What is Foodstate?
| So, what is FoodState® and where did it all begin? |
The discovery of Vitamin C in 1927 by the Hungarian scientist Albert Szent Györgyi was a significant step forward in the understanding of the role that nutrients play in the maintenance of health in the human body. Szent Györgyi used paprika and orange to isolate the white crystalline powder that we know today as ascorbic acid or vitamin C. These fruits had been used to treat and cure scurvy. In the process of synthesizing the active substance, Szent Györgyi used a progressively more and more concentrated form to treat scurvy patients, and found that the more concentrated the substance, the shorter the recovery time. This was an exciting discovery, but he was devastated when in his final stage of purification, when the isolated ascorbic acid was finally synthesized, the patients showed a poor response. Szent Györgyi realized that Vitamin C needs to be combined with other food substances for optimal utility in the human body.
Szent Györgyi received the Nobel Prize for his work, but only much later, in 1955, discovered one of the group of substances that enhance the uptake of Vitamin C in the body. He called it Vitamin P. Today we recognize these substances as bioflavonoids and we are aware of the assistance they provide in the effective utilization of Vitamin C in the body. One of Szent Györgyi’s students was a pharmacist by the name of Andrew Szalay. Andrew moved to the United States in the late 30’s and he was distressed to see that ascorbic acid was being sold very widely as a chemical isolate for supplemental purposes. He also observed that other vitamins and minerals were also being sold as chemical isolates. He knew that the human body was designed to process foods and to extract nutrients from these whole foods. In nature there are no isolated chemicals as source material for human nutrition. Andrew Szalay set out to find a way of providing concentrated nutrients in a food form where the nutrients are bound to other elements including protein, carbohydrates and lipids. This endeavor took many years but culminated in a new, unique and innovative way of providing wholesome food-form nutrients as supplemental products. Andrew Szalay developed a range of technologies that take concentrated nutrients in isolated chemical form and bond them to their essential food elements. An example would be where calcium carbonate is introduced under very specific conditions to a reactor containing live yeast. The calcium carbonate is ingested and integrated into the yeast plant to form part of the whole-food matrix. Once this process is completed, the outer membrane of the yeast cells is removed by enzymatic action, with no live yeast remaining. Andrew has developed different methods for different nutrients. Substrates including citrus, carrot, alfalfa and soya concentrates, are used to produce nutrients in food form. Andrew Szalay has produced something most remarkable for mankind. We can now take concentrated nutrients in a food state form rather than as chemical isolates. Absorption, bioavailability and utility are dramatically increased. |
| Are supplements necessary? |
In spite of an abundant food supply in developed countries, people often do not obtain sufficient quantities of essential nutrients from food. It is well understood that soils have become depleted of essential minerals. The nutrient integrity of food has been eroded through modern processing, transportation and the preoccupation of food producers with appearance and shelf life. These factors, combined with poor food choices and imbalanced diets contribute to an inadequate intake of vital nutrients. Nutritional supplementation is essential in the modern world.
There are, however, significant differences in the quality and efficacy of different nutrient supplements. |
| What are isolated chemical vitamins and minerals? |
The countless brands of vitamins and minerals available today all use isolated chemical USP nutrients where USP stands for United States Pharmacopoeia In our modern world we have become used to the biomedical model. This model is reductionistic in its point of departure and believes that in general terms, medications and nutrients should be given as single isolated substances. Nutrients are removed from their natural environment and presented as a synthesized single chemical.
Ascorbic acid as an example, however, is never isolated in nature, but occurs in a food matrix, molecularly bonded to other food elements including bioflavonoids, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. This food form is just what the body requires to process the nutrients. On the other hand the body has difficulty in recognizing and processing the chemically isolated forms. The digestive process requires a delivery system where nutrients are taken from the gut into serum (the blood) so that they can be utilized appropriately. The delivery system is dependent on proteins to provide the vehicle for transport. Because isolated chemicals are not bound to protein, the absorption and bioavailability are retarded. The absorption factor for most chemical isolates is in the area of 5% and very rarely exceeds 20%. This may be the reason that many scientists and doctors have suggested that taking large amounts of supplements is most useful in producing expensive urine. |
| What are food state nutrients? |
FoodState® nutrients are vitamins and minerals bonded in a food matrix, without the water and the fibre. In the edible portions of our natural foods, vitamins and minerals are always found in protein complexes. They are not found as isolated pure molecules and they are also not found bonded to other chemicals. Vitamins and minerals which are present in food are contained within a complexed matrix of proteins + lipids + enzymes + bioflavonoids + trace elements.
Professor J Vinson from Scranton University in Pennsylvania has been involved for many years in conducting trials comparing isolated chemicals and food state nutrients. His summary expresses the important elements of this unique and remarkable technology: “Food state nutrients are the most important advancements in nutrition today. They are not just another brand of USP vitamins and inorganic mineral salts. Instead, food state nutrients are a unique generation of vitamins and minerals that are molecularly bonded to the basic building blocks of life: protein.” These FoodState® nutrients are essentially foods and are recognized by the body as such. These 21st century nutrients are the first supplements that can truly be called food supplements. FoodState® supplements have the nutritional components and structure of real food. The unique and outstanding feature of food state nutrients is the complete bonding of the micronutrients into a food matrix. This does not mean physically mixing the vitamins and minerals with proteins and other substances. Rather it involves a sophisticated “growing” process. |
| How are FoodState® nutrients assembled? |
Producing vitamins and minerals in a food form is achieved through a range of exclusive, patented processes. Food form Vitamin C for example, is derived through an elaborate process, where ascorbic acid is biochemically incorporated and concentrated into a citrus pulp.
A breakthrough technology using yeast has been developed to produce food form minerals. In this process, the mineral is embedded in a nutrient broth, which in turn is introduced into a growth tank containing a yeast solution. The living yeast absorbs and metabolizes the nutrient-rich broth. Intracellularly, and through biotransformation the once isolated nutrient is incorporated with other food elements to produce a wholesome vitalized, concentrated food. The production process can take anywhere from 12 – 24 hours depending on the mineral being metabolized. Enzymes are then introduced to break down the yeast cell walls. The yeast cell structure breaks down entirely and no active yeast remains. What remains is an easily digestible, nutrient rich compound. People who have yeast allergies are typically sensitive to the proteins in the yeast wall membranes. These allergenic components are entirely broken down in this manufacturing process. FoodState® nutrients do not contain any live yeast and will not affect yeast sensitive individuals. The final step is drying the finished product. This is accomplished with an instant drying process (flash drying) to protect the nutrients. This is the same process used to dry enzymes and retain their activity. The resultant powder is subjected to rigorous physical, chemical, and microbiological quality control tests before being passed for sale. It is the complete matrix of food co-factors that the body naturally recognizes as food that makes FoodState® nutrients more effectively absorbed and utilized than other isolated supplements. |
| What exactly does absorption mean? |
Absorption is an over-used and often abused word. Most people who take food supplements are told that one brand is better absorbed than another. Absorption, however, is not the complete story. Bioavailability covers absorption, retention, assimilation and utilization. Unless the supplement is high in all of these factors, the real benefit to our body can be limited. |
| Understanding the delivery system: |
Research has demonstrated that proteins appear to have “intrinsic signals” which act as “address tags”, directing proteins to particular sites. Peptide chains with particular amino acid sequences constitute these protein specific signals. The signal will determine whether a protein will pass through a membrane to a particular site within the cell or be exported out of the cell. The understanding of protein transportation in turn illuminates our understanding of the delivery system of nutrients within the body and dramatically underlines the FoodState® principle.
Isolated chemical nutrients may be absorbed, but when they enter the body there is no mechanism to target their delivery. So, they are either deposited in the wrong places are they are flushed right out of the body. Food state nutrients on the other hand are delivered by the protein chaperones to the cells that need the nutrients and, more specifically, to the right sites within the cells. |
| What does the evidence show? |
Calcium is traditionally difficult to absorb and use in the human body. Calcium carbonate is a commonly used salt in many calcium supplements. Research has shown that FoodState® calcium, which is bound to protein, is statistically significantly better absorbed than calcium carbonate..
With Beta-Carotene, Prof Vinson showed that FoodState® beta-carotene was 100% better absorbed than the isolated form. It is possibly this fact that explains why some clinical trials with beta-carotene have not produced the anticipated results. Our own observations with other FoodState® nutrients are notable. We have seen, for example, that FoodState® iron has elevated haemoglobin in iron deficient anemia cases in a few weeks, without the accompanying side effects of inorganic iron such as black stools and severe constipation. After well over 50 studies, Prof Vinson, from Scranton University, has concluded that FoodState® nutrients have far greater absorption and longer retention. than isolated nutrients. |
| Are Mega-Doses necessary? |
The profusion of today’s high potency products is more the result of competition among manufacturers then scientifically proven need. With food state nutrients, only conservative amounts need to be taken because they are absorbed as readily as food and remain in the body longer than ordinary USP products.
Studies have shown that bonding vitamins and minerals to proteins, just as they are found in natural foods, enables them to be utilized more effectively by the body. That’s why food state nutrients are more efficient in replenishing energy and nutrient supplies. Because these nutrients are absorbed more effectively than USP vitamins and inorganic mineral salts, and are retained longer by the body, they provide high-potency reserves that the body can use when it needs those most. |
| FoodState® efficacy challenged in a court of law… |
In the early 1990’s, the efficacy of FoodState® nutrients was challenged in a court of law in the United States. This court case, perhaps more than any other, had a profound bearing and significance on the nutritional industry.
The case involved a company selling isolated chemical nutrients that objected and discounted the fact that food state nutrients were better absorbed, retained, and utilized. Five independent and internationally recognized FDA scientists were assigned to examine the molecular structure of the food state supplements. These scientists were required to analyze the results and submit their findings to the judge. To determine the differences, leading edge technologies from NASA were used including nuclear magnetic resonance. The case was eventually settled out of court. It was agreed that the following claims are allowed to be made about FoodState® nutrients: · FoodState® nutrients are better than isolated USP nutrients. · FoodState® nutrients are better absorbed, retained, and utilized than USP nutrients. · FoodState® nutrients are manufactured under a proprietary process. |
| Wrapping up the FoodState® story, we can conclude that… |
FoodState® nutrients have a very definite benefit for all of us. We need to optimize our nutritional intake and support our biochemical processes. We must do that with the most efficient and cost effective nutrients available. Food state nutrients revolutionize our understanding of supplementation and preventative health.
Dr Peter Mansfield, a highly respected author and doctor in England expresses it most succinctly: “There is no doubt in my mind that food state technology solves our nutritional problems. It provides doctors and other therapists with a harmless, yet potent, means of healing, alongside restoration of adequate food quality. At last health seems attainable by us all.” |