Daily Immune Defense 120 caps - Doctor's Best

The Foundation of Dietary Supplementation
A complete, balanced multi-vitamin/mineral supplement is the foundation of a sound dietary supplement regimen. Daily use of a "multiple" is the best way to ensure a consistent intake of the basics of healthy nutrition: the essential vitamins and minerals. Vitamin and mineral supplementation is a health insurance policy against the long-term consequences of low essential nutrient intakes from food sources. Essential nutrient supplementation is a wise health measure, especially in this day and age. With the fast-paced lifestyle that is a reality for many, eating healthy nutritious meals (in a relaxed enough fashion to properly digest them) often gets neglected. For example, we need the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables every day in order to get an optimum intake of carotenes and flavonoids. These nutrients are plant pigments which play a number of health-promoting roles in the body. But how many of us manage to actually eat five full servings of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis, day in and day out?

Abundant Food, Inadequate Nutrition
America is a nation blessed with an abundant supply of food in seemingly endless variety. In spite of this, nationwide food surveys over the last thirty years show that many people are not getting enough vitamins and minerals to stay healthy. The percentage of people in various population groups consuming less than two thirds of the RDA’s for vitamins and minerals ranges anywhere from five to as much as seventy percent. For example, the USDA’s Nationwide Food Consumption Survey revealed that a majority of Americans do not get the RDA for calcium and magnesium, two of the most important minerals. Moderns diets over the last fifty years have become especially sparse in trace elements - minerals such as zinc, chromium, selenium and others - and this is regarded by some nutrition scientists as a public health risk factor.

Total Daily Formula - Why it is Not Just Another Multiple
Total Daily Formula provides generous portions of all the essential vitamins and minerals, thus fulfilling the basic requirements of an effective multiple. But the formula offers many features which set it apart from typical multivitamin supplements.

Benefits

Luteolin and Flavonoids
Flavonoids, also known as "bioflavonoids", are plant pigments widely distributed throughout the plant kingdom. Previously known as "Vitamin P" because they help reduce capillary permeability (leakiness), flavonoids are now regarded as "semi-essential" non-vitamin nutrients that benefit health in a variety of ways. In addition to maintaining the structure of blood vessels, flavonoids function as versatile antioxidants. Flavonoids protect vitamin C from destruction by free-radicals, helping to preserve the body’s vitamin C supply.

Luteolin is a flavonoid found in high concentrations in foods including parsley, thyme, peppermint, basil and artichoke. Scientists have studied the effects of luteolin in numerous animal and in vitro studies to determine its potential mechanism of benefit in humans. In one study, researchers assessed the antioxidant potential of luteolin in a human cell line. The results of this experiment showed that luteolin had the effect of protecting the integrity of the cells from oxidative damage. This cell study showed luteolin to be a potent scavenger of the hydrogen peroxide free radical. A second experiment showed that luteolin administered to rats (0.2 mg/kg orally daily for 30 weeks) conferred potent antioxidant protection when these rats were also given a chemical that enhanced the production of free radicals in the body. Luteolin has many other potential health-supportive benefits. In vitro studies point to the likely ability of luteolin to support healthy blood sugar levels when used as a part of the diet. A study conducted in South Korea showed that luteolin could significantly enhance the effects of enzymes that promote the digestion of carbohydrates, a key to the maintenance of healthy sugar levels. Additional research that has been conducted and is forthcoming also highlights the exciting potential of luteolin to support and promote healthy immune system function. Doctor’s Best utilizes LutiMax® in Total Daily Formula. This patented substance, which is 50% luteolin, contains a proprietary mixture of flavonoids that serve to assist luteolin in being more useful.

Total Daily Formula provides a full 50 milligrams of LutiMax® and 35 milligrams of citrus bioflavonoids in a daily dose.

Mixed Carotenoids
All fruits and vegetables contain carotenoids, the plant pigments responsible for the rich variety of colors we enjoy in the natural world. Beta carotene is the most familiar member of the carotene family. But beta carotene never exists by itself; it is always found with other carotenoids in foods. We need more than just beta carotene alone. Carotenoids are powerful antioxidants, which means they help reduce the body’s free radical burden. Research suggests that carotenoids work as a team to keep us healthy. Total Daily Formula provides beta carotene, alpha carotene, lutein, lycopene, zeaxanthin and cryptoxanthin from natural sources such as algal extracts, carrot oil, marigold and tomatoes (Caromix®).

Vitamin E as Mixed Tocopherols
Vitamin E occurs naturally in the human body as four different classes of tocopherol molecules: alpha, beta, gamma and delta. Research has shown that the alpha tocopherol form is most abundant in the body and has the highest antioxidant potency of the four forms. However, more recent studies are showing that the other members of the tocopherol family are essential to achieving the full benefits of vitamin E. Most vitamin E supplements contain only the alpha tocopherol form of the vitamin. Taking large amounts of this form can lead to a depletion of the other naturally occurring forms of tocopherol from the body. While alpha tocopherol confers the most potent general antioxidant protection, studies show that gamma tocopherol (unlike alpha tocopherol) is able to potently scavenge potentially harmful nitrogen oxide radicals. Gamma tocopherol has additional roles beyond antioxidant protection. Research suggests that it may be the most powerful vitamin E component at promoting cardiovascular health and supporting healthy joints. Additional studies have shown that the levels of gamma tocopherol tend to decline with age. Supplementation with a full spectrum of tocopherol forms can confer health-supportive benefits beyond those seen with alpha tocopherol alone. The recommended daily intake of Total Daily Formula provides 200 IU of alpha tocopherol with the added synergistic benefits of 200 IU of mixed tocopherols.

Corn-Free Vitamin C
Total Daily Formula uses only corn-free vitamin C (ascorbic acid). The full daily intake of 6 tablets provides an exceptionally generous 800 mg of vitamin C.

Vitamin D at 800 IU
While vitamin D is well-recognized for its benefits in promoting healthy bones, its hormone-like effects are increasingly being shown to benefit a multitude of other systems throughout the body. Studies reveal that most organs in the body, including the gut, brain, heart, pancreas, skin, kidneys, and immune system have receptors for vitamin D. This hormone-like vitamin is essential to the optimal function of many of these organs. The latest research is showing that adequate vitamin D status may be essential for healthy cardiovascular function, as supplementing with vitamin D has been shown to support heart health and other cardiovascular parameters. In fact, this often-overlooked vitamin is also one of the most common nutrient deficiencies seen, especially in a large portion of the North American population. While dietary intake accounts for a percentage of vitamin D stores, the major bodily production of this vitamin occurs as a result of sun exposure. In most parts of North America, there is a lack of adequate sunlight during most of the year. Studies are now showing that the recommended 200 – 400 IU of vitamin D daily are inadequate to optimally support bone health. Research has shown that 600 IU or more is needed to achieve the full benefits of vitamin D intake. Total Daily Formula supplies an essential 800 IU of this powerful, yet under-appreciated, vitamin in a full daily dose to support the health of the bones, heart and immune system.

Optimum B Vitamin Servings
Total Daily Formula supplies ample amounts of all essential B vitamins. Vitamin B3 is given as niacin plus an extra helping of niacinamide, the non-flush form of this important vitamin. The body uses pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) to deal with stress, so the formula provides 150 mg, which is 15 times the RDA. Vitamin B6 is another B vitamin people may run short of, so 60 mg -- 30 times the RDA -- is supplied. The formula contains 800 mcg of folic acid, the vitamin now recognized by the FDA as essential for prevention of neural tube defects in unborn babies. Folic acid also helps prevent accumulation in the body of homocysteine, a metabolite of the amino acid methionine. A high blood homocysteine level is now considered to be a risk factor for heart disease.

Three superior sources of Calcium
Total Daily Formula contains three of the best absorbed and most effective forms of calcium available. MCHC (microcrystalline hydroxyapatite concentrate) is a naturally-derived compound composed of calcium, plus all the minerals and organic factors in living bone tissue. MCHC has been clinically shown to benefit bone health. Calcium citrate malate is a very well-absorbed form of supplemental calcium shown in recent research to be helpful for postmenopausal women. Calcium glycinate is chelated with the amino acid glycine, one of the most efficient mineral carriers for effective absorption.

Magnesium Glycinate
Magnesium is essential for strong bones and healthy hearts. This versatile mineral also regulates nerve function, keeps muscles relaxed and coordinates activity of over 300 enzymes in the body. Total Daily Formula contains 100 percent magnesium glycinate for exceptional absorption and gentleness on the intestinal tract.25 Magnesium glycinate has been clinically tested on people with severe malabsorption with excellent results.

Trace Minerals
Total Daily Formula provides - in addition to zinc, chromium, selenium and iodine - vanadium and molybdenum. Vanadium helps maintain normal blood sugar when used as a part of the diet. Molybdenum works as a co-factor for enzymes that help detoxify and eliminate foreign substances from the body.

Bioperine® for Enhanced Absorption
Bioperine® is a natural extract derived from black pepper that enhances nutrient absorption. Preliminary trials on humans have shown significant increases in the absorption of nutrients consumed along with Bioperine®.

Betaine HCl - supplies HCl (hydrochloric acid) to assist digestion.
All natural tablet coating made of vegetable concentrate and beta carotene.