At BestHealthFoodStore.net we discourage consumption of most “vitamins” because they are usually a waste of money and can do more harm than good.
“If vitamins were a regulated industry, you could argue that mega-vitamins would have a black box warning on them, given all these studies, twenty studies that show too much vitamins can actually shorten your life”
– Dr. Paul A. Offit, MD (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia).
Studies are now revealing that most vitamins do not deliver their promised benefits, and that they can be harmful, especially in high doses. The vitamin/mineral balance in the human body is extremely complex and critically important to good health. Consuming more than the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of vitamins can alter the balance of anti-oxidant to oxidant activity in the body. That is why some experts say, “Don’t take them”.
This is the topic of a new book by Dr. Paul A. Offit, M.D., “Do You Believe in Magic? The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine”.
Dr. Offit, in a recent interview with Dr. Sanjay Gupta on CNN, suggested that if you follow a healthy diet (see our daily health food menu), you can easily reach those RDA numbers. However, when you supplement with large doses of vitamins, you are doing more harm than good and causing imbalances in the body.
For example, to consume 1000 mg of Vitamin C, which is a common dosage for many people, you would need to eat about 14 oranges. By taking such unnatural steps, you challenge mother nature and alter the natural chemistry of the body. 
This is why we prefer to get vitamins and minerals in perfect balance from whole food formulas like VitaShake and Quinary .
The vitamin craze ramped up decades ago when Time Magazine featured a cover story about vitamins being the answer to aging, cancer, heart disease and other health challenges. Then, a huge industry developed that now claims almost $30 billion dollars in sales each year.
“When the FDA tried to regulate this, because they were worried there was no safety record on these large doses of vitamins, they were defeated by a very 
powerful, politically influenced industry. Unfortunately, this left consumers in a position where they don’t know something they should know”. –Dr. Offit
It took years before scientists realized that too much Vitamin A or an excess of Vitamin C actually increases the risk of developing certain cancers. That's why our manufacturer, Sunrider, focuses more on giving us vitamins in whole food formulas rather than chemical isolates.
Dr. Chen, the founder of Sunrider, reveals a valuable bit of wisdom in his manufacturing philosophy, "I don't want to give you too much chemicals or vitamins because I know a little goes a long way. Our Citric C tabs contain only 125 mg, not 1,000 mg, on purpose. I can easily make a 1,000 mg Vitamin C tablet, but I don't want people to overdose."
Our Multi-Vitamin, MetaBalance 44 is different from typical store-bought vitamins because it features whole food ingredients. Remember, it is almost always better to get your vitamins and minerals from foods, not chemicals. This way the nutrients are instantly absorbed, as opposed to vitamins that are usually flushed right down the toilet without delivering any benefits.
Some studies show that up to 90% of vitamins are eliminated in urine without being absorbed by the body. This is why vitamins that are isolated from their whole food structure or synthetically created in a lab are often useless and may do more harm than good.
Read other articles on this topic:
What are Antioxidants and Why Do You Need Them?
Why Natural Foods and Whole Foods are Important For a Healthy Diet
Why Whole Food Vitamins are Important for Pregnancy Nutrition
Natural Antioxidants Offer Major Health Benefits
