Taking Supplements and
why they are Good for You!
Common Questions… Commonsense Answers
health products
‘People who know about supplements,
choose Xynergy.’
An unprompted quote from a long-standing Xynergy customer. We couldn’t have put
it better ourselves.
Xynergy has been around longer than most natural health companies. In fact, we were one of the first to bring
Spirulina and Aloe Vera juice to the UK. If people today think that taking
Spirulina, bearing an uncanny resemblance to pondweed, is strange, imagine what they thought in 1979!
The point is, we feel we know about supplements: how to choose them, why you might want
to take them and what results you should expect.
The important thing is that whatever natural health products you choose, they need to be right for you. So if you don’t know much about supplements and natural health products, this booklet is designed to guide you to make the best choices and throw light on what can be a confusing subject. Having read it, if you need any further information, anything at all, we are here to help.
Xynergy Advice Line:
03456 58 58 58
(00 44 1730 813642 from overseas)
Email:
naturally@xynergy.co.uk
www.xynergy.co.uk
‘If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.’
Hippocrates
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Questions and Answers
Before we start, remember one thing… we are all, thankfully, different and supplements that work for you may not have quite the same effect for someone else. As you know,
the same applies to medicines and drugs. The difference between what are referred
to as natural health supplements and drugs is that few natural health products have
side effects… despite what you might read in the press.
W
hat do you class as supplements
as opposed to normal food?
That’s quite a tough one to begin with and probably every consumer, natural
health practitioner, shop owner and supplement supplier has her or his own view.
At Xynergy we classify supplements as:
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holefood supplements - provide a general, balanced combination of nutrients ie. macro-nutrients - proteins, carbohydrates and fats; and micro-nutrients - vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, enzymes and coenzymes and other ‘phytochemicals’ that support different bodily functions. (At Xynergy, we have supplements such as
Spirulina,
Chlorella,
Wheatgrass and Olive Leaf Complex that are real food or wholefoods and are increasingly referred to as functional foods. Up until the EU regulated the term, we also used to refer
to these supplements as superfoods.)
Vitamin or Mineral supplements - a concentration of a particular vitamin
or mineral eg. Vitamin C or Calcium.
Herbal supplements - tend to offer a herbal remedy eg. echinacia for colds or flu.
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utraceuticals - containing a combination of man-made and/or real food ingredients
that have been designed rather than exist in the wild or natural habitat eg. Coenzyme Q10.
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hy should I take supplements? Can’t I get
all the nutrients I need from normal food?
Yes! If you have the time to take an almost obsessive interest in your diet, assessing
the quality, the combinations and origins of everything you eat, you could probably achieve
a perfect balance of nutrients. (Although, bear in mind that less than 100 nutrients have been identified by medical science. If you feed an animal all the known nutrients, it has a tendency to be undernourished.)
However, if only half the reports about the poor quality of modern food (particularly processed food) are true, taking good supplements can make up the ‘nutrient gap’ – the shortfall between the nutrients you need and what you get. There are also nutritional benefits for people on special or restricted diets eg. weight loss/gain, vegetarian/vegan and allergy sufferers who may also suffer with a nutrient gap.
Think of supplements as an insurance policy – whether your diet is good or bad,
taking good supplements can only help.
We could divide the world into two types of people – those of us who are perfectly
healthy and those of us who face health challenges. Taking nutritious supplements should
give you a better chance of staying healthy. If you are suffering from a condition, filling
the nutrient gap can give your body more of a chance to deal with the illness.
R
emember… supplements should be taken as well as, not instead of,
a well-balanced diet.
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o what do you mean by good supplements?
At Xynergy, we believe that good supplements are produced from real food, not from
synthetic chemicals. And, they should be as close to their natural state as possible. Supplements like Spirulina, Chlorella and Wheatgrass are plants that grow in fields or lakes. They are wholefoods that provide nutrients balanced by nature not by man; humans evolved to digest these foods. Hence, wholefood supplements are more absorbable than synthetic supplements and so you get more of the nourishing goodness.
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hat supplements should I chose?
First be sure of why you think you need to take supplements. What are you trying to achieve? There are hundreds of books and articles on the Internet you can refer to. Then, from your research, draw up a shortlist of supplements that seem to match the need – particularly
those produced from real food. If you are still unsure, seek advice from the supplement
supplier or from a nutritional therapist.
We carried out some research amongst Xynergy customers recently and found that the major reasons they take supplements (not just ours) are:
• To help prevent illness later in life
• For more energy
• To get more out of life
• To ensure I get my five-a-day
• To improve skin condition
• To help detox
• To combat a current illness
So if your reasons relate to any of these (and of course you may have others),
you are in good company.
In cases where you believe your diet may be poor, or your lifestyle may not be helping
eg. regular consumption of alcohol, snatching meals, burning the candle at both ends,
high stress job etc, then taking wholefood supplements will provide some benefit but
will not be the real answer.
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ow long should I take supplements for?
It depends why you are taking them. For example, if you are taking a herbal remedy
or a remedy like propolis to help prevent or relieve cold symptoms, take it for as long
as the symptoms or condition persists. It’s a good preventative but probably no need
to take it for a long period of time.
On the other hand, a wholefood supplement like Spirulina, Wheatgrass or Olive Leaf
can be taken everyday and will provide good levels of nutrients and antioxidants -
the good stuff you need every day.
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hould I feel a noticeable difference
when taking supplements?
There are very few quick fixes. If you want to boost your energy levels, for example
with Wheatgrass, you may feel an energy rush after the first drink. On the other hand,
it may take longer and the difference may be subtle. Generally, if your well-being has
not improved or altered within 6 – 8 weeks then you should consider an alternative supplement or course of action.
Well-being is a vague term that will have different meanings for different people but
it is that feeling of balance and mental clarity; of emotional strength and heightened energy;
of better sleep patterns and fewer food cravings; the feeling that you can take on the world with renewed vigour.
With herbal remedies – in the absence of guidance from a nutritional therapist
or naturopath - then the same period of 6 – 8 weeks should apply.
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hy are some supplements cheap
while others are very expensive?
The general answer lies in the quality of ingredients and manufacturing processes. Many of
the products in the Xynergy catalogue are not cheap; our Pure Synergy is a good example but it is one of the highest quality supplements available anywhere and each batch of Pure Synergy undergoes 200 tests for quality and purity. It’s ‘bio-availability’ ie. the amount your body can absorb, is very high. Contrast that with vitamin pills or glucosamine for £4.95 for a month’s supply! You have to ask yourself how some supplements are so cheap? The chances are, because they offer very little nutritional benefit.
Can I mix supplements ie. take more than one?
It depends on what you are taking. A herbal remedy may be more effective taken by itself. Certainly our wholefood supplements can be mixed eg. Spirulina and Chlorella or Spirulina
and Pure Radiance C – our wholefood Vitamin C product. Just as you can mix broccoli and carrots, you can mix wholefood supplements.
Herbal supplements, on the other hand, are different and you may need to take advice
about combinations.
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Can I overdose with supplements?
With herbal remedies and specific vitamin and mineral supplements, it is better to stick
to the recommended doses. Taking too much calcium for example may not be good for your body. Taking very high levels of Vitamin C (which is recommended by some nutritional therapists) may cause diarrhoea.
Within sensible limits, eating large amounts of wholefood supplements like Spirulina,
Chlorella or Wheatgrass should not present any problems; just as eating a lot of broccoli
or cabbage would not be dangerous under normal circumstances.
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hat Is the best time to take supplements?
It varies. Often you will be guided by the label or brochure. Most supplements you can take with food, at meal times. First thing in the morning is often a good time for wholefood or superfood supplements like Spirulina, Wheatgrass etc. But you can also use them to top up your energy levels during the day when you feel you need a bit of a boost.
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hat are superfoods?
Another good question, and a term that is overused and abused to the point where the EU
is now regulating its use. Food manufacturers have devalued the term by producing cereals
and snack bars with fruits and berries in them and passing them off as superfoods.
At Xynergy, we believe a superfood is a wholefood that provides a broad range of absorbable nutrients, in a concentrated form.
Spirulina, Chlorella, Klamath Algae, Wheatgrass, Barley Grass and many types of seaweed
are all bona fide superfoods. They each have varying levels of proteins and a broad range
of micro-nutrients – vitamins, minerals, Essential Fatty Acids, antioxidants, chlorophyll etc.
Science may prove us wrong but some of the latest foods, we feel, do not deserve the
name superfood – Goji Berries, Guarana, Blueberries, Raspberries, Flax Seed, Grapeseed,
Soya. These may have high levels of antioxidants or Essential Fatty Acids or some other
specific nutrient but that doesn’t make them a superfood.
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hat is the biggest threat to health
and well-being?
Stress… negative stress. Worry and anxiety. There are, of course, many causes of stress.
Mild stress and anxiety can be alleviated using wholefood supplements, some nutraceuticals, massage oils and herbal teas. Generally, these types of products will not help high levels
of stress but could be used in combination with other treatments and counselling.
If you ever feel stressed about nutrition, diet and whether you should be taking supplements, stop right there and phone Xynergy.
W
e read in the press that some vitamins
and supplements are either bad for us
or of no use at all. Is this true?
Almost every year – probably when there is a shortage of other news - there are stories about the dangers or futility of taking supplements. The latest research invariably turns out to be a poor study, amongst people who were ill to begin with and, so often, any supplements researched are invariably synthetic, not wholefood. Therefore the results are hardly surprising.
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hat is the difference between complementary and alternative medicine?
These terms tend to be used interchangeably but they do refer to different schools of
thought and practice. Alternative medicine includes homeopathy, Ayurvedic medicine,
Chinese medicine and others and would be prescribed in exclusion to conventional
western medicine ie. a treatment based on herbs rather than synthetic drugs.
Complementary medicine works with conventional western medicine and may be part
of a treatment programme. For example, in certain cancers, a defined course of nutrition
would work alongside chemotherapy or radiation therapy. (Just to confuse things,
Ayurvedic or Chinese medicine could form part of a cancer treatment programme
and therefore is working complementarily.)
It is worth noting in this ongoing debate that conventional western medicine has
been around for about 400 years; Ayurveda for more than 4000 years. Different approaches
suit different conditions. Different types of medicine have their strengths and weaknesses.
For a degenerative disease like cancer, heart disease etc, a complementary or alternative approach should at least be considered. But if you break a leg, don’t go to your homeopath;
go to casualty.
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o who can we trust to give us the right information on health and diet?
There is a lot of misinformation, disinformation, muddled-thinking, spin and propaganda surrounding diet and nutrition. Much of it put about by the media, quite a lot by Government departments, some by members of the medical profession, quite a lot by drug companies
and probably an equal amount by complementary health enthusiasts and practitioners.
Nutrition and dietetics in the West is quite a young science and so there are relatively few
real experts. At the same time, many natural health practitioners do not have the high level
of training in physiology, biochemistry, endocrinology and anatomy and so on of a doctor
or medical scientist. But, nutrition is barely touched on in medical training in the UK
(not the case in some European countries where herbal medicine is taught, and increasingly not the case in the US where complementary medicine is slowly being recognised). British GPs in the main are not well-qualified to pronounce on nutrition, diet or supplementation.
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o who has the best claim to know
my state of health and well-being?
You have!
No one knows the state of your health better than you. You know when your energy reserves feel good, bad or indifferent. You know when your concentration, mental alertness, happiness, stress levels are not what they should be. You know if things are out of kilter eg. you feel nauseous, constipated, pain, muscle stiffness and so on. You may try and convince yourself
all is well but if something is amiss, you don’t miss it.
Generally, you know how much you can eat before you put on weight and how much weight you can put on before you feel leaden, heavy and lacking in energy. You know what foods
do and don’t suit you and that you probably fare best on a well-balanced diet… well balanced for you. If you do a lot of physical work, or if you are on your feet all day, you burn a lot of energy that you need to replace. Alternatively, if you work at a desk all day and lead a fairly inactive life, you don’t need to eat very much to restore energy levels. If you think about
it seriously, you know how much exercise you need to change your body shape… to either
lose weight in the form of accumulated body fat and/or to increase muscle mass. And you know you don’t need expensive gym equipment to maintain a reasonable level of fitness. Between 20 and 30 minutes brisk walking each day will go a long way to help maintain fitness. Trust your feelings and instincts.
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ow serious a problem is junk food?
The recent film where a journalist ate nothing but MacDonalds for a whole month
and nearly died only proved what we always knew – the body needs a balanced diet.
If he had dined on beef roulades with blue cheese and sauté potatoes at the Ritz for
a month, he might have endangered his health just as much. Any diet with little variety is likely to lead to health problems… let’s qualify that… any western diet with little variety is likely to lead to health problems. In Mongolia many people live on a diet of
Yak meat and milk; in the deserts of the Middle East the Bedouin do not have a great variety of vegetables and yet their general health is no worse than in the west. To be fair to the fast food chains, none of them ever claimed burgers, fries and cola should
be eaten for every meal.
Junk food is food with few or no nutrients and the only substance we consume
like that is water… without which, we die!
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re there any good diets? How should
I
combine foods to achieve a good balance?
Nutritionists do sometimes classify foods by their level of ‘vitality’ – the aliveness of the food.
1st class vitality – fresh, raw fruit, vegetables and sprouts.
2nd class vitality - cooked vegetables and fruit, raw beef and lamb, raw milk products.
3rd class vitality - heavily processed cooked grains (bread), cooked meat and fish.
4th class vitality - pork pies, cooked bacon.
At the pork pie level, food has very little life in it and is deemed to be low in nutritional value. Looking at it from this angle, burgers and fries are third class; they are not the lowest.
Commonsense says a diet rich in high-vitality foods is more likely to support health and
well-being. Your diet needs to have proteins, carbohydrates and fats plus vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, Essential Fatty Acids Omega 3, 6 and 9 and more (including nutrients
yet undiscovered which is why our Pure Synergy superfood formula, with its comprehensive
list of wholefood ingredients, is a good insurance policy).
Just eating 1st class vitality foods may not be the best way to optimise your health.
You need a balance of 2nd and 3rd Class (and 4th Class only when forced to at gunpoint
or worse, when you might offend your host). But obviously leave out anything you know doesn’t agree with you (or to which you have a food allergy or intolerance). Vegetarians
and Vegans need to ensure they maintain adequate protein levels… which is why wholefood supplements like Spirulina, Chlorella and Wheatgrass are good as they have high levels
of absorbable protein.
For a good, no-nonsense diet, visit our website at www.xynergy.co.uk and
find ‘The Optimum Diet: Eat Well, Lose Weight, Enjoy Life More’ by nutritionist
Stella New in the News & Information section. If you do not have access to the Internet,
we can send you a copy in the post.
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s it true we are what we eat?
Not exactly. What we are has both a psychological and physical dimension. We are what we think and what we can digest and absorb. Being well nourished means having good absorption. Another reason why wholefood supplements that are better absorbed are
a good health insurance policy.
H
ow much water should we drink a day?
You don’t see it quite so much these days… water bottles as a fashion accessory.
But let’s just think what we have been told about water consumption - eight glasses
a day, two litres a day, drink water according to your body weight … and water in
coffee, tea, fruit juice doesn’t count. And tap water is bad for us.
Does any of that sound right to you?
Perhaps in some areas the tap water is a bit suspect but don’t we all know people,
even family members, who rarely drink plain water and are they dehydrated?
Do the Bedouin in the deserts of the middle-east get eight glasses of water a day?
We get water from the food we eat (cucumbers, for example, are 98% water, meat –
up to 30%), from drinks, from soup and so on to replenish the water we lose through
sweating and through excretion.
Our bodies have a mechanism for telling us when to drink. It’s called thirst. Unfortunately,
it is not always reliable. Making sure you do drink a few glasses of plain water every day
is probably very sensible but there is no scientific evidence to support the volumes promoted
by health commentators and practitioners. After physical exertion or in hot temperatures,
we sweat more and so we drink more. In an air-conditioned, office environment,
we probably sweat very little (except perhaps mentally) and so our need for water
intake is less (but we still need enough). And water from tea, coffee etc does count.
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o are tea and coffee bad for us?
Tea and coffee are blamed for all sorts of maladies from high blood pressure to peptic
ulcers and, of course, anxiety. True, there is some evidence that these beverages cause
the kidneys to excrete more calcium but if tea or coffee are taken with milk, this replaces
some calcium. Nor is there any real evidence of them being diuretics… drinking tea and coffee actually replace water and, without sugar, have no calories. Tea and coffee do have antioxidant properties that are beneficial. Interestingly, guarana is promoted as a health food, a natural stimulant. It is actually very similar to caffeine.
As with so many things, moderation rules. Too much caffeine can create adrenal overload leading to stress. On the other hand, these beverages are not addictive in the way that alcohol or tobacco can be and they can provide a calorie-free boost.
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s alcohol bad for us?
Interesting that we often toast each other’s health with some kind of alcoholic beverage.
Yet the health benefits of wines, beers and spirits have at best been ambiguous. Over the
last hundred and fifty years or so, alcohol has often been blamed for many of society’s ills.
But, as recently as the 18th century, beer particularly would have accounted for up to 20%
of the average person’s calorie intake plus a significant percentage of vitamins and minerals (but it isn’t a superfood). Beer also would have been one of the few bacteriologically pure drinks available. Recent research has shown that beer also contains silica which is necessary for bone density, improved calcium management in the body, boosted collagen formation
for elasticity and flexibility, strengthened heart and arteries and reduced aluminum accumulation in the brain/nerves. Silica is, of course, available from other sources -
natural oats, millet, barley, wheat and potatoes.
There is a growing amount of research evidence to support some health-giving benefits of moderate alcohol use particularly red wine; it is thought to increase longevity and reduce the likelihood of coronary heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Moderate intake for men is claimed
to be between 2 – 4 units a day and for women 2- 3 units. An optimum consumption of 30 grams is linked with greater longevity or put more simply, three glasses a day extends longevity, six reduces it.
As ever, moderation; some alcoholic beverage a day should be fine until further studies indicate otherwise. Imagine a wedding without champagne; on the other hand imagine some of our city centres without the Saturday night bingers.
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fter all that, why should I chose to
buy supplements and other products
from Xynergy?
Because you are choosing wholefood supplements, honeys and herbs that are well-tried
and tested. What is more, our skincare products have high levels of purity and effectiveness.
And, our 100% Satisfaction Promise is what it says: If you are dissatisfied in any way with your purchase you can return it for a full refund of the cost of the product. Few supplement companies offer such a comprehensive, no quibble returns policy.
If we were to sum up Xynergy in one word, it would be ‘authenticity’. We try to ensure
our products are as close to their natural state as possible to be effective. Equally,
we would like to believe that how we serve customers is genuine and straightforward.
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nd finally…
If you have any more questions, do get in touch; we may even include them in later editions.
Your very good health.
Gina, Justy, Soo, Sara, Brian & Sam
The Xynergy Team
Xynergy Advice Line:
03456 58 58 58
(00 44 1730 813642 from overseas)
Email:
naturally@xynergy.co.uk
www.xynergy.co.uk
PS If this booklet has helped increase your understanding of nutrition and diet
and you no longer need it, pass it on.
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Xynergy Products Ltd. T/A Xynergy Health Products. Registered in England & Wales No. 02835270
Registered office: Lower Elsted, Midhurst GU29 0JT VAT No: GB 744 965 981
