Nutrition

Binders and fillers are used during the tableting process to ensure that the tablet sticks together properly rather than crumbling in the bottle. For example, some vitamins are oils and others are powders. Binders, fillers and excipients help ensure the bulk powder flows smoothly through the equipment without caking or gumming, and helps make sure the tablet size and hardness are consistent.

Tablet excipients are agents used during the tableting process to help the powder flow through the equipment without sticking, or to improve the tablets' consistency, compressibility, or other desired characteristics.

Tableting agents and excipients are required to ensure quality control in the tablet-manufacturing process. Tableting is part art and part science. Knowing how even small differences in temperature and humidity will affect the tableting process requires years of experience to develop. Tablet excipients help ensure that the bulk powder flows smoothly through the equipment, and that the tablets are of the right consistency so they will break down in your body as predicted.

Stearic acid is an essential saturated fatty acid that is found in all vegetable, seed, nut and animal oils. Although stearic acid can be from several sources, the most common source in better quality nutritional supplements is vegetable stearic acid.

During tablet manufacturing certain substance such as stearic acid are use to help powders flow smoothly through the tableting machines and to help the tablets hold their shape. Stearic acid is an ideal fatty acid to use because it is naturally occurring in food, is inert and therefore does not interfere with the proper utilization or absorption of the active ingredients in the tablet.

No. There is no evidence that stearic acid, in the levels used in tablet manufacturing, in any way interferes with or blocks breakdown and absorption of nutrients. Remember that the amount of stearic acid used in a tablet is much less than would be obtained from a salad with olive oil and vinegar dressing. (Olive oil is a source of stearic acid).

Bioavailability refers to the potential a product has to be absorbed into the bloodstream and have the desired impact on the consumer. In other words, a product with very high quality raw materials but is made in such a way that the tablet doesn't break down properly would have low bioavailability and would thus not do the patient any good. Disintegration time is an example of a test that measures aspects of bioavailability; it is the time it takes under controlled conditions for a tablet to break down completely. If a supplement breaks down when it is supposed to, there is a greater likelihood that it will be absorbed into the

Simply looking at the ingredients does not necessarily provide enough information to assess value. For example, the same amount of elemental calcium can be found as, among others, citrate or carbonate, but have significantly different absorption dynamics. Carbonates are much cheaper, and so are often used by supplement manufacturers, even though the more expensive citrates are better absorbed. Frequently, higher quality comes with a higher price.

No. While vitamins generally do not deteriorate into something harmful or toxic over time, it is possible for the potency to diminish as time passes. The expiration date is there to ensure that you are getting the freshest products, with the highest possible quality and potency. To get the results you are seeking, it is best not to take a supplement that has gone past its expiration date.

As the tablets become exposed to sunlight, oxygen and moisture, vitamins may gradually lose potency. Although they do not become "toxic" or harmful, they may not provide the results the practitioner and consumer depend upon. In order to set expiration dates, the manufacturer must perform stability tests showing how much degradation of the product occurs over time, and put in enough of the raw material to compensate for any lost potency. Expiration dates ensure that the product will provide consistent results.

Time-release or slow-release tablets are manufactured in such a way that they release their contents in the digestive tract over time rather than all at once. This can be accomplished by a variety of methods. One method is called "enteric coating," where the nutrient is coated with a substance that won't break down in the stomach but will in the small intestine. Another method coats the nutrients with a substance that will be slowly digested, so that the nutrients are gradually released. Both of these (and other) methods can be useful, but care must be exercised in the manufacturing process to ensure the desired results.

You should continue to take the supplements recommended by your healthcare provider until they instruct you to change dosage or stop taking them.

To date, no specific research has been that definitively answer that question, although arguments could be made to support taking supplements in the morning, at night, or even for other times (such as at mealtime, for instance). The most important step is to take them.

Everything has a range of safety, which also means that there is a potential (however small) that enough could be taken to become harmful. For example, even water and sunlight, which are essential for life, can become harmful if taken in extremely large quantities or for too long a time. In the case of most vitamins, the amounts used in supplements have been shown in repeated studies to be very safe. But because there is the possibility of taking "too much of a good thing," it is important to discuss with your healthcare provider ALL supplements (and the amounts of each) you are taking, so your specific health goals can be properly met.

In general, herbs are very safe, but should not be taken with prescription drugs without the supervision of a healthcare provider. Recall that herbs have been used for supporting health for literally thousands of years. Remember, however, that herbs are complex compounds containing dozens of different chemicals. When combined with very powerful pharmaceutical drugs there is always the possibility of an effect other than what is desired. For this reason it is always important to discuss any combination of herbs, vitamins, and prescription drugs you are thinking of taking together with your healthcare provider.

Historically, the people who studied, catalogued and used herbs in treating people would use them in combinations. Traditional herbalists knew which combinations of herbs, when prepared in certain ways, would yield the results they were interested in. An herbalist would take several different plants, prepare them together as a tea, poultice, blend of dried powders, etc. and administer them. Drawing on this rich history of application improves can improve the successes of modern treatments as well.