Products Dietary Supplements Vegetarian Supplements FAQ
Prescription 2000 Vegetarian Supplements FAQ
Why did you make a vegetarian supplement?
We were unable to find a high-potency, broad-spectrum multivitamin/mineral supplement that was free of animal products with the specific dosages we desired. We were looking for a product that might help reduce the risk to chronic degenerative disease and to address some of the unique needs of vegetarians. We felt there was a need for the vegetarian community to have an option, as well as trying to make a cost-competitive supplement for the general public that was free of animal products at dosages and with ingredients that might help reduce the consumer's risk to the current degenerative diseases of Western (developed) society. Our hope is that vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian consumers will use this product so they can have a supplement of high quality and at the same time use a supplement that does not harm animals or use animal products in the manufacturing process.
Why did you use Calcium Carbonate in your bone loss formula?
The Bone Support formula was designed to be taken in conjunction with the Daily Multivitamin/Mineral Supplement to give a total supplemental intake of calcium at 1000-1200 mg per day. The Bone Support (4 capsules) contains approximately 133 mg elemental calcium from calcium citrate malate and 666 mg of elemental calcium from calcium carbonate. The Daily Multivitamin/Mineral Supplement contains 200-400 mg of elemental calcium with equal parts from calcium citrate malate and calcium carbonate. We used calcium carbonate due to its reasonable cost and the ability to obtain a high amount of calcium per capsule. We did not want to exceed 4 capsules per day in the Bone Support formula, which helps with consumer compliance. If we used only calcium citrate malate there would be several more capsules to take per day to get the same amount of calcium. It is true that there are other more absorbable forms of calcium other than calcium carbonate, but the degree of absorbability of all calcium supplements ranges from approximately 20% to 45%. Calcium carbonate is in the middle of this range at about 30% absorption. If calcium carbonate is taken with meals its absorption is better than taken on an empty stomach. So we recommend taking your Bone Support with food. Compliance is a big issue, so we used a combination of calcium citrate malate and calcium carbonate in our goal to have consumers get 1000-1200 mg of calcium per day with 72% coming from calcium carbonate and 28% from calcium citrate malate.
Isn't Magnesium Stearate an animal product?
Magnesium stearate is used as a lubricant to allow the composition of the ingredients in powdered form to be more easily processed into the vegetarian capsules or tablets. Our magnesium stearate comes from a vegetable source, not an animal source, which is used frequently in other dietary supplements.
You have high doses of Vitamin K in both your Multivitamin/Mineral and Bone Loss formulas. Why?
Vitamin K is important in the formation of three proteins - osteocalcin, matrix GLA-protein and protein S, which are involved in bone formation. Vitamin K has been used, according to Japanese literature, to treat osteoporosis in milligram, not microgram, doses. Also, low levels of vitamin K in the serum have been associated with cardiovascular disease. Since these two chronic diseases are of significant proportions in Western society, we feel that in the future vitamin K levels at these dosages, or possibly higher, will be used to prevent or treat these conditions.
You use high doses of Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid. Why?
Vitamin B12 is a common nutrient that is deficient in vegetarian populations. Vitamin B12 is incredibly important in the reduction of homocysteine and is involved in methylation processes (tetrahydrofolate cycle) in which abnormalities have been associated with cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease (stroke), neurologic conditions (Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, etc), birth defects, and multiple obstetric and gynecologic problems. This higher level of vitamin B12 can help lower homocysteine levels especially in the presence of folic acid and vitamin B6 at levels found in our daily multivitamin/mineral supplement. There is 800 mcg of folic acid in 4 tablets of our Daily MVM since it is the single most important nutrient in maintaining low homocysteine levels.
Why can't you have just one pill for a daily supplement?
If you were just putting in vitamins and trace amounts of minerals in tablet form you could have one pill. But when you add calcium, magnesium and other trace minerals at the recommended dietary allowances it is difficult to get all of the minerals in one pill. This is why there are multiple tablets for daily intake. Many high potency multivitamin/mineral supplements are between 3-6 capsules or tablets per day.
Are your Dietary Supplements natural?
Some of the compounds are, but many are synthesized chemically. This occurs because many vitamins and minerals are manufactured from large suppliers to be cost-competitive. Synthesizing these vitamins allows us to keep animal products out of our ingredients. For example vitamin D can come naturally from fish oil or the oil of sheep wool. Ours comes from neither, but is chemically synthesized or comes from a fermentation process.
Is your product free of common allergens?
On the level that most people consider, yes. This product is free of wheat, dairy, egg, yeast and corn. When you look at the manufacturing and the synthesis of all synthetic vitamins and minerals, usually somewhere in the processing, at different levels of production, there has been a grain used usually in the formation of alcohol or sugar. So, we choose to leave the statement, "Free of Common Allergens" off our product, because it depends on what level you go in the manufacturing process of each of the ingredients that are involved. In general, when people think of allergens in a supplement they think of actual soybean oil used in the β-carotene and vitamin E capsule; yeast-bound selenium or chromium; or the B-vitamins from brewer's yeast. It has been debated back and forth whether vitamin C, which is generally derived from corn (sometimes sago palm, potato or beet), actually has corn constituents remaining after the synthesization process that have the ability to trigger allergic reactions. Our vitamin C is made from glucose which was synthesized from a grain such as corn.
Why didn't you include higher amounts of Calcium in the daily Multivitamin/Mineral?
We chose not to include 1000 mg of calcium in the Daily Multivitamin/Mineral Supplement because it would; 1) increase the number of pills for those who are taking the daily supplement, 2) many people have separate calcium products that they prefer to take, 3) some people consume calcium in the form of dairy products and we wanted to leave that option open to them if they wanted additional calcium. This is also the reason we developed our Bone Support formula, which is the perfect adjunct to the Daily Multivitamin/Mineral Supplement. Together, they provide 1000-1200 mg of calcium, 800-1000 mg of magnesium, 800-1200 IU of vitamin D, 600 mcg of vitamin K, 1 mg of boron, 15 mg of zinc, 2 mg of copper, 5 mg of manganese and 300 mg of vitamin C which all are very important in bone formation.
Kirk Hamilton PA-C, President
Prescription 2000, Inc.
