"Junk Food" Vitamins

In order to make sense of the current lot of Multiple Vitamin Products in the Marketplace coupled with some adverse study resuslts, a new description has sprung to life. Multiple Vitamins today are now over-flowing with "Junk Food" Vitamins.

What are "Junk Food" Vitamins?

Simply, "junk Food" Vitamins are low quality isolated vitamins missing Nature's related synergistic nutrients or preferred forms, at more or less than healthy dosages. They are the white flour of whole wheat or the polished white kernals of brown rice. While junk food vitamins have some value, there are better choices to maximize health. Perhaps some clarification will explain this concept.

VITAMIN E

• The term Vitamin E is only given to one form (alpha tocopherol) out of 8 related forms found in nature with similar structure and activity. When this decision originally was made, only one function of vitamin E was considered, and the alpha tocopherol form appeared to represent most of this activity.
• The other 3 tocopherols, beta, delta, and gamma, were not allowed to be called vitamin E or given vitamin E units. Plus the related tocotrienols, with the same four configurations, were blanked out as well. 
• Now, after almost 70 years and only a decade of research on the other "vitamin E" family members, the original vitamin E choice was discovered to be short-sighted. While these other forms have some similar functions with the alpha form, they also have unique functions that alpha tocopherol does not do, like tocotrienols lowering cholesterol. article
• In fact, these other E family members function in many areas that suggest a major impact on some current degenerative diseases. article
• Plus the synthetic form of vitamin E makes this decision even less effective. Synthetic vitamin E was initially considered to be only 65% as active as the same amount of natural E. But a test recently with fetal blood levels revealed it is only equal to about 50%. 
• The degree and areas of influence for alpha tocopherol are enhanced in the presence of the other tocopherols. Nature uses synergisms to increase actions. 
• Tocotrienols are superior in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions compared to tocopherols.
• Alpha tocopherol works best against oxygen radicals but does not touch nitrogen radicals.
• Gamma tocopherol works against nitrogen radicals. Both are needed in tandem to protect prostate.
• Gamma tocopherol is more effective than alpha for increasing superoxide dismutasse (SOD) activity.
• Alpha tocotrienol is more effective than alpha tocopherol in neutralizing lipid (fat) peroxidation.
• Gamma tocotrienol is more effective against oxidative damage in brain mitochondria than alpha tocopherol.
• There are more differences. Vitamin E is a team of 8 related forms. They ALL are vital to health.
• Synthetic vitamin E (dl'alpha tocopheryl) is a "junk Food" vitamin. And isolated by itself, natural d'alpha tocopherol misses out on many health improving opportunities when the other family forms are not included.
• This does not imply that d'alpha tocopherol is not vital, but just that all 8 forms are optimally necessary.
• Studies have not yet reached agreement on ideal ratios or balance amounts for the 8 vitamin E family players. Different cultures and resulting diets exhibit wide swings in ratios and amounts. It may relate to challenges presented by each diet and environment. 
• Tocopherols and tocotrienols should ideally be taken separately since they compete for the same absorption channels. Nature often separates them in different foods. Variety is nature's choice.

SELENIUM 

• Selenium comes in essentially two forms, an inorganic form from soil as selenates and selenites, or an organic form bound with proteins as found in plants or animals that eat plants, etc.
• While both forms are found in supplements, when the soil inorganic forms are consumed, the body has to do the work of plants to change the forms into protein combinations. Mother Nature did not intent for humans to eat dirt, although some nutrients could be of value from this source.
• all Selenium forms can become toxic at higher amounts. There is a narrow window of dosages needed. Once these amounts are reached, excesses simply increase toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS), or free radicals. Of interest, this increased ROS production is the concept of how selenium is being used against cancers. The increased oxidative stress destroys cancer cells, but it is also not that good for normal healthy body functions either.
• These therapeutic pro-oxidant applications are beyond the scope of selenium as nutrition and it's normal functioning as an anti-oxidant. This anit-oxidant action is only from the organic forms of selenium.
• In April of 2009, an injection of a vitamin mineral formulas was given to Polo horses. Within a few hours, 21 prized Polo houres died. The mixture mistakenly contained too much selenium selenite.
• This prompted the study of selenium selenite toxicity. While the horses were given 10 times too much, the toxicity of selenium was researched and limits were stresed for nutrition amounts.
• A process to reduce the toxicity of selenium forms was found- Methylation of selenium.
• These forms did not generate superoxides in test tube studies and appear to be quite liss toxic inside the body.
• The methylated forms of seleium include; selenomethione and Se-methylselenocysteine. There may still be some breakdown of these forms that can turn into toxic forms, but quite less than the other forms of selenium. 
• CAUTION: methylselenide is toxic. Also Methylselenol. Luckily, these forms are not found in supplements, but some of the above safer forms could generate into these forms. Thus the need for precaution in amounts supplemented of any form of selenium. Especially if the soil is naturally high like it is in many areas in the USA.
• The inorganic forms of selenium are "junk food" mineral forms.

 NOTE: The methylation process if metals and non-metals may be the way the body controls and generates detoxification.

This Doctors description is pretty good and looks to be the originator of the junk food vitamin concept. But, there are still some gaps in the product formulas on the site. article  The beta carotene source is not listed so mixed carotenoid content no known. The Multiple vitamin serving size should be limited to 1 or 2 per day not 3. And the B gcomplex to just one instead of two. Even though the folate form is better, it might be too high since the synthetic form is fortified in many flour, cereal, and rice foods which adds to the total per day.