WHY DO WE NEED MINERALS? HOW DOES THE BODY USE THEM?

To understand what a chelated mineral is, it is first important to understand the answer to the question: what is a mineral? Minerals are solid crystalline substances. They are not of animal or vegetable origin. Because of this we cannot synthesize our own minerals. The ones we need for nutritional and metabolic purposes, we have to gain from nature, in either our foods or food supplements. A big difference lies in minerals that rocks are made of, and the ones we can digest easily. Manufactured mineral compounds in their traditional state are normally found in the market place. Mineral compounds in their traditional state normally found in the market place cannot be utilized by the body without first being broken down and restructured. Chelated minerals provide us with the essential requirement of packaging our minerals in a way that allows them to be absorbed by the body without going through extra steps to do so.

BENEFITS

• Improved Absorption
• Increased Tolerability
• Less Absorption Interference from Foods
• Guaranteed Purity and Stability
• Guaranteed pH Stability

WHAT IS A CHELATED MINERAL, AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT

Chelated minerals are minerals, such as zinc, manganese, magnesium, copper, iron, or calcium that are surrounded by amino acids, which are bonded in a stable form to the mineral. In the body's natural process of digestion, amino acids are used to naturally chelate minerals and help transport them across the intestinal wall. If you think of a mineral as being essentially an insoluble rock, the process of chelation helps to convert the mineral and hide it in an amino acid coating that makes it usable by the body. This essentially makes it bioavailable. According to Albion Laboratories, "Bioavailability is the amount of a substance that is absorbed and available for metabolic use by the body once it is ingested."

WHY IS SUPPLEMENTATION WITH MINERALS IMPORTANT?

It is true we live in a wealthy nation that should be able to afford the best nutrition for its inhabitants. However, it is perplexing that people still use this fact to support the theory that vitamin or mineral deficiencies are rare...especially when one of the most common diseases linked to Westernization, osteoporosis, comes from Calcium deficiency!! Additionally, there are many more illnesses that are common in the Western world that have nutritional links supported by solid science. One example of a mineral deficiency that affects our health is Zinc deficiency. It has been well documented, and recently publicized, that even a minor deficiency in Zinc inhibits healthy immune function. It is clear that we should be radically changing our diets to provide all the necessary vitamins and minerals. At the very least, we should supplement with forms that are bioavailable.

Deficiencies or imbalances in certain minerals can affect the following body systems:

1. Immune System: Cu, Zn, Fe, Se
2. Energy Production: Mg, P, Mn
3. Hormone System: Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Mg, K
4. Vitamin Production: Co
5. Blood Production: Cu, Fe
6. Enzyme Systems: Zn, Cu, K, Mn, Mg, Fe, Ca, Mo
7. Skeletal System: Ca, Mg, Zn, Mn, B, P
8. Reproduction: P, Cu, K, Mn, Zn, Mg

THE "OTHER HALF" OF MINERALS

Much debate exists over the form that a mineral comes in, or as Albion Laboratories has called it, the "other half" (or ligand) of a mineral. A ligand is the amino acid to which minerals are often bound to in the chelating process. It may seem strange that so much controversy is involved with this "other half" when the benefit we are mostly interested in is from the mineral! The controversy, it turns out, is important because the "other half" of a mineral can influence its effectiveness, including factors such as bioavailability, tolerability, safety, retention in the tissue, and its chemical interactions. Here are some of the questions that can be encountered when looking at the mineral form:

Is glycine or picolinate a better ligand for the chelation of minerals?
Glycine is used in the Albion Laboratories manufacturing process of creating a chelated mineral. The question of what is the best ligand for a mineral is a common question, as picolinates are used often by companies claiming to make chelated minerals, whereas Albion uses glycine. The first issue in addressing this question is how each of these ligands affect the bioavailability of the mineral. Because glycine is metabolized by the body after it is absorbed, and the picolinate is not metabolized after absorption, the glycine would perform better in metabolism. The fact that glycine is used nutritionally, and picolinate is treated as a waste product for the body is also important. In studies regarding the effectiveness of picolinate as a chelating ligand for zinc, it has been found that the picolinates do not enhance absorption of zinc over other zinc forms (citrate or sulfate). The picolinates even went so far as to increase the excretion of supplmental zinc and endogenous zinc from the body as well as reducing the tissue retention in animals fed zinc picolinate.
The question of picolinates vs. glycine is an important example not only for bioavailability, but also for nutritional functionality. The use of picolinate as a chelating agent with zinc is an excellent example of the difference between a simple chelate, and a "nutritionally functional" chelate. This is because the use of picolinates makes good chelating agents because they make zinc absorb well into the body, however they are not "nutritionally functional" because they promote the excretion (and not use) of zinc once it is in the body.

Glycine, however, has important metabolic functions in the body, and research supports its use as a safe nutritionally functioning chelating agent. Glycine helps to preserve muscle mass. It is an essential component in the synthesis of creatine, which helps prevent liver damage due to alcohol abuse, and prevents ulcer-formation. Glycine also plays important roles in the central nervous system (CNS), the immune system, energy production, and the maintenance of a healthy prostate.

How do Glycine Amino Acid Chelates perform versus Salts, Citrates, Krebs-Cycle Complexes, or Bran Chelates in terms of Bioavailability and GI Tolerance?

Salts
Salts are the usual form that minerals are found in multivitamin and mineral supplements. Depending on the mineral, and other digestive factors, their bioavailability can be poor to adequate, and their GI tolerance can be poor to adequate.

Citrates
Citrate bioavailability can be poor to very good, and their GI tolerance can be poor to adequate.

Krebs-Cycle Complexes
Krebs-Cycle Complexes do not have the same stable bonding of chelates, only exhibiting weak ionic or hydrogen bonds, which do not increase their bioavailability. Theoretically, their bioavailability should be low, and their GI tolerance should be low, but there is no data on these factors to say for certain.

Glycine Amino Acid Chelates
Albion Laboratories holds the patents on the processes that create the nutritionally functional amino acid chelates made with glycine. Their bioavailability is very good and their GI tolerance is very good.

THE AUTHENTIC CHELATES

The National Nutritional Food Association (NNFA) created a definition of what an Amino Acid Chelate is in 1996; currently, Albion chelates are the only known chelates to meet the NNFA definition:

Metal Amino Acid Chelate is the product resulting from the reaction of a metal ion from a soluble metal salt with amino acids with a mole ratio of one mole of metal to one to three (preferably two) moles of amino acids to form coordinate covalent bonds. The average molecular weight of the hydrolyzed amino acids must be about 150 AMU (Atomic Mass Units) and the resulting chelate must not exceed 800 AMU. The minimum elemental metal content must be declared. It will be declared as a METAL amino acid chelate: e.g. Copper amino acid chelate.
-Adapted by the NNFA Board of Directors, July 1996

In order for chelation to occur, the following minimum requirements must be met:

• Thetsame metal ion.
• The ligand must form a heterocyclic ring with the metal as the closing member of the ring.
• It must be sterically possible to chelate the metal.
• The molar ratio of the ligand to the metal must be at least 1:1

• The chelate must have a molecular weight less than 1000 daltons.
• The chelate must be electrically neutral. The chelate must not be complexed with an easily ionizable anion, such as a halogen or a sulfate group; the ligand must satisfy both the oxidative state and a coordination number of the metal atom.
• The chelate must have a high enough stability constant to avoid competitive chemical interactions in the gut prior to absorbtion.
• The ligand must be easily metabolized.

SUGGESTED USE AND SAFETY

Mineral Chelates can be taken and used just like regular multivitamins. The added benefits are: better bioavailability, higher tolerability, and less toxicity. Because chelates are easily absorbed by our bodies, and there are fewer problems with food or other nutrient interactions and they do not cause gastrointestinal distress (as found with most regular multivitamins and minerals), chelated minerals may be taken with a greater degree of trust and convenience throughout the day.

There is other scientific research available about the use and effectiveness of Mineral Chelates. Section 5 of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act requires us to present a balanced view of all available information about a dietary ingredient or substance to you. If you wish a copy of a referenced publication or need information on where you can retrieve it, you may call Optimal Nutrients at 1-800-966-8874.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.