How Do I Know What Form of the Nutrient Is Best?

How Do I Know What Form of the Nutrient Is Best? (for breast cancer survivors)

All nutrients come in many forms. Please keep two basic principles in mind:

First, you’ll want a nutrient that’s in a form that’s as close to the way nature made it
as possible. The simple truth is that synthetic products are far less expensive and
have a longer shelf life than natural substances. As such, they are the darlings of
low-price chain stores and many pharmacies. Look for a brand that says “food
based” or “100% whole food.” That way, you are getting not only the nutrient but
also the cofactors, enzymes, bioflavonoids, and other phytochemicals that help the
nutrient perform its job better.

Second, we suggest familiarizing yourself with nutrients that belong to
“families” and understanding that ingesting only one “member” of the family can
cause problems. An excellent example is vitamin E, which actually consists of a
large cast of characters: first, the tocopherols—alpha, beta, delta, and gamma—and
then the tocotrienols—also alpha, beta, delta and gamma. Ideally, your multinutrient
label will say “mixed tocopherols” or “mixed tocopherols and tocotrienols.” An
isolated form of one part of a nutrient can easily throw the other parts off balance.

It’s also useful to know whether the nutrient is in its active or precursor form. In
other words, can your body use it just the way it is, or does the nutrient need to go
through some sort of conversion process? Vitamin B6, for example, is known as
pyridoxal-5-phosphate in its active, ready-to-be-metabolized form. Only higherquality
brands will invest the resources to provide the active forms of nutrients
when possible.

Finally, if you seek out supplements as part of your breast-cancer protection
plan, be sure that the form you choose matches the form used in the research studies
showing benefit. For example, selenium comes in many forms, but Semethylselenocysteine
(SeMSC) is the form that has shown the most promise in
recent studies for cancer prevention (Smith et al. 2004). Avoid multinutrients that do
not divulge the form of the nutrient you are being asked to take!