Recommendation #1: Life Extension Mix™ Now with Maqui Berry and Tart Cherry
Don't Die from a Deficiency
An abundance of published scientific research reveals that many common problems afflicting the aged are attributable to a lack of specific nutrients in the diet. Considering that low-cost supplements are available to guard against these deficiency syndromes, it amounts to personal negligence if one does not at least take their basic daily vitamins and minerals.
Few doctors are aware of how shockingly deficient Americans are in essential nutrients. We are not talking about the benefits of taking higher-potency vitamin supplements right now. Instead, we are down to the fundamental fact that the vast majority of Americans fail to obtain even the tiny amount of nutrients in their diets that the medical establishment itself says are needed.
For example, over the past several years scientists have validated the critical role vitamin D plays in regulating a host of bodily functions. These findings link insufficient blood levels of vitamin D to common age-related problems. Startling evidence of this widespread vitamin D insufficiency has led to recommendations for Americans to increase their vitaminD intake to 5,000 IU per day and higher. While most multivitamin supplements contain only 400-600 IU of vitamin D, Life Extension has upped that to 2,000 IU in both the Life Extension Mix™ and Two-Per-Day formulas. Most Life Extension members also take a 5,000 IU capsule of vitamin D3 each day to achieve optimal blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which are between 50-80 ng/mL.
Additionally, many Americans supplement with vitamin E to obtain antioxidant benefits from this particular nutrient. The federal government, however, says that only 15 mg of vitamin E (22.5 IU) (in the form of alpha tocopherol) are needed. The Journal of Nutrition says that 93% of American men and 96% of American women do not even consume the federal government's recommended 15 mg (22.5 IU) of vitamin E in their diets!2 This means that virtually all Americans who fail to supplement are at serious risk of suffering a vitamin E deficiency.
How Dangerous Is It To Be Deficient In Vitamin E?
In November of 2006, the largest study in medical history was published using blood levels of vitamin E (alpha tocopherol) as the marker of vitamin E status. The purpose of this study was to correlate baseline vitamin E levels with specific causes of death and overall mortality with a follow up over a 19-year period. There were 29,000 subjects initially enrolled and 13,380 deaths available for analysis.3 The study results showed a significant reduction in overall mortality in the quintiles of highest blood levels of vitamin E than did those in the lowest quintile.
Based on these statistics, an editorial published in this same journal asked why doctors ever questioned the importance of vitamin E supplements.4 The editorial went on to emphasize the importance of obtaining the amount of vitamin E necessary. When analyzing fine details of this largest human study on vitamin E, the editors stated that the amount of this nutrient needed to achieve the optimal results could be achieved "only with supplements."
Vitamin E Deficiency Accelerates Age-Related Decline
In the January 23, 2008, edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the findings from a study that measured vitamin E levels in people 65 years and older was published. The results showed that those with the lowest blood levels of vitaminE were 60% more likely to suffer physical decline over the three-year follow-up period.5
The study's authors concluded: "These results provide empirical evidence that a low serum concentration of vitamin E is associated with subsequent decline in physical function among community-living older adults."
What continues to be overlooked by doctors who make recommendations to the public is the critical need for those who supplement with alpha tocopherol to also take the gamma tocopherol form of vitamin E. Remarkable benefits have been observed with higher levels of alpha and gamma tocopherol in the body.
Vitamin E Is Only One of Many Deficient Nutrients
Sadly, most diets fail to provide even the minimum amounts of nutrients even according to the low government recommended daily intakes. As a result, Americans suffer egregious deficits of vital nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, potassium,6 vitamin B6, vitamin B57 and vitamin D.8
Fortunately, it is easy to obtain potent doses of these basic nutrients in multi-nutrient formulas.