Ask Dr. Mark?

Many individuals tend to express concern over nutritional supplements and their safety, sometimes discouraged to even take any. One key thing to remember is that supplements are like food – not drugs. Below are some commonly asked questions, with knowledgeable answers from Dr. Mark Crāpō.

Q: Why do you need to take a multivitamin?

This is something that’s becoming more important as we go forward in time because what’s happened is that we’ve gotten away from small farms or people doing their own farming and ensuring that they’re putting good fertilizers in the ground. We’re using all kinds of herbicides and pesticides and then we’re processing the foods. The US Department of Agriculture has looked at soil and found that it’s vastly lacking in nutrients. Much of the wheat that is grown or even the rice that is grown is going to be lacking in things like zinc because it’s simply not in the ground so it can’t go into the plant. And, because we process things, studies have shown that when you process food like rice (from brown to white) you lose about 81 percent of the zinc. Same type of thing, you lose 78 percent of zinc when you go from brown flour to white flour. And so we have very little if anything in the ground and then we process it and we refine away whatever was there. We end up with something that is really quite lacking in nutrition. It’s essential we put those things back in.

The three major causes of disease in the United States, I like to say, are breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We’re eating the wrong foods, too much of the wrong foods, and in some cases we’re skipping the meals that we need in order to be really healthy. So it’s essential if you want to be healthy that you’re taking a simple multivitamin. It’s a health insurance policy. It’s a life insurance policy to make sure that you feel good.

Q: How does Symmetry’s Genesis™ differ from other juices on the market?

We have standardized ingredients. Many of the products on the market, studies have shown, are no different than buying fruit punch at the grocery store because they are not standardizing any of the ingredients. They’re just putting some juices together. Our ellagic acid and resveratrol are standardized and now we have our triple-patented X’tranol-24™ and so it makes our product very unique. There’s nothing like it in the marketplace.

Q: Why choose Symmetry’s Products?

Our products are made so you see a difference. Many of our products are much older than our company. These are things I was making for my patients, family, and friends. I was using them for years when we started Symmetry. Because they had such good clinical results we brought them into Symmetry. That was years ago and we’re not done with them. We’re always working on improving them and making them better. Our customers see results and they see them quickly or they get their money back.

Q: Can you take Symmetry products with medications?

Does your doctor care about what you eat? If you can eat anything you want, supplements are those things you should be getting in all your meals, so they’re going to be fine. All of our products are safe daily amounts and they’re in mixtures that make them even safer. So basically, if your doctor doesn’t care what you eat he doesn’t care that you are taking supplements. If your doctor does care, if he is monitoring everything that you put in your body, take the product, show your doctor, and ask them if it’s okay…it never hurts to ask.

Q: Are Symmetry products FDA approved?

The Food and Drug Administration approves drugs. They don’t approve supplements. Now there is a law, called DSHEA, that monitors supplement usage and we’re governed under that. There’s no such thing as an FDA approval for supplements. But, we voluntarily make all our products in an FDA approved drug lab and voluntarily make our products according to FDA drug standards, which is really unusual in the supplement industry and we make sure all of the ingredients are on the FDA approved GRAS (generally Recognized As Safe) list.

Q: How much product (nutritional supplementation) should I take?

As much as you need. Our society is very drug oriented, therefore we tend to think of supplements in the same way we think of drugs. Many want exact dosages for whatever ails us, thinking there should be a specific amount taken for one problem and a different amount for another problem. Vitamins and minerals are essential for health and well being; they are not toxic to liver or other organs as drugs are, but in fact, help those organs function more normally.

The daily suggested intake or dosage of nutritional supplements is generally an amount that an average young man would take to stay healthy. Symmetry’s products aren’t drugs or medicines; they are natural supplements (vitamins, minerals and herbal formulas).

Taking 2 or 3 times the suggested dose to start with is not a bad idea. Often with Genesis I suggest rather than using one bottle a month, try using one bottle a week for a month or two.

Q: Is it safe to take supplements if I’m on medication?

Generally speaking: Yes. The real answer here is: does your doctor care about what you have for

lunch? If you can eat anything you want for lunch (breakfast, dinner or snacks), then you can take supplements. If your doctor wants to know about anything and everything you put in your mouth, ask before taking supplements. There have been some written articles suggesting that some patients shouldn’t take certain herbs, however, those articles reflect research done with very high doses of a single herb. Symmetry never uses single herbs in high doses. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, herbs are always mixed in specific and appropriate proportions, always as a formula that would have a minimum of 3 herbs and a maximum of 50 or more in a very complex but very balanced formula.

Q: Which products should I take for disease “X”?

Remember, supplements are not drugs – don’t think in terms of Western disease names. It’s better to think of the specific organ system or body area that you are trying to support. For example, arthritis is a disease of the joints (and we don’t treat disease) but the joints are an area that can be supported for normal functioning; something that Symmetry’s Glucosamine Formula™, Advanced Omega™, Botana C™, EaseGM™ or Genesis™ could be helpful for.