Multivitamin nutritional supplement - Andrew Lessmans Vitamins
by Michael
(US)
I would like to know your take on Andrew Lessman's multivitamin nutritional supplements. He has website called procapslabs. com. Very good vitamins, I think, what do you think?
Your site sure is informative, and it really allows one to make an informed decision.
Truly,
Michael
ANSWER:
Hi Michael
I just had a look at the Procaps Labs website.
First-up, whenever I'm doing research for vitamin supplement reviews or even to give an opinion such as what you've asked for, I always look at a company's most comprehensive flagship product aimed at supporting and enhancing overall health and wellness.
And in this case its the FOUNDER'S LIFE Rx (Mens Version for you)
Well my first comment is:
"WOW! $349. Are they kidding!"
Who can afford that each month?
Michael, there is nothing special about this formula but having said that it appears to be a reasonable science-based supplement.
They get full marks for this comment on their site "...it remains one of the few supplement companies that actually manufactures the vitamins they distribute..."
That's very important Michael when it comes to the upper most quality.
Xtend-Life', the manufacturer of Total Balance, the supplement my family and I use, is another of the handful of companies out there that self manufactures nutritional supplements and controls every aspect of the production cycle ( i.e. NO CONTRACT MANUFACTURING!
But I can find no pages on ProCaps Labs site that explains their manufacturing protocols and which backs up all the high quality claims made throughout their marketing literature.
No mention of safety testing, certificates of analysis etc and THAT RAISES A REG FLAG FOR ME.
I see they have a 30 day money back guarantee.
While I stress the importance of money back guarantees I don't like these conditions (30 days). Just how is a consumer able to judge the subtle differences in their health after only 1 month especially if they are quite healthy to begin with?
If there are undiagnosed health problems in the user's body then the nutrients have to work quietly away in the background to address the root causes of the problems and this can take months!
In fact a famous bio-chemist I know, who works in Australia, told me that when you start taking the right supplements AND consume a strictly healthy diet then it takes one month, for every month a disease or condition has been present, in order to cure it naturally.
This amazing bio-chemist, a lady, has a near perfect record at curing cancer, providing the patient gets to her in time (not in the final stages).
So why are ProCaps Labs only offering 30 days when they are so sure of their quality and efficacy standards?
It's great that they don't use multi level marketing, otherwise that hefty price tag (for all their supplements not just Life Rx) would be substantially more expensive and out of reach for even more supplements users.
Some of the ingredient amounts listed do not make sense however, and there is much information not revealed which as I said above is always a red flag warning for me.
As an example of something that does not make sense....CoQ10.
They claim they are using 600mgs a day? Why? The body can only use less than a 1/10th of that amount...from all sources (diet and supplementation).
I have never seen a nutritional supplement with that amount in it before. Doesn't make sense.
They refer to some of the ingredients being in liquid form but don't say if the amounts they are quoting are the net actives or the volume of the liquids.
There is WAY TOO MUCH vitamin C (2000 mg !!!) and calcium (300 mg). This is the usual thing with these kinds of supplements - stack them full of the cheapest of ingredients in way over the top dose amounts that you just don't need!
Vitamin C and Calcium are definitely two of the cheapest ingredients for manufacturers to use.
(Vitamin C costs about 1/ 80th the price of some of the key phytochemicals and amino acids that should be there).
Now for the calcium!
Most people easily take in sufficient calcium from their diets.
With respect to calcium the problem is often not so much not getting enough but rather poor nutritional choices which cause a leaching of calcium from the bones due to negative calcium balance.
If you are diagnosed with a deficiency then you can buy extra of these cheap ingredients separately from a middle of the road company - they are very cheap ingredients.
There's no good reason to load a supplement up with high doses of cheap ingredients that may or may not be needed and absorbed by the body.
They have gone overboard on the magnesium (200 mg) as well (another cheap ingredient) under the guise of optimal bone health.
They talk about how good the Gamma Tocopherols are but fail to mention that the vitamin E family is incomplete - no Tocotrienols!
Vitamin E is a very important ingredient and the whole family (8 kinds) MUST be there.
There are good amounts of carotenoids and bioflavonoids. Potency of Resveratrol is too low however.
Resveratrol is a powerful key anti-cancer nutrient especially for men!
ProCaps Labs are forcing customers to buy their omega 3 fish oil whether they like it or not by including it in this supplement.
I can't see anywhere that it's molecularly distilled (meaning purity and safety are guaranteed) and of course it's not in the far more beneficial ester form
Considering the crazy purchase price I would have expected more Zeaxanthin. There's only 4 mg. This is an excellent, potent carotenoid for eye health (and an expensive ingredient)
P.S. The new generation Total Balance (which will be the fifth generation in only 7 years!) will be available shortly (early to mid 2008) and will have increased dose amounts of Zeaxanthin - but can't remember off the top of my head whether it will 4mg or 5 mg (they did tell me a month or two back).
NO IMMUNE PROTECTION:
FOUNDER'S LIFE Rx targets almost all the key organs and systems in the body but in my opinion its biggest let-down in this regard is that it doesn't significantly target the immune system.
A rather important system considering it's your body's first line of defense against disease, like cancer!!
This is a huge weak link in its "... the worlds most comprehensive" multivitamin nutritional supplement claim.
So Michael, overall I am sure that Mens FOUNDER'S LIFE Rx is a reasonably good supplement but it is VERY EXPENSIVE so the value for money is poor and there are inconsistencies in some of their claims (e.g. You can't get broccoli extract, only the powder).
Michael, keep in mind that a months supply of Total Balance at full dose rates costs around $72 (not taking into account loyalty program discounts).
It supplies you with generous amounts of all the disease-preventing key specialty nutrients that FOUNDER'S LIFE Rx is missing as well as around
90% of the ingredients it does contain.
With Xtend-Life products you could pay HALF the price of FOUNDER'S LIFE Rx and get:
1. Two bottles of Total Balance Men's or Women's versions
2. A bottle of Omega 3 DHA esters
3. And 2 bottles of one of the Neuro-Natural range (specialty brain health supplements)
and have a absolute FULL spectrum of nutrients (including amino acids which Life RX is devoid of).
Hope this helps Michael and please ask your health conscious friends to take a look at my nutritional supplement reviews which they can find in my best vitamin supplements comparisons chart
Stay well,
Brett
