Is My Body Getting Sufficient Amount of Nutrient

Question from Reni:

I've been taking TB Women, Fish Oil, and Bone Protec since February 2010 in line with Dr. Chris Lyndon's Ten Years Thinner Program. So far, I've lost almost 9kgs (back to my pre-pregnancy size) and feel super great. Thanks to Xtendlife, my skin is a lot healthier, and my metabolism has increased.

I also read a book about a skin anti-aging supplement regime. And it is advised to take the below supplements on top of a high-quality multivitamin & fish oil:

From Reni, If I calculate from my current Xtendlife regime, I found that the amount I'm currently taking is not sufficient enough. I wonder whether it is necessary for me to buy some other supplements like vitamin C, etc on top of my current Xtendlife intake? And how much is too much for supplements?

Answer:

Hi Reni,

Good to hear about your positive results.

Actually you don't need to top up at all with most of these ingredients, although it may be of benefit to do so with some. I will address each of them individually.

• Carnosine - This ingredient should ideally be enteric-coated. We include it in Total Balance and when combined with the other ingredients it should be enough to do its job which is primarily to help reduce glycation. However, taking extra would be fine but an extra 500mgs a day would be enough.

• Vitamin C - Total Balance already contains both the non-fat soluble and the fat-soluble forms of vitamin C. There is no need to add any more. Although there is disagreement on this, many scientists believe that more than 500mgs a day, particularly of vitamin C in ascorbic acid form can actually be a pro-oxidant which is something you don't want. As the prime purpose of taking vitamin C is for its antioxidant properties and because Total Balance has other more potent antioxidants there is no upside in increasing your dose of this and there is a potential downside.

• Bioflavanoids - There are already flavanoids in Total Balance and there is no need to 'top up'.

• Vitamin E - Vitamin E should be of the mixed natural type which is what we use. They should also be taken with Tocotrienols which is another form of vitamin E. We have included all of these in Total Balance in the correct proportions. Therefore, I would not add any more which may potentially upset the balance.

• CoQ10 - There two types of CoQ10... Ubiquinone and Ubiquinol. The Ubiquinol is three to six times more effective than Ubiquinone which is what is used in most supplements. Ubiquinol will also provide an energy boost which the other form will not. We use Ubiquinone in Total Balance but only a small amount because we mainly focus on including precursors for CoQ10 as any form of CoQ10 is not very effective in tablets. However, we have now released a new product called Omega 3 / QH Premium CoQ10. This is our premium fish oil with Ubiquinol. Because Ubiquinol is the 'unoxidized' form of CoQ10 it is very unstable. We have perfected a manufacturing protocol to enable it to retain its full potency... using a nitrogen blanket to protect it from oxidization during production. So, your best option would be to 'upgrade' your current Omega 3 / DHA fish oil to the new Omega 3 / QH Premium CoQ10. This will provide the same excellent fish oil, with the cutting-edge benefits of Ubiquinol.

• Acetyl L-Carnitine - We use L-Pyroglutamic acid which has a similar action to Carnitine. The reason for this is that in some countries L-Carnitine is classified as a drug and a prohibited import. I see no problem with adding ALC to your regime but I would limit it to 1000mgs a day.

• Alpha-lipoic acid - We do have this in TB but there is no problem if you want to 'top' up a bit with say an extra 100mgs a day.

• Beta-carotene - We use Beta-carotene in the form of mixed carotenoids... which is very important. They are proposing a lot higher dose which I think is too much... personally I wouldn't take the extra. Be aware that most beta-carotenes on the market are synthetic and do not contain the broad spectrum of carotenoids.

• Other vitamins and minerals - There is really no need to 'top' these up further. It is not the total amounts that count but rather the mix and type. For example, B2 which is normally just Riboflavin... we use Riboflavin-5-Phosphate which is more than 10 times the cost of Riboflavin... But it is a lot more effective.

• Hyaluronic acid - At 10mgs a day it will do nothing and is not worth it.

I hope this helps you clarify your regime.
Good luck.
Warren Matthews