Why do I need to take a multivitamin/mineral supplement?
Q: Why do I need to take a multivitamin/mineral supplement if I’m eating a balanced diet?
A: The reason why we highly recommend supplementing with a multivitamin/mineral supplement—Premium Insurance Caps is an outstanding product—is because you cannot obtain all the nutrients your body requires solely from your diet. Here's why:
- There has never been a single clinical study that documents what comprises a balanced diet nor one that has demonstrated one's ability to meet basic nutrient requirements through whole foods alone.
- Studies show that food alone does not supply all the micronutrients we need to prevent deficiency, let alone achieve optimal health. Nutritional scientist, Bruce Ames, bluntly states, “Inadequate dietary intakes of vitamins and minerals are widespread, most likely due to excessive consumption of energy-rich, micronutrient-poor, refined food. Inadequate intakes may result in chronic metabolic disruption, including mitochondrial decay.” Another study concluded: "Nearly the entire U.S. population consumes a diet that is not on par with recommendations.”
- Very few of us have routine access to fresh, locally grown foods. Much of our diet comes from foods grown far away, picked when unripe, and then sent packing. Nutritional content is questionable and usually depleted.
- Even if we could obtain all the nutrients we need from our diet, it's highly unlikely that any of us eats an ideal diet as consistently as we think we do. The USDA states: “To promote your health, eat a variety of fruits and vegetables—at least 2 servings of fruits and 3 servings of vegetables—each day” but really, how many of us do that with any kind of consistency? And that figure may be on the low side, thanks to research from Dr. Dagfinn Aune, who concludes, “Our results suggest that although five portions of fruit and vegetables is good, ten a day is even better.”
That said, please understand that we’re not suggesting that you can neglect your diet, take scads of pills, and have all of your nutrient needs covered. Supplements should never take priority over the consumption of a healthy diet. At Hammer Nutrition we emphasize both quality nutrition and supplementation. First and foremost, your primary nutritional goal is to consistently consume a healthy diet, which means:
- Eating whole grains and locally grown organic fruits and vegetables as much as possible.
- Avoiding packaged, processed foods and junk foods, and foods containing artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors, and preservatives
- Minimal sodium and low-to-no simple sugars
The main reason to try and eat the healthiest diet possible—primarily a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables—is NOT so much for their vitamin and mineral content, which is minimal, at best, but instead for the nearly countless health-benefiting phytochemicals that are only found in fruits and vegetables. For example, research has shown that a naturally occurring flavonoid found in various fruits (mainly strawberries) called fisetin has strong antioxidant, neuroprotective, and cardio-protective properties. Eating lots of strawberries will help you get sufficient amounts of this amazing phytonutrient.
Bottom line: If you want to look, feel, and perform your best, the first step is always a diet dominated by nutrient-dense whole foods. But that alone will no longer suffice—supplementation has become a part of modern life. To augment the minimal amounts of vitamins and minerals supplied in the daily diet, and to obtain ideal amounts of these vitally important nutrients, you must supplement. If you want to achieve your best performances in your exercise sessions and events—and, even more importantly, enjoy optimal health (not minimal, optimal!)—then daily supplementation is a necessity, not an option.
Why did you choose the four you did for the Daily Essentials Kits?
Q: Of all the products you make, why did you choose the four you did for the Daily Essentials Kits? And what do these products do?
A: Hammer Nutrition's Daily Essentials supplements—Premium Insurance Caps, Race Caps Supreme, Mito Caps, and EndurOmega—provide the widest range of benefits for both athletic performance and overall health purposes. They are the cornerstone of the Hammer Nutrition product line, and they should be the foundation of your supplement program. Take them every single day, whether training or not, and enjoy the tremendous benefits they provide.
WHAT THE DAILY ESSENTIALS DO FOR YOU
- Replenish vitamins and minerals, which athletes and active people deplete in greater amounts than sedentary people, to optimize overall health
- Support entire-body health by supplying a wide range of antioxidants to help neutralize free radicals and the cellular destruction they cause
- Provide key substrates to maximize efficient and consistent production of energy
- Optimize mitochondrial health, an absolute necessity for enhancing athletic performance and overall health
- Supply the body with the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, which are closely involved in numerous areas of human health
Premium Insurance Caps
Unlike many multis that contain inadequate Daily Value (DV) or Reference Daily Intake (RDI) amounts of nutrients (which are only the minimum standards for preventing nutrient-deficiency diseases), Premium Insurance Caps is formulated with Optimum Daily Intake (ODI) amounts of the highest quality vitamins and minerals. This supplies your body with the higher quantities of nutrients it needs for optimal health. Also included in the formula is an impressive array of complementary nutrients and digestive enzymes.
More about Premium Insurance Caps
Race Caps Supreme
The combination of nutrients in Hammer Nutrition’s premier product works synergistically to provide you with a plethora of dynamic athletic and general health benefits, unmatched by any other athlete-specific supplement. These include:
- Higher energy levels during workouts and all day long, without the unpleasant stimulant side effects that come from the ingredients in many other supplements
- Noticeable increase in endurance
- Less muscle soreness and enhanced recovery after training sessions
- Antioxidant support for optimal immune system function
Everyone will benefit greatly from the consistent use of Race Caps Supreme, and it's an absolute essential for athletes.
More about Race Caps Supreme
Mito Caps
The Mito Caps formula is based on the eye-opening studies of Dr. Bruce Ames regarding mitochondrial functioning, aging, deterioration, and regeneration. The importance of maintaining optimal functioning of the mitochondria is eloquently stated by Dr. Bill Misner: “The longer you can stimulate the lifespan or health of the mitochondria, the longer you may potentially live and the better you will perform in endurance events. The athlete who has the most healthy/efficient active mitochondria is the athlete who performs at their best.”
More about Mito Caps
EndurOmega
The premium-quality fish oil contained in EndurOmega supplies the body with the essential fatty acids (EFAs) eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), both of which are vitally important for numerous aspects of athletic performance and overall health. These EFAs are required for life itself, in fact, so it’s no wonder they’re designated as “essential”! Our bodies cannot make EPA and DHA; supplementation with EndurOmega is the easiest, most efficient way to ensure you’re receiving adequate amounts of EPA and DHA.
More about EndurOmega
SUMMARY
The combination of the Hammer Nutrition Daily Essentials provides a tremendously wide range of benefits that support optimal athletic performance and overall health, a range that no other supplement combination can come close to matching. Available in money-saving kits, Premium Insurance Caps, Race Caps Supreme, Mito Caps, and EndurOmega are products that everyone, athlete and non-athlete alike, will benefit from. They should be the foundation of every daily supplement program, including yours!
Why should I choose Premium Insurance Caps?
Q: There a tons of multivitamin supplements on the market. Why should I choose Premium Insurance Caps?
A: Here are 5 reasons to choose Premium Insurance Caps:
- Optimum, not minimum, amounts. Unlike many vitamin/mineral supplements that contain inadequate Daily Value (DV), Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA), and Reference Daily Intake (RDI) amounts of nutrients, Premium Insurance Caps is formulated with Optimum Daily Intake (ODI) amounts of the highest quality vitamins and minerals. Dr. Shari Lieberman hits the nail on the head about why the use of ODI amounts in supplementation is so vital: "RDIs reflect amounts that are adequate to prevent nutrient-deficiency diseases, and are not tailored for individual needs. In order to attain a state of optimum health and disease prevention, we must take into our bodies optimum - not minimum - amounts of vitamins and minerals."
NOTE: Premium Insurance Caps contain superb levels of the B-complex vitamins, amounts that replicate many stress support formulas, thus making those products unnecessary in your supplement regimen.
- Capsules, not tablets. The nutrients in Premium Insurance Caps are contained within a two-piece all-vegetable capsule; that means they will dissolve much more rapidly and thoroughly than tablets would, so your body will actually receive the nutrients you're consuming. Because tablets can take longer to break down, they often irritate the intestinal lining, causing major stomach discomfort. Additionally, tablets can pass through the entire digestive system only partially dissolved, or completely un-dissolved. Either way, your body does not get the full volume of nutrients you ingested, which means you're not getting what you paid for.
- Highly assimilated, amino acid-chelated minerals. For many minerals, there are several forms available, all with differing absorption rates. Some companies use inexpensive forms of minerals in their products (e.g., magnesium in the oxide form or calcium in the carbonate form). Unfortunately, these cheap forms are not as well absorbed as other forms, such as the amino acid chelates used in Premium Insurance Caps.
- Multiple digestive enzymes for maximum nutrient absorption. It's not what you consume, it's what you absorb. To aid the absorption of nutrients, Premium Insurance Caps includes digestive enzymes such as pepsin and papain.
- Only beneficial nutrients, no "salt and pepper" amounts. Some companies add auxiliary nutrients at levels that have no real value (what we call "salt and pepper" amounts). For example, some multivitamin/mineral supplements contain only 5 mg. of coenzyme Q10 and/or lipoic acid. Both are fantastic nutrients, but at that level you won't experience any true benefits. So even though a product's label may show a long list of auxiliary nutrients, you won't see results if the amounts are inconsequential. When you buy such a product, you're paying for a product that has little more than an impressive label. All the nutrients included in Premium Insurance Caps are at levels that will provide real benefits.
What about this ‘new’ CoQ10 called Ubiquinol?
Q: I know that Race Caps Supreme contains Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), but what about this ‘new’ CoQ10 called Ubiquinol, which I heard is better than the ‘old’ ubiquinone CoQ10?
A: This is a great question, and here is some information to answer that question, and why we use CoQ10 (ubiquinone) in Race Caps Supreme:
- Both are CoQ10. Ubiquinone is the oxidized form of CoQ10 and ubiquinol is the reduced form of CoQ10.
- Until 2007, ubiquinone was the only form of CoQ10 on the market. Since then, a patented technology was developed to produce the active and trademarked form of CoQ10 called ubiquinol. As a result of the development technology and patent, ubiquinol is more expensive than ubiquinone.
- There has been significantly more research on ubiquinone than ubiquinol. According to Dr. William V. Judy, “Hundreds of clinical studies show that ubiquinone is effective and is still the choice of practicing cardiologists.”
- CoQ10 in the body continuously shifts between the two forms. No matter which form of CoQ10 you take, your body will convert it to the other form as needed.
- While ubiquinol is suggested to be a better-absorbed form of CoQ10, at least one study has shown that higher absorption to not be insignificant. The researchers concluded “…the difference in the bioavailability of comparative ubiquinol capsules was not statistically significant in comparison [to standard ubiquinone capsules]. It is important to also highlight that we did not observe significant differences between formulations in the redox status of the absorbed CoQ10, which indicates that CoQ10 appears in blood almost exclusively as ubiquinol, even if consumed as ubiquinone.”
- It is generally accepted that ubiquinol supplements do not get absorbed as ubiquinol; according to Dr. Judy, the body absorbs it mostly as ubiquinone because the gastric system oxidizes ubiquinol to ubiquinone before absorption.”
- Most absorption differences between ubiquinone and ubiquinol are minimized or even resolved with the inclusion of a patented black pepper extract, known as Bioperine®, which is found in Race Caps Supreme. Research shows a 30% increase in absorption when administered with Bioperine®.
- Ubiquinol does not appear to be as heat-stable as ubiquinone supplements. That’s one reason why Race Caps Supreme contains dry ubiquinone; it’s a much better option for use during prolonged bouts of exercise, especially in the heat.
What are the benefits in taking Premium Insurance Caps?
Q: In addition to helping cover my vitamin and mineral needs, are there any other benefits in taking Premium Insurance Caps?
A: Here are two extraordinary benefits to be enjoyed by taking Premium Insurance Caps:
60%+ Reduction in the number of sick days!
In August 2020, the eye-opening results from a study were published in the journal Nutrients [1]. To this day it remains one of the most important studies in recent years, as researchers found that:
Compared to study participants taking a placebo, the participants who took a multivitamin/mineral supplement had a 60+% reduction in the number of sick days! Those same participants also reported fewer and milder illness-related symptoms! Profound? Eye-opening? You bet! Here are the highlights of this study:
- It involved healthy participants between 55 and 75 years of age.
- For 12 weeks, one group received a daily multivitamin/mineral supplement, while the other received an inactive placebo.
- Before and after this period, researchers measured the participants’ blood vitamin/mineral status and various markers of immune function.
- At the end of the study, the researchers noted that the participants who took the multivitamin/mineral supplement experienced an average of 2.29 sick days, while the placebo group averaged 6.43 days of illness.
- It was also noted that the multivitamin/mineral supplement group experienced fewer illness symptoms than the placebo group and that those symptoms were noticeably milder.
In the published report, researchers made some notable comments:
“Since multiple nutrients support immune function, older adults may benefit from multivitamin and mineral (MVM) supplements.” [2]
“Generally regarded as safe and readily available over the counter, dietary supplements have been used with few significant side effects in clinical studies.” [3]
“Although conflicting and contradictory studies exist, there is evidence suggesting that dietary supplementation with a combination of immunity-related micronutrients supports immune function and reduces risk or severity of infection. [3]
“Indeed, targeted supplementation with these vitamins and minerals may provide additional protection at doses higher than the U.S. recommended dietary allowance (RDA). [4]
REFERENCES:
[1] https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/8/2447/htm
[2] Maggini, S.; Pierre, A.; Calder, P.C. Immune Function and Micronutrient Requirements Change over the Life Course. Nutrients 2018, 10, 1531.
[3] Gombart, A.F.; Pierre, A.; Maggini, S. A Review of Micronutrients and the Immune System-Working in Harmony to Reduce the Risk of Infection. Nutrients 2020, 12, 236.
[4] Calder, P.C.; Carr, A.C.; Gombart, A.F.; Eggersdorfer, M. Optimal Nutritional Status for a Well-Functioning Immune System Is an Important Factor to Protect against Viral Infections. Nutrients 2020, 12, 1181
Daily multivitamin use slows cognitive against 60!
This remarkable research [1] concluded that taking a multivitamin/mineral supplement daily for three years is associated with a 60% slowing of cognitive aging. As most everyone knows, the brain is responsible for many functions that fall under the term “cognition”—thinking, learning, memory, attention, perception, processing information, and much more. It’s also important to know that cognitive aging and decline is not a disease, but instead a naturally occurring process.
While we may not be able to completely halt cognitive aging, we now know how we may be able to slow it down...way down!
This particular research on the effects of daily multivitamin/mineral use and cognitive function was a sub-study of a larger study that compared the effects of cocoa extract (500 mg/day cocoa flavanols) and a standard multivitamin/mineral supplement to placebo. The first part of the research focused on the effects of cocoa extract (CE) vs placebo on Global Cognitive Function (GCF) composite score, the overall summary of 19 separate tests and the primary method in determining overall cognitive function. The researchers then studied the effects of daily multivitamin/mineral use vs placebo on GFC.
While the CE findings were no different than placebo, there was a noticeable improvement in GFC composite score in the results for the multivitamin/mineral supplement vs. placebo. Lead study researcher, Dr. Laura D. Baker, states "Daily multivitamin-mineral supplementation appears to slow cognitive aging by 60% or by 1.8 years,” and that the results “may have important public health implications, particularly for brain health, given the accessibility of multivitamins and minerals, and their low cost and safety.”
REFERENCE:
[1] https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03035201
Should all the products in the kits be taken together in their prescribed dosage?
Q: Should all the products in the kits be taken together in their prescribed dosage? It seems like a lot to ingest daily!
A: The Original Daily Essentials Kit contains three products, the Original Daily Essentials Kits + contains four supplements. All these products complement/complete the nutrients we receive in our diet (vitamins, minerals, enzymes, co-enzymes, essential fats, and more) that support enhanced athletic performance and overall health. All four are very different products, and they provide specific benefits with minimal-to-no nutrient overlap. See the FAQ “Of all the products you make, why did you choose the four you did for the Daily Essentials Kits? And what do these products do?” for more information on each of the products. For dosage suggestions, download your free copy of our Product Usage Manual.
Why is vitamin B5 not included in the Premium Insurance Caps?
Q: Why is vitamin B5 not included in the Premium Insurance Caps? Is B5 not a necessary part of B-Complex?
A: Vitamin B5 is pantothenic acid, and on labels of multivitamin/mineral supplements, oftentimes the latter is the one that is used. Every 7-capsule dose of Premium Insurance Caps contains 100 mg of pantothenic acid/vitamin B5.
Why doesn’t Premium Insurance Caps contain iron?
Premium Insurance Caps does not contain iron because nearly all Americans, if they consume adequate calories via a balanced diet, obtain more-than-sufficient amounts of iron, negating the need for additional iron from supplements. Dr. Shari Lieberman recommends an Optimum Daily Intake (ODI) of 15-25 mg for men and 20-30 mg for women. It is very easy to exceed these values from food alone. If an athlete consumes excessive amounts above Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) levels of dietary iron—which ranges from 8 - 27 mg daily, depending on gender and age—they may experience premature fatigue and, potentially, more serious general health issues.
According to a well-respected source, "Most people have too much iron in their body. Excess iron generates massive free radical reactions. Human epidemiological studies show that those with high iron levels are far more likely to contract cancer and heart disease. A growing body of evidence implicates iron in neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease."
Iron is an extremely important nutrient, especially for endurance athletes. An iron deficiency can negatively affect oxygen transport to the muscles if below-levels of hemoglobin are detected. An iron deficiency can also impair energy production if myoglobin and mitochondrial enzymes are sub-normal. However, too much iron can cause serious health issues, as outlined above.
If you aren't sure about your iron status, a CBC (Complete Blood Count)/Chemistry Profile blood test will determine what your iron status is and whether supplementation is necessary.
Am I getting too much vitamin E?
Q: I noticed that there’s vitamin E in Premium Insurance Caps, Race Caps Supreme, and Mito Caps. If I’m taking all three products, will I be getting too much?
A: The answer to this question requires a bit of information, but the short answer is “no”, you won’t be oversupplying your body with too much vitamin E.
There are numerous studies, far too many to list even a fraction of them, that show that Optimum Daily Intake (ODI) amounts of vitamin E supplementation have multiple benefits. Still, there are some who believe that higher vitamin E intake is unnecessary and may, in fact, be detrimental. Dr. Bill Misner suggests otherwise, stating, "The only warning for limiting Vitamin E intake is if you are taking a prescription anticoagulant. In that case, you should follow your physician's counsel. The therapeutic dosage of Vitamin E commonly used by athletes seeking to prevent free radical damage during and following exercise is 1,200 IU per day. Dosages of up to 3,200 IU of Vitamin E have been used daily in a wide variety of subjects for periods of up to two years without any unfavorable side effects occurring.”
Vitamin E has many, many benefits including:
- Maintaining cell membrane integrity and helping reduce cellular aging
- Acting as a fat-soluble free radical scavenger
- Maintaining healthy platelet aggregation
- Protecting ocular (eye) health
- Helping delay cognitive decline
- Enhancing immune function
All of the above-listed reasons are why this important vitamin exists in Premium Insurance Caps, Race Caps Supreme, and Mito Caps. It’s important to remember that your body will be depleting vitamin E as it neutralizes free radicals, and also as it donates an electron to a “used up” antioxidant such as the coenzyme Q10 in Race Caps Supreme and the R-alpha lipoic Acid in Mito Caps, effectively renewing its antioxidant properties and capabilities (the is one of the main reasons why vitamin E is in Race Caps Supreme and Mito Caps). This means that your body is not storing all the vitamin E you're ingesting, but rather using it up as it utilizes its antioxidant properties (donating part of its molecular structure) in counteracting the negative effect caused by free radical production and accumulation, as well as regenerating used up/electron-missing antioxidants.
Each capsule of Premium Insurance Caps supplies approximately 38.22 mg/57 IU of vitamin E (d-alpha tocopherol), each capsule of Race Caps Supreme supplies 89.33 mg/133 IU, each capsule of Mito Caps supplies 8.33 mg/12.5 IU.
On a daily basis, if you are taking (for example)…
- 4 Premium Insurance Caps
- 2 Race Caps Supreme
- 2 Mito Caps
… you are consuming approximately 348 mg/519 IU of vitamin E per day. The Optimum Daily Intake (ODI) for vitamin E is 400 - 1200 IU daily. I believe that 400 - 800 IU daily is a sufficient amount for general health purposes, with the lower amount being adequate for sedentary people. For athletes, however, because they are generating several times more free radicals than sedentary people do, an amount upwards of 1200 IU daily is rational.
How much CoQ10 is in a capsule of Race Caps Supreme?
Each capsule of Race Caps Supreme contains 30mg of CoQ10. This is complemented with 30mg of idebenone, a nutrient very similar in molecular structure to CoQ10. Idebenone has many of the same properties as CoQ10, and provides similar benefits, as well as unique benefits of its own.
Can you take Race Caps Supreme on workout days only?
Yes, you can certainly take Race Caps Supreme only on workout days. However, you will not be receiving the full benefits that the product has to offer in terms of overall health, especially cardiovascular health. The main nutrients in Race Caps Supreme are so beneficial for the heart and many other organs, that even 1 capsule daily on non-workout days will be highly beneficial. Race Caps Supreme is headed up by Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), and you can read about its many benefits for general health at More Pep in Your Step.
After taking Mito Caps my urine has an unusual smell. Is this normal?
The R-alpha lipoic acid and DMAE components in Mito Caps have a naturally occurring smell that can best be described as a sulfur-to-slightly-vinegar smell. It is completely normal and safe.
Why are nutrients that used to be measured in International Units (IU) now measured in milligrams or micrograms?
Q: Why are nutrients that used to be measured in International Units (IU) now measured in milligrams or micrograms, and what is the difference between these two measurements?
A: International Units (IU) was historically used to measure vitamin A, beta-carotene, vitamin D, and vitamin E. However, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required that supplement facts labels change IU to metric units, which is why you now see milligrams (mg) or micrograms (mcg).
It’s important to know that even though there is a new standard of measurement, the amounts of the nutrients have not changed in any of the affected Hammer Nutrition products.
Beta-Carotene – 1 IU = 0.6 mcg beta-carotene
Example: 7-capsule dose of Premium Insurance Caps contains 7,500 IU of beta-carotene, now expressed as 1800 mcg of beta-carotene.
Vitamin E – 1 IU = 0.67 mg vitamin E (d-alpha tocopherol)
Example: 3-capsule dose of Race Caps Supreme contains 400 IU of vitamin E, now expressed as 268 mg.
Vitamin D – 1 IU = 0.025 mcg
Example: 1 softgel of EnDuro D contains 2,000 IU of vitamin D, now expressed as 50 mcg.
