The word “vitamin” comes from the Latin word vita, which means life, plus amine. Your body needs vitamins and minerals.  There is not one single vitamin or essential mineral that your body can do without. 

Human bodies do not create all of the nutrients they need. They must come from external sources. 

One source of vitamins and minerals is nutritious food, and while a wholesome diet is certainly needed, that may not be enough to meet your needs. For instance, the vegetables and other produce you’re buying may not be as nutrient-rich as you think. A study published by the US National Institutes of Health, shows a significant decline of some important nutrients in a variety of crop types, particularly vegetables.  

There are also a number of factors that can influence vitamin and mineral requirements, factors that put additional demands on the body such as chemical exposure and toxicity, illness, infection, stress, weight, certain drugs, drinking, smoking, quality of sleep, prolonged and strenuous exercise, and others.

These and other factors can create a requirement for vitamins and minerals that goes beyond what a good diet provides. Even for people who are healthy and who have a diet of wholesome food, vitamin and mineral supplements may be needed.

Of course, you must have the correct supplements in the correct doses that will meet your needs. You’ve probably seen ads that say to take “vitamin x” for such-and-such a benefit or to take some other vitamin for a different benefit. While these claims may have some merit in some cases, you can’t randomly focus on one or two specific vitamins or minerals to address a health issue. It doesn’t work that way. You need to have the correct combination of the vitamins and minerals in the correct doses. 

Types of Supplements

Supplements are available in two basic forms, oral and injectable.

Oral supplements are the ones you swallow. They come in different forms such as tablets, capsules, drops, powders, and gummies. Generally, oral supplements can work well although the benefit is not always immediately apparent. It may take a number of weeks to achieve an obvious result because oral supplements have to travel through the digestive system before they can get to the cells. 

Oral supplements are also generally limited to doses that the digestive tract can handle. Taking very high doses of oral supplements may not be effective as they might not be fully digested and absorbed.

Despite these limitations, oral supplements can work in the correct balance and the correct dosage.  If, however, oral supplements aren’t fulfilling the need because of bowel compromise or severe metabolic issues injectable supplements can be used. 

There are two types of injectable supplements, intramuscular and intravenous.

Intramuscular supplements are often referred to as B12 shots. “B12 shots” is not a very descriptive name because while they do contain vitamin B12, they also contain a great deal more. These shots deliver high concentrations of vitamins, minerals, and other natural ingredients, custom-mixed for your specific needs. 

Because the intramuscular injections bypass the digestive system, the nutrients get into the cells more easily.  

We call these intramuscular shots “microvitamins”, not because the doses are small (quite the contrary) but because the doses are not as high as the intravenous vitamin therapy.

Like intramuscular injections, Intravenous (IV) supplements bypass the digestive system. This form of injectable vitamin therapy delivers vitamins and minerals directly into the bloodstream in much higher doses than can be tolerated orally. Delivery of the high-dose nutrients directly into the bloodstream overcomes any digestive impediments or other obstacles to their bioavailability.

IV supplements are often used to deliver higher doses than can be achieved orally. IV supplements may also be appropriate for people who are bowel-compromised.

Which Type of Supplementation is Best?

Which method or combination of methods is best to deliver nutrients to your body depends on a number of factors that we carefully analyze to meet your health needs. 

Every person’s needs are different. We prepare the combination of nutrients you need in the doses appropriate to achieving your health goals. 

Green Apple Health Care practices Cause Based Medicine™ which is the systematic process of finding and treating the core cause of health concerns by using a classic naturopathic approach combined with scientific research to optimize patient outcomes.

Our focus is cause-based.  We are relentless in identifying the root cause, the “why” behind the symptoms, and we address our treatment programs to the cause of the health condition, not the symptoms.

Call us at (780) 485-9468 to book a consultation.  If you prefer, online booking is available for both new patients and repeat patients.