• Are you concerned about optimal wellness and your quality of life?
• Do you want to look and feel better?

Then start by educating yourself! Many in our current society face daily challenges due to a high-stress lifestyle, poor diet and inadequate exercise. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Guide Pyramid recommends a daily minimum of 3-5 servings of vegetables and 2-4 servings of fruit. This would help us to achieve our Daily Value (DV) of vitamins and minerals established by the National Academy of Sciences.

However, the vast majority of people in our country do not even consume these minimum amounts. Even if we did, the quality of our food may not contain the necessary vitamins and minerals we think we are getting. Soils are depleted of essential vitamins and minerals, which results in fewer nutrients in the food we grow. In addition, foods that are processed (frozen, canned, etc.) and foods that are cooked at high temperatures prior to consumption lose nutritional value.

Obviously, we are woefully inadequate in achieving the minimum USDA recommended DV of all vitamins and minerals. To compound the problem, our current DVs may be less than what is necessary to achieve optimum health. As nutrition and nutritional medicine rapidly advance, it is becoming a legitimate question whether the DV reflects current research knowledge. The DV estimates the amount of nutrient a currently healthy individual would require for meeting quality health, not necessarily optimal health.

Recent research supports the use of vitamin and nutritional supplementation to promote wellness and improve the quality of our lives. In a 2002 study published by Ames, etal., a group of scientists studied mega-vitamin treatment (10 times greater than DV). They determined that mega-vitamin therapy could help treat over 50 genetic diseases by overcoming deficits caused by abnormally functioning proteins and enzymes, especially B vitamins. In the Annals of Internal Medicine, a study was published supporting the use of a daily multivitamin at standard levels. During this one-year study, 130 people took either a daily vitamin and mineral supplement or a placebo. The results indicated that the group on the supplement developed illness due to infection 43 percent of the time, while the infection rate for those on placebo was 73 percent This effect was even more pronounced in those with type-2 diabetes (17% vs. 93%). (Barringer, et al. 2003)

Harvard Medical School researchers recommend that "everybody - regardless of age or health status - take a daily multivitamin." They reviewed years of scientific literature regarding vitamins and found numerous benefits with very little risk. It was stated that, "it's rare to find a health-promoter that offers such a substantial benefit with a relatively low cost and low risk of problems." Multivitamin and mineral dietary supplementation may be the single most potent optimal health measure that offers the greatest return on investment. For best results, each of us should make an effort to consume a daily diet with as many fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables as possible. It would also greatly enhance our quality of life to get adequate exercise and learn to effectively manage our stress levels. Then, by adding a supplement to this regimen, we can get the extra boost of nutrients that might create the optimal environment to allow our bodies to function at their maximum capacity.

Our practice strongly advocates the use of nutritional supplements in maintaining optimal wellness, and we have chosen a licensed, healthcare professional-only, scientifically based line of nutraceuticals and nutraceutical product systems. As practitioners, we can choose from a wide variety of options, from individual supplements to product systems to customized nutrition, and this also enables us to choose the right formulas for each person. In this booklet, you will find information regarding the nutraMetrix™ Advanced Nutraceutical line of individual supplements, customized nutritional supplements and product systems.

References
1. Ames, B, et al. High dose vitamin therapy stimulates variant enzymes with decreased coenzyme binding affinity (increased Km): relevance to genetic disease and polymorphisms. Am J. Clinical Nutrition 75:616-58, 2002.
2. Barringer, M, et al. Effect of a multivitamin and mineral supplement on infection and quality of life. Ann Intern Med. 138:365-71,2003.
3. Cook, A. "Adults urged to take a daily multivitamin, " Reuters Health, June 19, 2002.
4. Fairfield, K, et al. Vitamins for chronic disease prevention in adults: scientific review. JAMA. 287:3116-26, 2002.