As we start our new year I wanted to write about new advances in supplements that have been shown to dramatically increase absorption. The whole thing about vitamins and supplements is that it's not necessarily what you swallow, or what your bottle says on the front, but it's with your body is actually absorbing. With many supplements, your body is only able to absorb a fraction of what may be on the label. Different forms of supplements and ways of making a capsule or delivery system can really make a difference in the body's ability to absorb a specific supplement. If your body isn't absorbing something you're taking, you're wasting your money and you're wasting your time. For many years now there has been research on supplements and vitamins comparing synthetic vitamins to natural vitamins, and food-based vitamins compared to isolates. New technology though, in making supplements called liposomal and phytosomal extracts have been shown to dramatically increase absorption.
Liposomal supplements encapsulate supplements in phospholipids, natural components similar to our own cell membranes. Liposomal supplements protect supplements in the stomach so they are able to be absorbed better. Some new research actually speculates that liposomal supplements might even be able to be absorbed through cell membranes into cells, bypassing digestion.
Research on liposomal and phytosomal supplements are still in their early stages but the studies done so far have been very encouraging, showing differences in absorption as much as 10 times the absorption of a standard vitamin or supplement without liposomal or phytosomal technology.
This is a big reason why we don't have a store brand. Generally, store brands are good for a store because they're less expensive for them and have better pricing margins, but we don't want to feel beholden to a certain company. We always want to recommend the different supplements that we feel are best, and the best absorbed. Also, the supplements that we would consider the “best” often changes as new supplements come out and new developments in supplement research and absorption continue.
When you shop at our store, you can be assured that we will be recommending the best product there is for your specific needs, not what we might make more money selling. We really do care about each of our customers’ health, and sometimes our recommendation may be to not buy something, or to keep taking the supplements you have, or even to reduce certain things. When it comes to supplements, it's not one size fits all. We really want people to come back to our store and feel they can trust us with our supplement recommendations, not that we're just trying to sell them something.
We have a great, knowledgeable staff, but if you prefer to speak with the owners, Carolyn and Liz are always at the store on Mondays, and Liz is usually there on Tuesdays, and Carolyn generally works on Saturdays as well (we're there other days too, but those are safe days to come in if you're looking for us).
We're so grateful for our customers for continuing to support us as we move into our 29th year!
