WEBVTT - Lab 048: Your Daily Dose 0:00:00.600 --> 0:00:00.920 You know, T T. 0:00:01.160 --> 0:00:03.120 When we think about the top of the new year. 0:00:03.160 --> 0:00:05.640 In this series, people always talking about drink more water, 0:00:06.000 --> 0:00:08.440 I'm gonna eat more leafy greens, and I'm gonna do this, 0:00:08.440 --> 0:00:10.440 this and that. But one of the things I've been 0:00:10.480 --> 0:00:13.720 seeing that feels like a trend lately is those personalized 0:00:13.720 --> 0:00:14.760 little vitamin pacts. 0:00:14.800 --> 0:00:15.600 Have you seen those? 0:00:15.760 --> 0:00:16.079 Yes? 0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:20.560 I have, and they're all over my Instagram. I see 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:23.400 those just as much as I see all of these 0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:28.640 wig ads. And that really got me thinking, how much 0:00:28.720 --> 0:00:33.480 vitamins is too much vitamins? Yeah? And are these vitamins 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:37.440 really doing what they're saying they're doing or is it 0:00:37.600 --> 0:00:39.440 just like really good marketing. 0:00:39.520 --> 0:00:39.680 Yeah? 0:00:39.800 --> 0:00:44.440 This I love Lucy Juice. I want to know. I'm 0:00:44.520 --> 0:00:46.680 t T and I'm Zakiyah and from Spotify. 0:00:46.800 --> 0:01:10.360 This is Dope Laps. 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:15.560 Welcome to Dope Labs, a weekly podcast that makes us 0:01:15.560 --> 0:01:19.360 hardcore science, pop culture, and a healthy dose of friendship. Well, 0:01:19.400 --> 0:01:22.600 we just talked about immunity TT and we bumped into 0:01:22.680 --> 0:01:26.080 some things that we've realized maybe we need a little 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:27.040 bit more information about. 0:01:27.360 --> 0:01:30.600 Yeah, the immune system is so complex and so many 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:33.640 parts of our bodies play a role, and so then 0:01:33.720 --> 0:01:36.680 it makes me think about zooming out and how do 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:40.600 we keep these other parts of our body healthy? Is 0:01:40.640 --> 0:01:43.319 there things that we can do? And then the natural 0:01:43.360 --> 0:01:46.559 progression for me is what am I putting into my body? 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:50.880 This week, we're talking all about vitamins. We've seen so 0:01:51.080 --> 0:01:54.360 many different supplements and vitamins on the market, but how 0:01:54.360 --> 0:01:55.280 do they really work? 0:01:55.720 --> 0:02:02.640 Let's get into the recitation. 0:02:07.640 --> 0:02:08.360 So what do we know? 0:02:08.680 --> 0:02:11.560 Well, I think we can all agree that vitamins are 0:02:11.600 --> 0:02:14.800 generally important for our overall health and our immune system. 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:16.080 We learned that in the last lab. 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:19.560 And I know that when I go into my local 0:02:20.000 --> 0:02:23.600 CVS or Rite Aid or Walgreens that there is a 0:02:24.000 --> 0:02:28.560 huge aisle filled with vitamins and supplements. So I know 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:30.280 that that industry is big. 0:02:30.560 --> 0:02:33.639 Yes, And if you think about that entire aisle, there 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:37.239 are some vitamins and supplements that have pretty well documented 0:02:37.280 --> 0:02:39.320 biological functions, Like we know what they do. 0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:42.040 And I think that people use the words vitamins and 0:02:42.080 --> 0:02:44.639 supplements interchangeably, but I don't know if that's right. 0:02:44.760 --> 0:02:50.120 That's a really good question, is it right? So I 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:52.920 think that leads us right into what we want to know. 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:55.040 Yeah, So I want to know what the difference is 0:02:55.080 --> 0:02:58.240 between vitamins and supplements and what should we be thinking 0:02:58.240 --> 0:03:00.720 about if we're thinking about taking them. 0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:04.679 Yeah, and then even though we may know what a 0:03:04.760 --> 0:03:08.040 vitamin or supplement does, what's the best way to get it? 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:10.640 You know, how does our body use it or absorb it? 0:03:10.720 --> 0:03:12.720 Is there a best practice? Because I think I've seen 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:14.440 like liquid vitamins, pills. 0:03:14.560 --> 0:03:18.919 Yeah, people say I've tried them all. But then it's 0:03:18.960 --> 0:03:21.480 just like, is a balanced diet good enough for some 0:03:21.520 --> 0:03:24.040 of these vitamins? I don't know. Should we be taking 0:03:24.120 --> 0:03:27.920 vitamins and supplements? How much does it work? Right? 0:03:28.120 --> 0:03:37.840 Let's jump into the dissection, but. 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:44.840 Our guest for today's lab is doctor Alice Lichtenstein. My 0:03:44.920 --> 0:03:45.280 name is. 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:49.880 Doctor Alice Lichtenstein. I'm the Gershov Professor of Nutrition Science 0:03:49.920 --> 0:03:53.040 and Policy at the Friedman's School University. 0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:57.440 Doctor Lichtenstein is also director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Team 0:03:57.600 --> 0:04:02.120 at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:05.840 We know our bodies need vitamins and minerals for optimum function, 0:04:06.480 --> 0:04:09.040 but there is a lot of terms floating around. It 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:12.560 feels like sometimes they're used interchangeably. So let's start with vitamins. 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:17.240 What are they A vitamin is an organic compound that 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:21.200 our bodies need to grow and maintain, and yet we 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:23.680 can't make it ourselves, so we have to get it 0:04:23.720 --> 0:04:24.440 from the diet. 0:04:24.600 --> 0:04:27.800 There are thirteen essential vitamins necessary for our bodies to 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:31.799 function properly, and our bodies make two of them, vitamin 0:04:31.839 --> 0:04:34.040 D and K. But the rest we have to get 0:04:34.040 --> 0:04:38.040 from outside sources. So that's vitamins A, C, and E, 0:04:38.279 --> 0:04:43.640 and then the B vitamins like diamin, rabolflavin, niasin, pantothenic acid, biotin. 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:46.200 I know, we've seen that for our nails and stuff bzix, 0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:48.080 B twelve, and fol eight. We have to get all 0:04:48.120 --> 0:04:50.400 of that from outside the body. 0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:53.880 And different vitamins are absorbed by the body in different ways. 0:04:54.160 --> 0:04:55.039 So when we think. 0:04:54.880 --> 0:04:58.360 About vitamins, we think about them in two groups. One 0:04:58.440 --> 0:05:00.720 is fat soluble and the other is soluble. 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:04.120 Fat soluble means that the vitamins need fat for proper 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:07.800 absorption in the body. So some well known fat soluble 0:05:07.880 --> 0:05:11.960 vitamins are vitamin A, D, E, and K. And that 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:15.400 makes sense because the vitamin D that I normally see 0:05:15.480 --> 0:05:17.760 it's a pill, but it looks like there's oil inside 0:05:17.800 --> 0:05:18.279 of it. 0:05:18.160 --> 0:05:22.200 And it turns out for fat valuble vitamins, we don't 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:25.919 have the capacity to easily excrete them. It's important to 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:28.360 consume them with a food that also has a little 0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:31.279 bit of fat in it, because we need dietary fat 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:35.920 to absorb fat soluble vitamins. The concern with fat soluble 0:05:36.000 --> 0:05:41.320 vitamins is since the urine is an aqueous malieu, we 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:44.839 can't excrete fat saluble vitamins in the urine. 0:05:44.920 --> 0:05:46.800 Okay, first of all, shout out to Alice. We're using 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:50.760 the term aqueous milieu. Urine has never sounded so elegant. 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:54.080 So Doctor Lichtenstein said that there are fat soluble vitamins 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:57.039 and water soluble vitamins, and one of the differences between 0:05:57.080 --> 0:06:00.760 the two of them is that water soluble vitamins are 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:04.960 easily excreted through our urine, while fat soluble vitamins aren't. 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:08.120 And because of that, high levels of fat soluble vitamins 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:11.080 can accumulate in your body over time, which isn't really 0:06:11.120 --> 0:06:12.160 great in terms. 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:14.279 Of the water soluble That tends to be the B 0:06:14.480 --> 0:06:19.720 vitamins and vitamins C and we're not as concerned in 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:23.200 terms of high intakes. We are concerned about very high 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:27.080 intakes because excess that our bodies can't use get excreted 0:06:27.080 --> 0:06:29.479 in the urine and it puts a little bit of 0:06:29.560 --> 0:06:32.080 stress on the kidney if you have a very high 0:06:32.120 --> 0:06:34.280 intake of water soluble vitamins. 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:36.960 Yeah, remember last week when doctor Gupta said Americans have 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:40.320 the most expensive p that's because it's so full of 0:06:40.600 --> 0:06:42.560 unabsorbed water soluble vitamins. 0:06:42.640 --> 0:06:46.479 All right, So that gets vitamins down. What about minerals? 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:50.960 A mineral is as it indicates, it's a mineral from 0:06:51.000 --> 0:06:55.880 the periodic table. It's specific ones that again we need 0:06:56.000 --> 0:06:59.279 for our body to function optimally, and we have to 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:00.280 get it from. 0:07:00.240 --> 0:07:04.280 Get so vitamins come from plants and animals, where minerals 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:09.080 are inorganic and come from rocks, soil, and water, things 0:07:09.160 --> 0:07:11.040 like iron, calcium, and zinc. 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:13.520 And even though we get them from different sources, both 0:07:13.600 --> 0:07:17.240 vitamins and minerals are important for our bodies to function properly, 0:07:17.520 --> 0:07:20.240 and in some cases they work together, you know, T T. 0:07:20.360 --> 0:07:23.119 When we think back to like basic biology that we had, 0:07:23.240 --> 0:07:25.760 do you remember all those cycles? And I'm not going 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:26.560 to try to haunt. 0:07:26.440 --> 0:07:31.680 You the crab cycle. Let me tell you, don't ask 0:07:31.720 --> 0:07:34.360 me about the crab cycle. That was a dark time 0:07:34.520 --> 0:07:37.360 in my academic life as a high school student. 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:40.880 So if you think about what you know about cycles 0:07:40.920 --> 0:07:45.160 like that, When we consider metabolism and different processes, our bodies, 0:07:45.360 --> 0:07:49.040 our little cellular factories, they're constantly trying to break down 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:51.800 things and put things together, and sometimes they need help, 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:54.720 and that help often comes in the form of cofactors 0:07:54.840 --> 0:07:55.760 and enzymes. 0:07:55.960 --> 0:07:58.480 Okay, this is something that I do remember a little 0:07:58.480 --> 0:08:02.560 bit about. Z are proteins that help speed up a 0:08:02.640 --> 0:08:07.080 chemical reaction in our bodies. So they're like biological catalysts 0:08:07.720 --> 0:08:11.520 and cofactors encompass a wide range of compounds, but they're 0:08:11.560 --> 0:08:15.320 sort of like enzymes, little helpers. Their presence makes it 0:08:15.360 --> 0:08:17.160 possible for enzymes to do their thing. 0:08:17.440 --> 0:08:19.800 Look at you, I got an age. You're not an engineer. 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:20.760 You a biologist. 0:08:20.880 --> 0:08:25.200 Oh let me tell my mom. She's gonna be so proud. 0:08:25.520 --> 0:08:30.520 A cofactor is needed to catalyze an enzymatic reaction. So 0:08:30.600 --> 0:08:35.240 if we want to do something like utilize glucose for energy, 0:08:35.679 --> 0:08:38.200 certain of the enzymes that are involved in that process 0:08:38.280 --> 0:08:39.319 need cofactors. 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:41.400 And guess what, Now that we know the difference between 0:08:41.480 --> 0:08:44.679 vitamins minerals, enzymes, and cofactors. Would you be surprised to 0:08:44.760 --> 0:08:47.160 learn that there are some overlap between these groups? 0:08:47.240 --> 0:08:47.720 Oh boy. 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:52.920 Many of the vitamins and minerals that are essential essential, 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:56.320 meaning that we need to get them from outside the body, 0:08:56.360 --> 0:09:02.000 that is, the diet, are components of cofactors directly. 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:04.599 A good example of this is iron and vitamin C. 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:09.280 In order for the iron to be sufficiently absorbed into 0:09:09.520 --> 0:09:12.160 our bodies, it kind of needs vitamin C to help 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:14.800 it along, so they bind together to help pass through 0:09:14.800 --> 0:09:17.280 our digestive system so that the iron doesn't just break 0:09:17.320 --> 0:09:20.079 apart and then we lose all those great vitamins. Vitamin 0:09:20.120 --> 0:09:23.679 C is a cofactor that helps with iron absorption so 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:26.520 that we don't lose all those really great minerals that 0:09:26.559 --> 0:09:27.840 we're trying to get from the iron. 0:09:28.080 --> 0:09:30.960 So vitamins and minerals are essential, and we know we 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:33.440 need them to come from outside the body, mainly through 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:35.880 our diet. But what if we aren't getting enough of 0:09:35.920 --> 0:09:38.440 a certain type of vitamin or mineral from our diet. 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:40.560 That's where supplements come in. 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:43.720 Supplements our way to get these nutrients outside of the 0:09:43.760 --> 0:09:48.400 food that we eat. They can be vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, 0:09:48.520 --> 0:09:51.319 or a combination of any of these things. They also 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:54.959 come in different forms, so pills, powders, gels, and liquids. 0:09:55.160 --> 0:09:58.600 I think the important distinction is that supplements are anything 0:09:58.640 --> 0:10:01.800 that's not a whole food fo So you can have 0:10:02.120 --> 0:10:05.160 a supplement and it is a vitamin or it is 0:10:05.200 --> 0:10:07.480 a mineral. But there are also supplements that are not 0:10:07.640 --> 0:10:10.160 vitamins or minerals, you know, when we think about herbal 0:10:10.160 --> 0:10:12.679 supplements and things like that, and so as we move through, 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:14.839 we'll talk about vitamins, those things that are part of 0:10:14.840 --> 0:10:18.280 those essentral vitamins we've listed earlier, and then non vitamins, 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:22.559 which we'll just call supplements. I have seen so many supplements, 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:25.960 especially over the past few years. A supplement I've been 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:27.599 taken for a long time. I don't know if you 0:10:27.679 --> 0:10:31.679 remember this from grad school TT is an enzyme lactase. 0:10:32.360 --> 0:10:34.960 Oh, yes, I do remember. 0:10:35.160 --> 0:10:38.920 So I'm lactose intolerant and I take lactase, which is 0:10:39.040 --> 0:10:41.839 an enzyme that breaks down the sugar lactose that's found 0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:46.320 in dairy so it makes me able to comfortably digest 0:10:46.440 --> 0:10:47.239 those foods. 0:10:47.679 --> 0:10:50.520 And I'm in denial about my lactose intolerance, so I 0:10:50.760 --> 0:10:51.800 just am auchya. 0:10:54.200 --> 0:10:58.520 Good luck to anybody sitting with TT Okay, good luck. 0:10:58.320 --> 0:11:11.319 To you, Jimmy. In America, dietary supplement used has been 0:11:11.320 --> 0:11:14.080 growing since the nineteen seventies and some of the most 0:11:14.120 --> 0:11:20.960 popular supplements are multivitamins, vitamin C D, protein okay, calcium, 0:11:21.360 --> 0:11:25.880 vitamin B, omega three, fish oil, probiotics. 0:11:25.120 --> 0:11:28.120 Magnesium, and iron. I remember I used to take these 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:31.360 fish oil pills. And this is also in grad school. 0:11:31.400 --> 0:11:32.960 I felt like I needed a lot of things for 0:11:33.000 --> 0:11:34.520 health and grad school, but I probably just need to 0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:35.440 change my environment. 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:38.679 I just had to get out of that lab. 0:11:38.760 --> 0:11:39.880 I had to get out of the lab. 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:40.199 Baby. 0:11:41.600 --> 0:11:43.720 I remember I would take it and then later in 0:11:43.720 --> 0:11:46.480 the day you would have like a burp and it 0:11:46.480 --> 0:11:49.640 would taste so fishy. It was awful. 0:11:49.800 --> 0:11:51.360 That's why I try and take them at night so 0:11:51.400 --> 0:11:52.360 that I don't have to deal with that. 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:56.040 Yeah, like, I'll just burp this up in my sleep, 0:11:57.080 --> 0:11:58.600 or it can be the first thing in the morning 0:11:58.920 --> 0:12:02.960 in morning breastmels, straight krill and startine. 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:06.040 Oh my god. 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:08.080 You were the first person I knew that to liquid 0:12:08.120 --> 0:12:09.000 multi vitamins. 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:11.320 Yeah, I mean, I feel like I fall victims and 0:12:11.320 --> 0:12:13.920 stuff on the internet all the time, and I saw, 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:16.920 you know, oh, you're not really absorbing a lot of 0:12:16.920 --> 0:12:19.959 your vitamins. You should take it as a liquid because 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:23.080 then it absorbed faster. So it's like, yes, I'm taking 0:12:23.120 --> 0:12:27.439 liquid vitamins. Imagine how to drink a cup of slurry. 0:12:27.880 --> 0:12:34.480 It's a flurry, just stuff suspended, and that's an aqueous milieu. 0:12:34.720 --> 0:12:42.160 Okay, you eat protein powder? 0:12:42.440 --> 0:12:43.880 Do I eat protein powder? 0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:46.720 That stuff is so gritty you gotta chew it. Yeah, 0:12:47.920 --> 0:12:51.080 nobody that's doing a protein powder. It's sitting there just 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:54.720 sipping delicately. Y'all are out there grinding that sand between 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:55.200 your teeth. 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:03.640 Doctor Lichtenstein says that generally, if you're consuming a healthy diet, 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:06.960 then you probably don't need extra vitamins and supplements, and 0:13:06.960 --> 0:13:08.880 don't worry. We're going to talk about what exactly a 0:13:08.880 --> 0:13:11.800 healthy diet means later in this lab. In fact, taking 0:13:11.880 --> 0:13:16.319 too many supplements can actually make your body absorb less. 0:13:17.000 --> 0:13:19.920 When we think about the quality of nutrients, what we 0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:23.160 really think about is whether they're available to the body 0:13:23.360 --> 0:13:27.360 or not. Obviously, with nutrients and food, they're going to 0:13:27.400 --> 0:13:30.080 be available because we've been able to grow and remain 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:36.640 healthy and reproduce as a society. As far as supplements, frequently, 0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:40.360 the higher your dose, the less you actually will absorb. 0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:42.760 That's crazy because you know people be taking those ten 0:13:42.800 --> 0:13:47.720 thousand milligram some of them, and doctor Lichtenstein is saying 0:13:47.760 --> 0:13:49.240 that more is just more. 0:13:49.280 --> 0:13:52.560 It ain't better now if you have an actual deficiency 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:54.800 and that's how much you need. But ten thousand milligrams 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:58.480 isn't what you need for everything? Okay, right, you got 0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:01.080 to see what the daily recommended value is. Some of 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:03.199 that stuff is micrograms, not milligrams. 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:05.440 Yeah, plit that voll around? 0:14:06.320 --> 0:14:08.640 Does it look like a U or is it an M? 0:14:08.679 --> 0:14:11.760 That's really important. There's also something to keep in mind 0:14:11.880 --> 0:14:16.040 if you take multiple different supplements, the specific combination of 0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:18.760 vitamins and minerals needs to be right because one can 0:14:18.800 --> 0:14:19.480 affect the other. 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:22.960 And then there's certain nutrients that if you have a 0:14:23.120 --> 0:14:26.560 real high dose of wand and a regular amount of 0:14:26.640 --> 0:14:30.160 the other, it may actually interfere. On the other hand, 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:35.120 we know that vitamin C helps us absorb iron, vitamin 0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:39.200 D helps us absorb calcium. So I think we have 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:44.760 to be careful about making general statements and recognize that 0:14:44.960 --> 0:14:49.640 each nutrient is unique. But Caveman did very well and 0:14:49.840 --> 0:14:53.520 they lived without nutrients supplements, So I would say we're 0:14:53.560 --> 0:14:54.160 pretty safe. 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:57.000 Once our bodies absorb these vitamins and minerals from our 0:14:57.040 --> 0:15:01.000 diet or supplements, the nutrients move into the bloodstream through digestion. 0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:03.920 What about what you do to the food before you 0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:07.640 eat it, Like, is it more potent if the food 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:09.160 is raw. I know that there are a lot of 0:15:09.160 --> 0:15:12.480 people who do only raw vegetables because they want to 0:15:12.560 --> 0:15:15.720 maximize the amount of nutrients that they're taken in. Does 0:15:15.720 --> 0:15:16.200 that matter? 0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:18.120 Does it matter if I cook the food or I 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:21.760 don't cook the food. So in terms of nutrients and food, 0:15:22.040 --> 0:15:24.560 for the most part, they are what we call biologically 0:15:24.600 --> 0:15:27.560 available in a form that we can use, and most 0:15:27.560 --> 0:15:31.160 of the time it doesn't matter if they're cooked or uncooked. 0:15:30.720 --> 0:15:33.480 And biologically available just means that your body can absorb 0:15:33.520 --> 0:15:36.360 the nutrients from the food or whatever the source is. 0:15:36.680 --> 0:15:39.040 Now, for certain nutrients there could be a little bit 0:15:39.080 --> 0:15:43.640 of a difference. Vitamin C is destroyed by heat. It 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:45.480 doesn't mean if you just cook broccoli you're going to 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:47.440 lose all the vitamin C, but you'll lose a little 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:50.840 bit of it. For something like vitamin A, which is 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:54.400 in the form of carotenoids in food, it actually turns 0:15:54.440 --> 0:15:57.840 out if you cook tomatoes and things like carrots, it 0:15:57.880 --> 0:16:01.880 becomes more biologically available because you're breaking down the cells 0:16:02.040 --> 0:16:04.680 the structure that's preventing it from getting out. 0:16:04.760 --> 0:16:06.680 Cookie carrots, Eat your broccoli raw. 0:16:08.800 --> 0:16:12.080 So really none of this is mattering too too much. 0:16:12.200 --> 0:16:14.080 You just need to be eating this stuff, right, Yeah. 0:16:14.080 --> 0:16:18.880 Just eat the vegetables. So for most people, supplements aren't necessary, 0:16:19.080 --> 0:16:21.360 and in fact, if you're taking too much of a 0:16:21.400 --> 0:16:24.800 supplement or the wrong combination of supplements, it can actually 0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:25.320 hurt you. 0:16:25.480 --> 0:16:28.400 But sometimes people do need to take supplements. For example, 0:16:28.520 --> 0:16:31.360 it's common for vitamin D levels to dip in the winter, 0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:35.440 especially during a pandemic when people are stuck at home. 0:16:35.720 --> 0:16:38.640 Right, how do we know how much of something to take. 0:16:39.040 --> 0:16:41.880 I've seen supplements with huge doses. 0:16:42.200 --> 0:16:46.000 It's best not to choose one that's above the recommended 0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:49.880 dietary allowance, And you can determine that by looking at 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:53.360 the nutrient facts label because you'll see adv value, which 0:16:53.400 --> 0:16:56.240 is daily value. And you don't want to take a 0:16:56.320 --> 0:17:00.520 product that is above one hundred percent unless you're secifically 0:17:00.560 --> 0:17:03.280 told to buy your healthcare provider. 0:17:03.760 --> 0:17:07.560 Just like with anything, we highly recommend talking to your doctor. 0:17:07.800 --> 0:17:09.680 You can even get a blood panel done to see 0:17:09.680 --> 0:17:12.720 if you have any particular deficiencies, but your doctor should 0:17:12.760 --> 0:17:15.159 be the one to tell you if you need supplements 0:17:15.240 --> 0:17:16.600 and which ones well. 0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:19.640 Doctor Lickenstein said, Hey, I know you're trying to get 0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:22.840 five thousand percent, but that's not it, girl. 0:17:24.359 --> 0:17:27.399 And it turns out it's not as simple as excreting 0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:28.440 what you don't need. 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:31.560 Yeah, especially if it's something that is fat soluble, you're 0:17:31.560 --> 0:17:33.000 probably not even excreting it. 0:17:33.000 --> 0:17:36.199 It's just building up. Oh, you're gonna start crying it. 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:37.600 Have you to do an audit. 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:39.840 Let's take a break, and when we come back, we'll 0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:43.080 talk more about what exactly you mean by a healthy diet, 0:17:43.200 --> 0:18:06.840 trending supplements, and the importance of education and access. We're back, 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:12.439 and I can't believe January is almost over already, twenty 0:18:12.480 --> 0:18:16.640 twenty two is flying. By next week, our New Year 0:18:16.760 --> 0:18:19.879 series comes to a close with a lab all about 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:23.960 habits with doctor Wendy Wood. Habits are different than resolutions. 0:18:24.200 --> 0:18:28.760 Since we've been learning so much about health and wellness, sleep, 0:18:28.920 --> 0:18:31.880 a healthy immune system and now nutrition. Now we want 0:18:31.880 --> 0:18:34.879 to learn how to create new habits that really stick. 0:18:35.160 --> 0:18:37.240 But for now, let's get back to the lab. We're 0:18:37.240 --> 0:18:40.760 talking to doctor Lickenstein all about vitamins, minerals, and supplements. 0:18:41.200 --> 0:18:43.359 Earlier in the lab, we learned that we should be 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:45.520 able to get most of the essential nutrients we need 0:18:45.560 --> 0:18:48.520 from a healthy diet. But let's break that down. What 0:18:48.920 --> 0:18:50.080 is a healthy diet? 0:18:50.320 --> 0:18:53.960 The general guidelines is a diet that's rich in fruits 0:18:53.960 --> 0:18:59.080 and vegetables, whole grains, low and non fat dairy products, fish, 0:18:59.480 --> 0:19:04.239 leg you other plant sources of protein like nuts and 0:19:04.280 --> 0:19:09.399 then poultry, and moderate amounts of meat, and that is 0:19:09.520 --> 0:19:12.199 limited in added sugar and added salt. 0:19:12.480 --> 0:19:13.880 Do you remember the food pyramid? 0:19:14.280 --> 0:19:16.880 Yes, And we talked about that in Lap thirty three 0:19:16.960 --> 0:19:22.000 supermarket sweep about how it's changed twice since we learned 0:19:22.000 --> 0:19:22.920 about it in school. 0:19:23.240 --> 0:19:27.600 All that bread at the bottom. If they have eleven 0:19:27.640 --> 0:19:32.160 servants of grains, have a loaf of bread for snacks. 0:19:33.000 --> 0:19:34.520 Man, we were bloated. 0:19:35.560 --> 0:19:39.240 It wasn't right. It was not right. Well now we know, well, 0:19:39.240 --> 0:19:41.399 at least for now, the recommended approach is to go 0:19:41.480 --> 0:19:44.000 high in fruits and veggies and lagoons. 0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:46.400 Not only will you get all the vitamins and minerals 0:19:46.400 --> 0:19:48.760 you need, but you'll also get an adequate amount of fiber. 0:19:48.800 --> 0:19:52.359 And fiber is important for keeping our GI system moving 0:19:52.880 --> 0:19:56.960 and maintaining a healthy microbiome, that is, the little bacteria 0:19:57.080 --> 0:20:00.359 that are in our GI system. And the benefit of 0:20:00.440 --> 0:20:04.520 consuming a healthy dietary pattern like that, accommodating it to 0:20:04.600 --> 0:20:11.000 all our personal preferences and our ethnic backgrounds and religious 0:20:11.040 --> 0:20:13.840 traditions and all those kinds of things. There should be 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:18.640 a way, regardless, to shift anybody's dietary pattern from one 0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:22.160 that may be less healthy to one that's more healthy. 0:20:22.400 --> 0:20:25.800 According to doctor Lichtenstein, if you are not getting enough 0:20:25.840 --> 0:20:29.320 of certain vitamins, it's best to first try to incorporate 0:20:29.480 --> 0:20:32.200 that vitamin into your diet rather than taking a supplement. 0:20:32.440 --> 0:20:36.640 Maybe there's small changes you can make that will again 0:20:37.320 --> 0:20:40.480 relieve the need for a supplement. Now, why do I 0:20:40.480 --> 0:20:43.360 think that's more important than just automatically going to a supplement. 0:20:43.520 --> 0:20:46.080 It's because if we get our nutrients from food, we 0:20:46.160 --> 0:20:47.800 got a lot of other compounds. 0:20:47.880 --> 0:20:50.600 Foods you eat aren't just packed with vitamins and minerals. 0:20:50.600 --> 0:20:54.200 There's also stuff like fiber, and phytochemicals, so fhyto chemicals 0:20:54.280 --> 0:20:57.080 are compounds from plants, and those are really good for 0:20:57.119 --> 0:20:59.680 you as well. Plus it's going to be really hard 0:20:59.720 --> 0:21:02.920 to ow overdo it with healthy foods as opposed to supplements, 0:21:02.960 --> 0:21:05.359 where too much of it can hurt you. You can 0:21:05.400 --> 0:21:07.520 eat as much kale as you want, go ahead, go crazy. 0:21:07.680 --> 0:21:10.119 And it may be very difficult to teach them mountings 0:21:10.200 --> 0:21:13.200 visually because generally they occur in groups, and a lot 0:21:13.240 --> 0:21:16.520 of them actually are related to the colors of fruits 0:21:16.520 --> 0:21:19.480 and vegetables. So if you are gonna pick let's say, 0:21:19.520 --> 0:21:23.000 a green leafy vesta first salad, you're better off picking 0:21:23.080 --> 0:21:27.080 spinach or kale or even romain as opposed to iceberg, 0:21:27.160 --> 0:21:31.280 because the color indicates how concentrated the nutrients are. 0:21:31.400 --> 0:21:36.840 M that means beige foods be gone. But doctor Lickenstein 0:21:36.920 --> 0:21:40.120 mentioned one notable exception related to vitamin B twelve, which 0:21:40.160 --> 0:21:42.760 we get from animals. If someone is vegan, they might 0:21:42.800 --> 0:21:44.840 need to consider taking a supplement if they aren't getting 0:21:44.880 --> 0:21:46.800 the recommended level of B twelve in their diet. 0:21:47.040 --> 0:21:50.600 It seems like every week there's a particular food, herb, 0:21:50.880 --> 0:21:54.320 or supplement that gets the spotlight for its reported or 0:21:54.359 --> 0:21:55.679 supposed benefits. 0:21:55.880 --> 0:21:58.159 Yeah, and you know this is really nothing new. In 0:21:58.240 --> 0:22:01.399 the early nineteen hundreds, scientists discovered that food contained more 0:22:01.480 --> 0:22:04.919 than just protein, carbohydrates, and fat, and those additional substances 0:22:04.920 --> 0:22:08.200 were called vitamins. In the forties, government sponsored amounts of 0:22:08.240 --> 0:22:11.760