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Natural
Nutrition 4 Health |
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The superior quality of our products is a result of respect for nature's wisdom and use of state-of-the-art research and production methods. To hold true to our values and to deliver quality products to our customers, all our ingredients are selected from the most natural sources available while ensuring their nutritional effectiveness is maintained by using the most recent scientific and technological advances and equipment.
Our number one priority is to use natural ingredients whenever possible. In fact, the vast majority of ingredients are naturally sourced. For example, beta carotene is harvested from specially grown algae, and vitamin E is obtained from soybean oil. Many plant-derived ingredients are also included in products as potential sources of what Dr. Shaklee referred to as unknown nutritional factors, or, those dietary factors that may be important to health, but have yet to be identified by scientists. The mineral ingredients our company uses are considered natural ingredients. Minerals are natural elements of the earth, and some are dietary essentials for good health. Sometimes, essential minerals can be sourced directly as they are found within the earth, for example, calcium from limestone. More commonly, however, minerals must be purified and bound to specific carriers to enhance their bioavailability and digestibility.
Although an ingredient may be found in nature, it may not occur in a concentration that is sufficiently elevated for high-potency and adequate bioavailability. Luckily, such ingredients can often be derived from natural sources through processes such as fermentation. Vitamin C is a good example. Rose hips and acerola are two of nature's most concentrated sources of vitamin C, but are not concentrated enough for high-potency vitamin C-containing formulations. Fortunately, vitamin C can be derived from the carbohydrate that is present naturally in corn through a multi-step process that includes fermentation. There are some ingredients that are derived from natural sources that may be modified to perform a certain function. For example, soy lecithin can be modified to make hydroxylated soy lecithin. This type of lecithin serves specific functions such as increasing its solubility in water and enhancing its ability to coat and protect tablets.
Sometimes, a sufficiently concentrated source of an ingredient cannot be found in nature, nor can it be derived from natural sources. In these instances, advances in nutritional technology allow us to use highly bioavailable ingredients formulated from biochemical building blocks. Whenever our company uses these types of ingredients, they are thoroughly tested to ensure bioavailability, purity, and potency. The B vitamin, thiamin, is an example of a nutrient that is formulated from biochemical building blocks. Another category of scientifically formulated ingredients are those that originate from a natural source, but are modified so that their final form is structurally and functionally different. An example is the ingredient hydroxypropyl ethylcellulose. Cellulose is a natural plant fiber. The cellulose is modified so that it takes on different properties that make is functionally for a particular product.
Not only do our products contain a host of essential nutrients, they often contain specific ingredients that have a functional role in improving the bioavailability of a product. Our scientifically advanced multivitamin and multimineral dietary supplement tablets, for example, are coated with a mixture of spirulina and cellulose gum. Spirulina gives our multivitamin its natural green color and the cellulose gum coating makes the tablet smooth and easier to swallow. The core of each multivitamin tablet features another ingredient, croscarmellose sodium. Also called modified cellulose gum, croscarmellose sodium's function is to absorb water rapidly and promoted the breaking apart of the tablet and subsequent release of nutrients for absorption. Another example of ingredients with specific functions occurs with our company's vitamin C supplement product whose sustained-release tablet technology is based entirely on natural gums and waxes from plants.
This ingredient philosophy, though, is only one part of our company's difference. The unique blend of ingredients coupled with the cumulative power of ongoing science reflects a commitment to research, to product development, to the care taken to adhere to strict clinical testing, and, as we've seen, to meeting the highest manufacturing standards in the industry. That's the combination that sets our products apart from all others.
Natural Nutrition 4 Health |
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