For maintaining optimal health, you want complete nutrition. Here's a breakdown of the ingredients in Vita JYM, and why you should be using this properly-formulated multivitamin to round out your diet.
- Introduction
- If You Want a Healthier Diet, You Need to Take a Multivitamin
- Research Suggests Multivitamins Help to Promote Better Health
- Multivitamins Can Boost Brain Power
- Multivitamins May Even Help Boost Fat Loss
- All Multivitamins Were NOT Created Equal
- Some Nutrients Compete With Each Other
- Many Multivitamins are Underdosed
- Which Vitamin Form You Take Matters
- Down to Details – What Vitamins to Take
- How to Take Vita JYM
- How to Work Vita JYM Into Your Diet
- Vita JYM – The Multivitamin for People Who Train
For Maintaining Optimal Health, You Want Complete Nutrition
Here's my breakdown of the ingredients in Vita JYM, and why you should be using this properly formulated multivitamin to round out your diet.
When it comes to supplements, most of you focus on the obvious performance and physique boosters. You know them well: Protein powder, creatine, BCAAs, and beta-alanine—to name a few.
While these supplements are all must-haves on my list, there is one supplement that may be even more critical—yet is often missing from most people's list: A multivitamin/mineral supplement. Although this often seems like a supplement only for average Joes and Janes who don't train, your supplement regimen should always start with a multivitamin. Vitamins play numerous important roles in the body.
Some have hormone-like functions that regulate cell and tissue growth. Some function as antioxidants, and most help to form enzyme cofactors. Minerals are involved in so many functions in the body that I can't even begin to list them. Taking a multivitamin/mineral supplement like Vita JYM will have you covered so that no deficiencies are limiting your potential to grow bigger, stronger, and leaner.
If You Want a Healthier Diet, You Need to Take a Multivitamin
Despite what I'm telling you, many "experts" out there are not recommending that you take a multivitamin/mineral supplement.
They often claim that if you eat a well-rounded diet then you don't ever need a vitamin and mineral supplement. This, of course, is the advice given by "experts" who either don't live in reality or are very uneducated about supplements and the American diet.
For starters, most Americans do not eat a well-rounded diet, which means that they are not getting in optimal amounts of critical vitamins and minerals and may even be deficient in certain ones.
Many Americans don't even know the difference between protein and carbohydrates. So how can they be expected to eat a well-rounded diet? It's unrealistic. Plus, eating enough food to provide you adequate amounts of all the micronutrients would likely provide you far too many macronutrients—meaning too many calories, which would make you gain fat.
Another issue that makes this kind of recommendation nonsensical has to do with the diminishing quality of our food supply.
Even if you were careful to eat a well-rounded diet, you may not be getting in adequate amounts of critical micronutrients. That's because our food supply today is lower in many of these vitamins and minerals due to conventional farming practices such as over-farming, which diminishes the nutrient density of the soil. The grain-feeding that conventional cattle and chickens are getting also diminishes the micronutrient content of milk, beef, eggs, and chicken.
Additionally, certain foods inhibit the absorption of some micronutrients.
Refined sugars—as well as white-flour products like white bread—can lower blood levels of minerals such as zinc and magnesium. Foods rich in calcium like dairy products inhibit absorption of both zinc and magnesium by the small intestines as well. Foods rich in phytates—phosphorous compounds found in whole grain breads, cereals, and legumes—also hinder the absorption of zinc by the small intestines.
A third issue that makes skipping a multi bad advice is micronutrient loss in the individual.
Most people who are careful to try and eat a well-rounded diet tend to also work out. Research shows that many athletes who train intensely—and if you follow my training programs, you are essentially an "athlete"—lose many critical vitamins and minerals, such as B vitamins, vitamin C, chromium, selenium, zinc, magnesium, and copper.
This is due to a variety of factors, such as loss of the minerals in sweat and urine, as well as their increased use for energy production during the workout as well as recovery and protein synthesis following training. So you're starting at a deficit and eating food that may be at a deficit, which makes a multivitamin/mineral supplement an absolute necessity.
Some doctors and nutritionists have even gone so far as to say that taking vitamin and mineral supplements can be dangerous.
This is based on some poorly conducted and very biased studies suggesting that vitamin and mineral supplements can harm your health. The most recent study was from the University of Minnesota. The researchers used data from over 38,000 elderly women in the Iowa Women's Health Study, which was based simply on questionnaires about supplement use in 1986, 1997, and 2004. They concluded that the use of multivitamins, vitamin B6, folic acid, iron, magnesium, zinc, and copper was associated with a slight increased risk of death. Of course, there are numerous flaws with the study that make it irrelevant to you.
Not only was the study done in elderly women, but it didn't actually provide subjects any of these supplements; it simply relied on their recall of taking them. That is the most unreliable info you can use in a study and is far from scientific. Another factor to consider in this study is what is known as the "sick-user effect." This refers to the fact that when many people are diagnosed with a disease, they then tend to start taking supplements in hope for an alternative cure. This doesn't mean that the supplements increased their risk of death, but their disease did and it was just coincidental that they then started taking supplements.
On top of all this, the study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, which is a journal of the American Medical Association (AMA)—known to be staunch supporters of the pharmaceutical industry and strongly opposed to the supplement industry for obvious reasons.
The truth of the matter is that studies that show that vitamin and mineral supplements are beneficial far outnumber those claiming that they don't.
Research Suggests Multivitamins Help to Promote Better Health
In fact, numerous studies show that they reduce the risk of certain diseases and death. The most recent was published in the June 2012 issue of the European Journal of Nutrition. German researchers reported that in about 24,000 people, those taking vitamin/mineral supplements at the start of the study had a 42% reduced risk in all-cause mortality over the 11 years of the study and a 48% reduced risk in cancer-related death.
Another 2012 study published in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology suggests that supplementing with a multivitamin could reduce the risk of colon cancer.
A 2010 study from Harvard reported that supplementing with multivitamins, especially those including vitamins A, C, and E, reduced the risk of colon cancer.
Another 2010 study from the Karolinska Institute reported that women using multivitamins had a 30% reduced risk of a heart attack.
A 2009 study in the American Journal of Epidemiology suggests that multivitamin use of over 10 years reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 16%, while vitamin E supplementation specifically can reduce the risk by almost 30%.
Another 2009 study from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences reported that women taking a multivitamin supplement have a younger biological age based on telomere length as compared to those not supplementing.
And a 2007 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that taking selenium along with a multivitamin reduced the risk of prostate cancer by 40%. One 2003 study by the Lewin Group reported that the use of a daily multivitamin by older adults could save the US government more than $1.6 billion in Medicare over the five-year period from 2004-2008.
Another 2003 study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that in 130 adults, those taking a multivitamin and mineral supplement for one year had significantly less infection, such as respiratory and urinary tract infections, influenza, and gastrointestinal infections, and a lower rate of illness-related absenteeism than those receiving a placebo.
Multivitamins Can Boost Brain Power
In addition to reducing the risk of certain diseases and death from them, studies show that multivitamins can also provide benefits such as better brain functions and even aid fat loss.
One 2012 study from Australia analyzed the data from 10 studies on cognitive function and multivitamin use in over 3,000 subjects. They reported that multivitamin use was associated with better memory in females.
Another 2012 study published in Psychopharmacology reported that elderly women with cognitive decline given a multivitamin/mineral complex for 4 months had significant improvements in memory as compared to those getting a placebo.
And a 2010 study from UK researchers found that young to middle-aged women taking a multivitamin/mineral supplement for nine weeks performed significantly better on cognitive tasks than those taking a placebo.
And no, the boost in brain power is not reserved just for women. A 2011 study from Australian researchers reported that eight weeks of supplementation with a multivitamin in men increased alertness and feelings of general day-to-day well-being.
And a 2010 UK study revealed that men taking a multivitamin/mineral supplement for about 5 weeks performed better on cognitive tasks, were less mentally tired, and reported improved vigor as compared to those getting a placebo.
These mental benefits have even been recorded in children. UK researchers reported in a 2008 issue of the British Journal of Nutrition that children aged 8-14 taking a multivitamin supplement for 12 weeks demonstrated better attention and cognitive function.
And while all those health and brain-boosting benefits are wonderful, we know that the bottom line for you is your physique and performance.
Multivitamins May Even Help Boost Fat Loss
Good news there, too, when it comes to multivitamins. Chinese researchers reported in a 2010 study that women taking a multivitamin/mineral supplement for 6 months lost 8 pounds without changing their diet while those taking a placebo lost less than half a pound. This was likely due to the higher metabolic rate and fat burning afforded by the multivitamin/mineral supplement.
Reduced hunger may be another key factor, as one 2008 Canadian study reported lower hunger ratings during fasting in those supplementing with a multivitamin. The supplemented group also had significantly lowered their total and LDL (bad) cholesterol and raised their HDL (good) cholesterol.
A 2008 study in the British Journal of Nutrition also reported that men who regularly consumed multivitamins had lower body fat levels than men who did not.
A 2011 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that female athletes getting a multivitamin/mineral supplement during a 6-week training period had lower levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) than those taking a placebo.
Since ROS can increase the damage to muscle tissue and impair repair, this could lead to better recovery and performance. In fact, a 2010 study from France reported that male competitive cyclists receiving a multivitamin for three weeks showed better cycling performance than those getting a placebo. A multivitamin/mineral supplement was also shown to increase performance in fencers.
The bottom line is that you definitely should be supplementing with a multivitamin/mineral supplement to boost overall health, brain function, athletic performance, and even fat loss and muscle recovery and growth. So how do you find a proper multivitamin/mineral supplement? By using my Vita JYM.
All Multivitamins Were NOT Created Equal
The supplements that I get the most questions on are protein powders, creatine, BCAAs, and beta-alanine. There's no debating the fact that these supplements play a critical role in your results in the gym—after all, that's why I created Pre JYM, Post JYM, and Pro JYM.
Yet before you even worry about how to take creatine and beta-alanine, or whether or not you're supplementing with enough BCAAs, you need to focus on your micronutrients—vitamins, minerals, and other elements.
As stated above, research shows that many athletes and those who train intensely lose many critical vitamins and minerals—such as B vitamins, vitamin C, chromium, selenium, zinc, magnesium, iron, and copper—due to a variety of factors, such as loss of the minerals in sweat and urine, increased use for energy production during workouts, and during recovery and protein synthesis following training.
Therefore, it's critical that you get at least the RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) or DV (Daily Value) for most minerals—and get far more than these recommendations for most vitamins and certain minerals for optimal performance and physique changes.
However, if you think you can just grab any old multivitamin in the store or online and be good to go, you're sadly mistaken. Even if you could find a multivitamin that provided you 100% of every micronutrient you need in a day, it would actually be the last thing you would want to take.
One major issue with the supplement industry is that few supplement companies have qualified scientists formulating their products. This problem shows up in multivitamins that provide all the micronutrients that you need in one product.
I know it sounds convenient to take one dose of a multivitamin every day and be done with it. However, doing so would actually work against your efforts to cover all your bases on vitamin and mineral needs.
This is due to the fact that several micronutrients impair the uptake of other micronutrients. You could say that they essentially cancel each other out. Unfortunately, few supplement companies care to educate you on this fact. Instead, they prey on consumers' wish for convenience and create products based on simplicity—not science.
Another problem with the supplement industry is greed. As I've taught you regarding pre-workout supplements, post-workout supplements, fat burners, and protein powders, most supplement companies build supplements with only the goal of making money. So they cut corners and often lie about their products. This issue shows up in multivitamins that are devoid of critical micronutrients or have them in doses far too inadequate to be of any real benefit.
This is why I created my own multivitamin/mineral supplement, Vita JYM. I formulated it to avoid all the problems that every other multivitamin has, and provide all the benefits that every other multivitamin doesn't. The problems with most multivitamins are discussed below.
Some Nutrients Compete With Each Other
The first big problem with most multivitamins sold today regards zinc. I don't mean that there is too little of it in most multivitamins—the problem is actually having any zinc in your multivitamin at all.
You may be confused about this since zinc is so critical, especially for those of us who train. The first problem with zinc is that it can interfere with the absorption of amino acids. Let me say that again: Zinc can inhibit amino acid uptake!
Since it's important to take a multivitamin with a meal such as breakfast, a multivitamin that includes zinc could interfere with your body's ability to take up the amino acids from the protein you consumed at breakfast. That could interfere with muscle growth, and that's the last thing you want.
Zinc also interferes with copper uptake. And copper is something that you actually want in your multivitamin. Zinc induces the intestinal synthesis of a copper-binding protein called metallothionein. Metallothionein traps copper within the cells in the intestines and prevents its absorption into the bloodstream. Bottom line: Zinc is a mineral you want to avoid in your multivitamin/mineral supplement.
Iron also interferes with zinc absorption. Since you should have iron in your multivitamin, you should skip the zinc until another time of day. That's mainly why I recommend taking zinc at night through a ZMA supplement, namely ZMA JYM.
Calcium is another big problem in multivitamin supplements. Calcium interferes with zinc, iron, and manganese absorption. Yet it's in 99.99% of the multivitamins for sale. Then there's magnesium, which is also found in most multivitamins. It interferes with manganese absorption as well as with calcium. So these two minerals—calcium and magnesium—should also be completely absent from your multivitamin and be taken separately at another time of day, as I've outlined below.
Phosphorus is a fourth mineral that you don't want in your multivitamin. The typical diet is already quite rich in phosphorus. Having it in your multivitamin could raise phosphorus levels too high. This is problematic because it can prevent the conversion of vitamin D to its active form 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D in the kidneys.
Since this form is the most potent form of vitamin D—and provides the majority of its benefits in the body—this can have negative consequences on bone health, as well as the numerous other benefits that vitamin D provides such as better muscle strength and higher testosterone levels.
Many Multivitamins are Underdosed
Another problem with most multivitamins sold today is that while they include minerals that shouldn't be in there, they also completely skip out altogether on other critical micronutrients. Or at the very least, the doses present are so low that the nutrient may as well be absent.
One common vitamin that's on the MIA list for most multivitamins is vitamin K. Recent research suggests that far more people are deficient in vitamin K than originally believed. And research shows that supplementing with vitamin K2 alleviates the symptoms of vitamin K deficiency, providing a host of health benefits including protection against heart disease and cancer, enhanced brain function, aiding skin health, boosting testosterone production, and promoting bone formation. I explain more on the proper form of vitamin K below.
Another missing or underdosed micronutrient in many multis is iodine, which is critical for maintaining healthy thyroid function. Since most of the earth's iodine is found in oceans, iodine deficiency is an important health problem throughout the world. With the wrongful demonization of salt/sodium, fewer people salt their food today, and many restaurants use far less salt in their dishes as well.
The problem with this is that table salt is iodized—meaning it has had iodine added to it—to prevent iodine deficiencies. Research shows that diets that exclude iodized salt, fish, and seaweed have been found to contain very little iodine. In fact, studies suggest that iodine intakes have declined in the U.S., Switzerland, and New Zealand. So if your multi is not providing you iodine at 100% of the DV or RDA, that's a problem.
Then there's chromium, which is usually absent or severely underdosed. This is problematic because most diets are quite low in chromium. You could take a separate chromium supplement, as many do, but this is one of the minerals that are best to get in your multivitamin because chromium uptake is enhanced when it's taken at the same time as vitamin C.
Copper is another mineral often missing completely, or present but in an inadequate amount in most multivitamins. Since higher intakes of zinc can lead to copper deficiency—and you should be getting 30 mg of zinc daily, separately from your multivitamin—it's important to get adequate copper, as detailed in the "Copper" subsection below.
If any of the micronutrients discussed above are actually found in your multi (unless it's Vita JYM), there's a very good chance that they're included at doses too insignificant to provide any benefit. Like with the "dusting" that I've talked about in pre-workout supplements, many ingredients in a lot of multivitamin products sold today are severely underdosed.
Not only are they underdosed for the hard-training individual, but they often aren't even provided at an adequate dose for the average couch potato. This is for the simple fact that supplement companies want to list them on the Supplement Facts panel.
That way, the uneducated consumer sees the vitamin or mineral listed and assumes the multivitamin has enough of it in there. After all, how many people really know how much copper, iodine, or even B vitamins they need? Very few. And many supplement companies take advantage of that fact to make more money by using insignificant doses.
Vitamin K, iodine, chromium, copper, selenium, and the B vitamins are all typically underdosed—if included at all—in most multivitamins. Other minerals that are also usually underdosed include selenium, molybdenum, and manganese. These minerals and vitamins should at the very least provide 100% of their Daily Value (DV) or RDA.
Which Vitamin Form You Take Matters
Another issue with most multis sold today is that they use the cheap, ineffective, or even potentially dangerous forms of certain vitamins and minerals. Consider vitamin A: Vitamin A is often provided in multivitamins, mainly as preformed vitamin A (retinol) in the form of retinyl palmitate or retinyl acetate. These forms are rapidly absorbed but slowly cleared from the body, which can lead to toxicity and liver problems if too much is consumed. The body cannot easily flush out excess vitamin A due to the fact that it's fat soluble and gets stored in the fat cells.
Beta-carotene, on the other hand, is a much safer form of vitamin A to take, as it only becomes active vitamin A when needed in the body. To avoid possible vitamin A toxicity, your multivitamin should provide all of its vitamin A from beta-carotene.
If you're lucky to find a multivitamin that provides some vitamin K, there's a very good chance that it's in the form of vitamin K1, phylloquinone, also known as phytonadione. This form comes from plants, specifically green leafy vegetables such as lettuce and spinach as well as broccoli. Although this form of vitamin K is fine, it's not that necessary in a multivitamin since few people are vitamin K1 deficient.
The other main form of vitamin K—vitamin K2/menaquinone—appears to be the more critical form to supplement with. The menaquinones have repeating 5-carbon units on the side chain of the molecule. These forms of vitamin K are designated menaquinone-n (MK-n), such as MK-4 or MK-7, where the "n" stands for the number of 5-carbon units.
Of the menaquinones, menaquinone-4 (MK-4) and menaquinone-7 (MK-7) are the most critical to supplement with. MK-4 is found in meat and dairy—significantly higher in meat and dairy from grass-fed cows—as well as egg yolks. MK-7 comes from fermented products such as cheese, sauerkraut, and natto (fermented soybeans).
The body requires so little vitamin K1 that just about everyone gets enough from their diet. Vitamin K2, on the other hand, is required at a much higher dose and provides more benefits. While both vitamin K1 and K2 appear to be involved in blood clotting, as stated above K2 provides benefits that go far beyond that and include protection against heart disease and cancer, enhanced brain function, aiding skin health, boosting testosterone production, and promoting bone formation.
Research suggests that being deficient in vitamin K may lower testosterone levels, and that supplementing with MK-4 can increase testosterone production. This appears to be due to vitamin MK-4's ability to activate specific enzymes in the testicles that are critical for testosterone production.
Chromium is another mineral that's typically given in a cheap, less effective form in multivitamins, such as chromium chloride. The problem is that since this mineral tends to be low in athletes and those who train, you need a good dose in a form that's readily absorbed—such as chromium picolinate. Chromium picolinate is a combination of chromium and picolinic acid. The addition of the picolinic acid enhances the uptake of chromium.
And then there's vitamin B12. Many companies will try to tell you that methylcobalamin is the best form of B12 to use. While this is one active form of B12, there are two—the other being adenosylcobalamin, also known as dibencozide.
While some multivitamins provide both of these, the problem is the stability of these active forms. There's evidence that they're not very stable and therefore do not provide the actual dose of B12 listed on the label. The only way to consume a stable form of B12 that's readily converted to both methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin in the body is by taking the cyanocobalamin form of B12.
Down to Details – What Vitamins to Take
To avoid the downfalls of most multivitamin products, you could make your own vitamin and mineral stack by buying each individual ingredient to get the right form of each ingredient at the proper dose—or you could just take my multivitamin/mineral supplement Vita JYM, which does all of that for you, but more cheaply and conveniently than making your own.
Plus, Vita JYM includes 5 mg of BioPerine®, the patented piperine extract proven in numerous studies to increase the absorption of a multitude of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Below, I list the dosages of each vitamin and mineral in Vita JYM and why they’re so critical to your overall health.
3000 mcg of Beta-carotene (Vitamin A): Vitamin A is well known to be critical for maintaining the health of your eyes, skin, teeth, bones, and mucous membranes—including your respiratory tract. This important vitamin can improve your resistance to infection and assist in the growth and repair of body tissues, including muscle. More recent research shows that this vitamin is critical in energy production, which can aid your performance in the gym and/or on the field or court.
Yet megadosing vitamin A can be harmful as toxicity may develop, along with liver disease. This is due to the fact that the body cannot easily flush out excess vitamin A, as well as the fact that it's fat soluble and gets stored in the fat cells. Beta-carotene is basically two vitamin A molecules bound end-to-end. What's great about beta-carotene is that if the body's vitamin A sources are low, then—and only then—does it convert into active vitamin A. This provides you the amount of vitamin A you need for optimal results without running the risk of toxicity.
This includes 100 mg each of B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), and B6 (pyridoxine); 500 mcg of B12, 400 mcg of folic acid, and 300 mcg of biotin. The B vitamins are some of the more critical for athletes since they work as cofactors and help with energy production. Plus, this group of vitamins tends to get depleted in hard-training athletes.
Of particular interest in this group of B vitamins is folic acid, which may be of some surprise to you. Folic acid is not just important for pregnant women; it's critical for the production and maintenance of new cells. One of the ways that muscle grows is by replacing damaged muscle cells with new muscle cells, called satellite cells. These new cells that replace the old ones grow larger and stronger than the old cells.
Vitamin B12 is one of the most important B vitamins for those who train. Also called "cobalamin" because it contains the metal cobalt, vitamin B12 helps the body use dietary fats and certain amino acids.
The 500 mcg (microgram) dose of vitamin B12 in Vita JYM as cyanocobalamin provides you about 10 mcg of cyanide. Sounds deadly, doesn't it? Far from it. This amount is physiologically insignificant. In fact, you actually consume far more cyanide in your daily diet—and no, it's not added in the manufacturing process of processed foods.
Cyanide occurs naturally in many plants—everyday fruits and vegetables. The average human consumes about 100 mcg of cyanide per day, with some consuming closer to 400 mcg daily. This is far from problematic because the lethal dose of cyanide—depending on the form—is about 35,000 to 250,000 mcg.
Just because a molecule has a lethal dose does not mean that you can never ingest it. This concept is hard to grasp for "experts" with a science background that consists of little more than perusing ScienceDaily.com.
Many of the same "experts" who are warning you about cyanocobalamin are also touting the use of a different form of vitamin B12, called methylcobalamin. They'll tell you that methylcobalamin is not only safer—which isn’t true—but also far more effective than cyanocobalamin. This latter claim is not only untrue, but quite the opposite. This misinformation stems from the fact that cyanocobalamin is an inactive form of vitamin B12.
250 mg of Vitamin C: This water-soluble vitamin is well known for its antioxidant benefits, its ability to boost immune health, and enhancing collagen formation. Vitamin C has even been shown to increase fat loss and nitric oxide (NO) production.
Although the RDA for vitamin C is only 90 mg for males and 75 mg for females, it requires a larger dose to optimize its benefits. However, recent research suggests that very high intakes of vitamin C—around 1,000 mg per day—may hamper improvements in muscle endurance and muscle growth. There's not enough research yet to be concerned about your vitamin C intake. However, a dose of 250 mg will provide the benefits of vitamin C without any unwanted effects.
330 mg of Vitamin E (as d-alpha tocopheryl succinate): Newer research shows that vitamin E is critical for muscle recovery. Researchers from Georgia Health Sciences University discovered that tears in muscle membranes would not heal—unless the muscle cells were treated with vitamin E.
Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, which means it stops free radicals from causing further damage to cells, such as muscle cells. These free radicals prevent muscle tears from healing. Vitamin E is fat soluble. The membrane of a muscle cell is essentially made of fats. Because vitamin E is fat soluble, it actually inserts itself into the membrane where it prevents the free radicals from attacking the membrane and therefore allows the tears to heal.
The natural forms of vitamin E—called d-alpha-tocopherols—are absorbed and utilized better than the synthetic forms of vitamin E—called dl-alpha-tocopherols. While both are absorbed to the same degree, the natural form is more than two times more bioactive within the body. Only about half of the synthetic vitamin E is treated the way natural vitamin E is by the liver—and the rest is predominantly excreted.
120 mcg of Vitamin K2 (as MK-7 and MK-4): Vitamin K plays a critical role in enabling certain enzymes in the body to function. Some of these enzymes help to form blood-clotting factors that allow blood to clot. This is essential to stop from bleeding to death. Some of these enzymes are important for fixing calcium in bones, and may even help with testosterone production.
It is now believed that vitamin K also works in synergy with vitamin D, and if either one is deficient then the other one doesn't work optimally. One of the main functions of vitamin K2 is to help deposit calcium in the proper places in the body—such as bone and teeth—and avoid depositing calcium in the soft tissues—such as the arteries.
Vitamin K has gotten a lot of press in recent years. This once little-known vitamin is really racking up the clinical studies that show just how critical it is.
In one study, Japanese researchers gave one group of rats a diet low in MK-4 and another group a diet supplemented with MK-4 for 5 weeks. They reported in a 2011 issue of the journal Lipids in Health and Disease that the mice getting the supplemental MK-4 increased their testosterone levels by about twice that of the rats on the low MK-4.
They discovered that the MK-4 activated enzymes in the testicles of the rats that are critical for testosterone production. When they repeated the same experiment using vitamin K1, there was no increase in testosterone levels.
Yes, this study was done in rats. However, I have a lot of experience using rats in research, back to when I was at Yale University School of Medicine. There's a reason we use rats: A lot of their physiological systems are similar to ours.
Humans have the same enzymes that rats do in the testicles that convert cholesterol into testosterone. So, although this study needs to be done in humans to be completely sure, I feel very confident that MK-4 has a similar effect in men. This is why MK-4 is one of the vitamin K2 forms in my multivitamin Vita JYM.
3 mg of Boron (as amino acid chelate): There is some evidence that this trace mineral can increase levels of free testosterone. This is the testosterone that is not bound in the blood to the carrier protein sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG).
While on the one hand, SHBG helps testosterone stay in the blood longer, it also prevents it from binding with androgen receptors in the muscle cells where it instigates muscle growth. The more testosterone that is free from SHBG, the more testosterone there is to encourage muscle growth.
Researchers from Iran had healthy men take 10 mg of boron, the trace mineral, every day for one week. They reported in a 2011 issue of The Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology that just six hours after taking the first 10 mg boron pill, the men's SHBG levels dropped. So did their CRP (C-reactive protein) levels (a protein associated with inflammation in the body and the negative health consequences that come with it, such as heart disease) and TNF-alpha (a cytokine that is also associated with inflammation and negative health outcomes such as heart disease, diabetes, depression, and obesity).
After one week of taking boron not only were the men's SHBG much lower, as were their CRP and TNF-alpha levels, but so was their estrogen levels AND their free testosterone levels were significantly higher. The more free testosterone one has, the greater the potential for muscle growth. Boron may even lower estrogen levels, which further increases testosterone.
200 mcg of Chromium Picolinate: Chromium is an essential mineral that is critical to proper insulin function and metabolism. A number of clinical studies have shown that nutritional supplementation with chromium helps improve insulin function, which can impact muscle growth and fat loss.
Both endurance exercise and weight training have been shown to increase urinary excretion of chromium. So anyone who trains should be supplementing with a good dose of chromium well above the Adequate Intake (AI) of 30 mcg.
3 mg of Copper (as copper gluconate): Copper is important in the maintenance of bone, nerve, and cardiovascular health, as well as immune function. It's important in energy production and can help iron in its role in oxygen transport.
Some research suggests that it can increase growth hormone production. Yet again, this is one of the minerals that are often depleted in athletes. However, too much copper in relation to zinc can be harmful and has been implicated as one possible cause of chronic fatigue syndrome.
On the flip side, consuming more than 50 mg of zinc can limit copper absorption. So you need to make sure that your copper and zinc intake are in balance. Evidence suggests that you should get copper and zinc at a 1:10 ratio for optimal health. Since you should be getting in 30 mg of zinc each day—separately from your multivitamin—a 3 mg dose of copper is optimal.
18 mg of Iron (as ferrous fumarate): This dose provides 100% of the DV for iron. Iron is critical for oxygen delivery to working muscles and therefore it is critical for performance. This is due to the fact that the "heme" in hemoglobin is iron. Hemoglobin carries oxygen in the bloodstream to tissues, such as muscle fibers. It is the heme iron that attracts the oxygen. Iron is readily depleted in those who train intensely. In fact, the Food and Nutrition Board estimates that the average requirement for iron may be 30% higher for those who engage in regular intense exercise.
150 mcg of Iodine (as potassium iodide): Iodine is critical for maintaining thyroid function. With today's focus on low-sodium diets, many people are drastically low in iodine because they are neglecting the major source of iodine in the diet, salt that's been fortified with iodine. This dose provides 100% of the RDA for iodine.
2.3 mg of Manganese (as manganese gluconate): Manganese is a key mineral for numerous functions in the body that include production of testosterone and the formation of connective tissue. This dose provides 100% of the AI (Adequate Intake) for manganese and over 100% of the DV.
45 mcg of Molybdenum (as sodium molybdate): Molybdenum is one of the elements whose functions are less understood. But it is believed to be critical for energy production and waste processing in the kidneys. There is even evidence that it may help to prevent certain cardiovascular diseases and cancers. This dose provides 100% of the RDA for molybdenum.
200 mcg of Selenium (as sodium selenate): Selenium is a trace mineral that not only helps to maintain thyroid hormone levels, but is also important for immune function and may deliver health benefits including reduced risk of some types of cancer and cardiovascular disease, and promotion of normal liver function. Evidence also suggests that selenium may be critical for muscle strength. Since athletes are often deficient in selenium, this dose is well above the RDA of 55 mcg.
100 mg of Potassium (as potassium citrate): Potassium is an important mineral and electrolyte in the body. It is critical for nerve conduction and muscle contraction. Some evidence suggests that higher potassium intake is associated with lower acidity levels in the body and less muscle breakdown. However, you do not want to take a multi that provides more than 100 mg of potassium. Excessive potassium levels could result in problems for the kidneys.
5 mcg of Nickel (as nickel sulfate): The precise mechanisms that involve nickel in the body are not well understood. However, it is known to aid in iron absorption and utilization by the body, as well as enhance bone health. Although there is no DV established for nickel, a 5 mcg dose is sufficient to aid proper iron uptake and utilization.
2 mg of Silicon (as silicon dioxide): This mineral is important in bone and collagen formation, and may improve hair and nail health, as well as prevent cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's disease.
10 mcg of Vanadium (as amino acid chelate): This mineral may be important in promoting the effects of insulin, which can help to increase muscle growth and fat loss.
How to Work Vita JYM Into Your Diet
Below are sample breakdowns of how to take Vita JYM, Vitamin D3, and ZMA for those who use Pro JYM protein powder based on the time of day that you train. The sample diets are simply examples and not meant to replace your current diet. They are just outlines of how to incorporate the supplements into your diet.
The daily totals for these diets are: 3,700 calories, 335 g protein, 340 g carbs, and 110 grams of fat. For a 200-pound person that equals 19 calories per pound, about 1.6 grams of protein per pound, just shy of 1.7 grams of carbs per pound, and just over 0.5 grams of fat per pound of body weight.
- Breakfast: Take Vita JYM with your meal.
- Post-Workout: Use Pro JYM protein powder.
- Lunch: Regular meal.
- Dinner: Regular meal.
- Before Bed: Take ZMA one hour before your last meal.
- Breakfast: Take Vita JYM with your meal.
- Mid-Morning Snack: Regular snack.
- Post-Workout: Use Pro JYM protein powder.
- Dinner: Regular meal.
- Before Bed: Take ZMA one hour before your last meal.
- Breakfast: Take Vita JYM with your meal.
- Lunch: Regular meal.
- Pre-Workout Snack: Light snack.
- Post-Workout: Use Pro JYM protein powder.
- Dinner: Regular meal.
- Before Bed: Take ZMA one hour before your last meal.
- Breakfast: Take Vita JYM with your meal.
- Lunch: Regular meal.
- Dinner: Take Vita JYM with your meal.
- Post-Workout: Use Pro JYM protein powder.
- Before Bed: Take ZMA one hour before your last meal.
- Take Vita JYM with breakfast and/or dinner.
- Use Pro JYM protein powder as needed.
- Take ZMA one hour before your last meal.
Vita JYM – The Multivitamin for People Who Train
There's no debating the fact that supplements like creatine and beta-alanine are critical for maximizing results, but a good multivitamin should be at the top of your supplement list.
As stated above, research shows that many athletes and those who train intensely lose many critical vitamins and minerals due to a variety of factors, such as the loss of the minerals in sweat and urine, as well as their increased use for energy production during workouts, and recovery and protein synthesis following training.
Therefore, it's critical that you get at least the RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) or DV (Daily Value) for most minerals and get far more than these recommendations for most of the vitamins and certain minerals for optimal performance and physique changes.
Don't be fooled by these all-in-one formulas. When it comes to your multivitamin, you want to get very specific micronutrients. If you need joint health ingredients—glucosamine, what have you—take that in a separate supplement. Don't look for an all-in-one, because it's typically underdosed—severely—on those other ingredients, and very likely underdosed on the micronutrients—the vitamins and minerals—that it also supplies.
Vita JYM was formulated specifically to focus just on maximizing the uptake of very specific vitamins and minerals, leaving out ingredients that interfere with the absorption of other micronutrients. So no, there are no joint recovery ingredients; there are no fat-loss specific ingredients; there are no men's health specific ingredients.
This is a multivitamin for athletes—male and female athletes—and by "athlete" I mean anyone who trains hard in the gym, whether you're a recreational athlete or just a fitness enthusiast—that is an athlete. That's who I formulated Vita JYM for. It has the specific micronutrients that you need, in their proper forms, and at clinically proven dosages that will help complete your nutrition, enhance your overall health, and help you get the most out of your training so that you can continue to pursue all the goals of your fitness lifestyle.
