A lot of the same principles you use to choose food apply to selecting the right supplements. Check the nutrition facts label and seek ingredients that are plant-based, organic, and derived from whole-food sources. Similarly, avoid synthetic chemicals, artificial ingredients, sweeteners, and fillers.
What Are Plant-Based Supplements?
Plant-based supplements are made from fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, spices, bark, flowers, leaves, and other botanical ingredients. The exact source depends on the required vitamin or mineral. Typically, the process begins with a plant naturally rich in the desired nutrient. Supplement manufacturers use various methods to extract the nutrient and create a plant-based supplement that provides the full Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of a wide variety of vitamins and minerals.
Examples of Nutrients and Their Plant Source
If you’re unfamiliar with plant-based supplements, it’s easy to assume all vitamins are the same. This is far from the truth. To illustrate, here are some common vitamins and minerals with their preferred plant-based sources and their synthetic or animal-sourced alternatives:
– Vitamin C: Plant Source – Fruits and Berries; Non-plant Source – Acetone
– Vitamin D: Plant Source – Mushrooms; Non-plant Source – Lanolin (Sourced From Sheep’s Wool)
– Iron: Plant Source – Murraya Koenigii Leaves; Non-plant Source – Sulphuric Acid
– Omega 3: Plant Source – Algae; Non-plant Source – Fish Guts
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What Are the Benefits of Plant-Based Supplements?
Minimally processed, plant-based supplements offer several advantages over synthetic vitamins and minerals. Here are the top benefits of plant-based supplements:
Better Bioavailability
Bioavailability refers to how easily your body can absorb a given nutrient. Evidence overwhelmingly indicates that healthy, whole plant foods are the foundation of a nutritionally complete diet, including the supplements you use. The best supplements are those your body can handle well, meaning plant-based ones. Your body evolved to recognize and utilize nutrients from plant sources found in nature.
Lower Toxicity Risk
Proper absorption isn’t just about getting more. Sometimes, taking too much of a mineral can be toxic. Plant-based supplements usually carry a lower risk of mineral toxicity than synthetic or animal-sourced supplements. For instance, the risk of toxicity from a plant-based iron supplement is less than that of animal-sourced iron supplements.
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Additional Cofactors & Conutrients
Plants contain a complete spectrum of vitamins, minerals, aromatic oils, and phytonutrients that often work together. When you isolate specific compounds, you get the star of the team but leave behind the supporting players, the cofactors and conutrients, only available in plant-based supplements. These might include:
– Plant pigments: chlorophyll, curcumin, flavonoids, carotenoids, lutein, anthocyanins
– Flavonoids: catechins, quercetin, polyphenols
– Aromatic compounds: allicin, sulforaphane, carvacrol, thymol
– Alkaloids: caffeine, quinine, theobromine, piperine
– Enzymes: protease, cellulase, amylase, nattokinase, lipase
– Terpenoids: saponins, limonene, phytosterols, oleanolic acid
– Polysaccharides: cellulose, acemannan, pectin, hemicellulose
Natural Smell & Taste
One desirable trait of plant-based supplements is their natural smell and taste. They typically don’t contain synthetic fillers, toxic chemicals, or artificial sweeteners. Plants include oils and other constituents that provide natural smells and tastes absent in lab-grown vitamins. To check the quality of a plant-based supplement, open it and check the smell and taste; you should recognize some of the natural odors of the organic ingredients.
They Are Vegan
Using plants is better for your health and the environment. Most plant-based supplements are vegan, but some manufacturers may still use animal byproducts or non-vegan gelatin capsules. Always check the label to be sure.
Questions to Ask When Selecting Plant-Based Supplements
Buying plant-based supplements is usually the smarter option, but how do you know you are getting the best? Look for a brand you can trust that pays attention to how and where each plant-based ingredient is grown and processed.
How Are the Plants Grown?
Ensure the plants used are grown using sustainable practices. Organic and wildcrafted sources are best and reduce the risk of contamination from industrial farming chemicals and pesticides.
How Are the Plants Processed?
Once harvested, plants begin to degrade. Heat, humidity, and time are enemies of fragile plant nutrients. Serious supplement companies will protect these nutrients, cofactors, and conutrients in the final product through proper drying, milling, and concentrating techniques. Without these protocols, your supplements won’t provide their maximum benefit.
Global Healing Is Reinventing Plant-Based Supplements
From the start, we have insisted that all our cleanses and supplements use plant-based sources. This not only keeps us connected with nature but is also good for mind, body, and soul. At Global Healing, we strive to innovate and change how we use these sacred plants.
Using the latest research and testing, we’ve developed a new process for creating Raw Herbal Extracts?. This approach preserves the natural power of each ingredient. Whether you try Iron, Global Healing’s Aloe Vera, Immune Boost Bundle, or any of our other plant-based supplements, you’ll notice the difference that high-quality herbs, preserved with respect, can make.
