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Pharmaceutical Grade Vitamins vs. Regular Vitamins
By Cathy Taylor
Vitamins are
necessary for human life and health. They are required in minute amounts, and
with the exception of Vitamin B12, cannot be manufactured in your bodies. These
organic compounds need to be obtained from diet, and if deprived of a particular
vitamin, you will suffer from disease specific to that vitamin. It is a matter
of record that you are not getting enough vitamins. Though we Americans are
living longer, our quality of life leaves much to be desired.
The thirteen
different vitamins are classified into two main categories:
Water Soluble Vitamins – They dissolve easily in water. They are Vitamin
C and the eight types of Vitamins B, B-1, B-2, B-3, B-5, B-6, B-7, B-9, and
B-12.
Fat
Soluble Vitamins – With the help of lipids, they
are absorbed through the intestinal tract.
These vitamins are Vitamins A. D, E, and K.
The term
Vitamin does not mean to include essential nutrients, such as,
dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, or
essential amino acids; neither does it mean to include other nutrients that just
promote health, and may not be essential.
The Different Grades of Vitamins
Vitamin
supplements are taken by more than 75% of the world's population. With the
plethora of different brands, it becomes difficult to know what is what.
Vitamins and other nutritional supplements are made from three different grades
of raw materials:
Pharmaceutical Grade
– It meets pharmaceutical standards
Food Grade
– It meets standards for human consumption
Feed Grade
– It meets standards for animal consumption
The main
difference is of quality and purity. Due to the addition of various other
substances, no product is 100% pure.
Pharmaceutical Grade Vitamins must be in excess of 99% purity containing no
binders, fillers, excipients - substances used as diluents for a drug
- dyes, or unknown substances. Regular Vitamins of the other two grades are
available as Over The Counter (OTC) products, whereas pharmaceutical grade
vitamins are only available through prescriptions.
Pharmaceutical grade vitamins are formulated to
yield a higher degree of bioavailability - the degree at which the
vitamin is absorbed into a living system. As these vitamins can be absorbed into
your body quickly, they improve and enhance the quality of your life rapidly.
Of late, the
American vitamin industry has gained a lot of bad reputation, and many feel it
is rightly deserved. People walk into stores and pharmacies to buy regular
vitamins. In some of the cases, the ingredients specified on the label are not
in conformity with what they find inside the bottle. A variety of ingredients do
not absorb into the body.
More and more
people are opting for pharmaceutical grade
vitamins, as they are available through prescriptions from doctors and licensed
medical practitioners. Pharmaceutical grade vitamins, vis-à-vis regular
vitamins, have been tested for their quality and ability to give results. They
are tested by third parties to confirm that the bottles contain what they
profess to contain.
About the Author
Cathy writes frequently on mid-life issues for women and men particularly
menopause and andropause. A copy of her book can be found at
http://www.howtoconquermenopause.com
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/30043.html
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| Some other articles by Cathy Taylor | Menopause and Hypothyroidism
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