live during a time when most
Americans are strongly influenced by outside
pressures—marketing, advertising, and the
pursuit of pleasure. We know that eating
broccoli and fruit is healthy, but we are bom-
barded with enticing images of meals consist-
ing of a hamburger, fries, and a cola drink. It
is difficult for the modern parent to resist the
demand by their children for the fast foods
and junk foods they see advertised on televi-
sion. It is also difficult for working people to
find the time to properly prepare healthy
meals. Eating out is no less of a problem. In
many restaurants, it is difficult to find an item
on the menu that is not deep fried, full of
salt, etc. After all, the more fat in the food,
the better it tastes—and taste is what drives
us, much more so than health considerations.
Supplements Can Ensure Optimal
Health, Vitality, and Longevity
It is naive to think that either you have a
deficiency of a particular vitamin or you
don't. To exhibit the symptoms of a deficien-
cy disease, you must have experienced a sig-
nificant lack of intake for an extended period
of time. What happens when you get enough
of a vitamin to prevent full-blown clinical
symptoms of deficiency, but not enough to
ensure optimal health?
This lack of optimal intake of essential
nutrients is the key problem facing most of
us. Sure, we get enough vitamin C even in a
poor diet to prevent scurvy. But are we get-
ting enough vitamin C to prevent sub-clinical
scurvy? Might we be less susceptible to peri-
odontal disease, osteoarthritis, heart disease,
fatigue, vascular disorders, and a whole range
of disorders related directly or indirectly to
collagen formation, immune function, metab-
olism, and oxidative damage if we ingested
optimal levels of vitamin C (and other nutri-
ents) rather than minimal levels?
What is the optimal level? Nobody knows
for sure. Remember, first, that the levels of
essential nutrients recommended by the vari-
ous governmental agencies and used on food
labels are the amounts thought to be neces-
sary to prevent deficiency diseases, not the
amounts necessary for optimal health. And
they are the amounts estimated necessary for
groups, or averages, not for each individual.
This is important because each individual is
unique and has different requirements for
each nutrient. This concept—biochemical
individuality—was emphasized by Dr. Roger
Williams and is the reason that, whenever
possible, an excess of nutrients should be
used, allowing the body to utilize as much of
each nutrient as it needs, discarding the
excess. For the most part, this is easy to do
because most nutrients are relatively nontox-
ic and inexpensive. The few exceptions—
such as vitamin A, vitamin D, and iron—are
well known, and responsible supplement
manufacturers and health professionals are
quick to caution consumers and patients
about this.
Again, most of us are interested in optimal
health, not the prevention of scurvy, beriberi,
and pellagra. We want to increase our lifes-
pan. We want not only to live longer, but
also to remain healthy and vital as we age.
We want to improve our chances of avoiding
degenerative diseases such as cancer,
Alzheimer's, heart disease, and osteoporosis.
We don't want to catch colds so often. We
don't want to struggle with arthritic pain,
vision loss, and diabetes.
Even in our younger years, we increasingly
struggle with problems such as fatigue, infer-
tility, and stress. We want to enhance per-
formance, whether in the workplace, the ath-
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