How To Do Supplement Testing And Why It Matters
The second point in last week's post was whether or not there is life in your supplements. The best supplement testing is to ask the company for a picture of the chromatograms.
If the life factor or live enzyme activity is there - it will be evident.
A dead vitamin's picture looks dead. A live one looks like a picture of a sunburst.
Supplement Testing - How To Do It
There are a couple of tests you can do for fun. Put one of your multivitamins on a little piece of aluminum foil and bake it in the oven at 400 degrees for about ten minutes.
The only change you should see is a slight lightening in its color, the same as you see in raw versus cooked vegetables. More than likely what you will see is a black substance oozing of a sticky or coal-like substance.
Sometimes it will just be black specks but you should be able to see it distinctly.
This photo shows the difference:
Another test is to put your multivitamin into a glass of tepid water. Within 10 minutes, the vitamin should disintegrate and form a volcano.
If it is dead, it will just lie there. Sometimes, the coating will flake off but that's it.
Another is to leave a vitamin on the counter for a few days -- it should start to "grow" and if it gets wet, it will get moldy -- like REAL food.
Take-Away:
The vitamins you take must be bio-available - the ability for your body to absorb the nutrients it needs, when and where it needs them. Otherwise, why are you taking them?
Are Your Supplements GMO-Free?
The next question to ask is pretty simple and most people around the world are aware of the seriousness. Does the company use GMO-free ingredients?
Major supplement producers actually will openly admit that they derive many of their formulas from GMO crops. Consumers just are not paying attention!
My experience has been that most companies who distribute vitamins don't have a clue about the source of the raw product. I know of one such company (which shall remain nameless here) that bottles vitamins for distribution to over 1500 different vitamin companies.
All they do is CHANGE THE LABEL -- the product is all the same garbage.
If a company is producing non-GMO products, they will be proud of it and be able to substantiate their raw sources.