GENERAL
Short A: Start with a level teaspoon mixed into a glass of water every day.
Long A: The dosage can be adjusted depending on how healthy your diet is at the moment. If you eat 3 healthy wholefood-based meals a day, most people find that 1 teaspoon is the perfect amount to feel the benefits of optimal nutritional intake. If you feel your diet is inconsistent or lacking in nutrients, we recommend 2 teaspoons. And no matter your current diet, start with half a teaspoon and build to your desired dosage – it’s a nutritionally dense product and you’ll want to ease into it!
Activated Nutrients have two billion pre/probiotic bacteria, which is a perfectly fine daily dose for maintenance. If you have a particular need for higher doses (recovery from antibiotic exposure, suspected digestive insufficiency, poor diet, high stress environments) additional intake from a specific probiotic supplement may be warranted. A number of very high dose products are becoming available but it remains unclear whether “more is better” when it comes to probiotics because you are dealing with organisms that will multiply when provided with the right environment. That can be done by co-ingestion of adequate soluble fibre (as is present in the AN Daily Superfoods) and avoiding food ingredients that retard probiotic growth (preservatives, artificial colours, flavors and sweeteners). We believe it is likely that providing that environment is a better pathway to digestive health that superdosing.
The AN Daily Superfood products are designed to comprehensively supply your requirements of micronutrients and while the recommended daily serving does also contain small amounts of macronutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrates and fibre) the amounts are far less than would be required for the product to be used as a meal replacement if consumed in water. If, however, the product is combined with foods that do provide adequate amounts of those macronutrients, such as whole dairy or nut milks, whole yoghurt or protein powders a nutritionally complete meal replacement can easily be prepared.
We believe that the AN Daily Superfoods products are suitable for children as they are based on whole food extracts and really is not very different from eating those foods, except in a more concentrated, and probably easier to assimilate form. We do suggest that if children are to use the product that serving sizes are adjusted accordingly, on a body weight basis, and that the child is monitored when the product is first introduced in case any previously unknown food intolerances become apparent. Children who are known to be “picky” may benefit from the Daily Superfood to be “hidden” in other foods such as smoothies and even soups although we suggest that to product is added to cooled food as cooking will destroy some of the more sensitive nutrients, enzymes and probiotics.
As indicated on the package the AN Daily Superfoods should be stored in “a cool, dry place”. The opaque nature of the package also protects the product from light. The products do have an expiry date printed on the bottom of the can and product should be consumed before this date to gain the full benefits of the nutrients, especially the probiotics.
While the complement of nutrients provided by the AN Daily Superfoods is quite significant it has been designed to be used in conjunction with a typical diet and so is not complete as far as recommended daily intakes of some nutrients. If your diet is really poor we do suggest that you address that but while that transition is going on combined use of the products and a full spectrum multivitamin may be sensible. Because we have formulated the AN products with whole raw foods as the source of nutrients we were not able to provide the levels of some nutrients that may be required by certain individuals in specific circumstances. For those people targeted supplementation may be advisable.
The AN Daily Superfood is just that – a food. Many foods are known to interact with specific medicines and where these interactions are likely to cause a problem the interaction is usually clearly made known by the pharmaceutical company, your doctor or phamacist. If you are in any way unsure we suggest you discuss this with your doctor or pharmacist. One particular class of drugs that often raises concerns are anticoagulant drug therapies (eg Warfarin). We believe that the AN Daily Superfood products are safe for use by people using these drugs due to their low vitamin K content. During the formulation process we endeavoured to limit the content of known high Vitamin K foods although we did use kale and broccoli due to their high content of desirable key antioxidant molecules. It must be noted that cooking is known to liberate vitamin K. Cooked broccoli, for example, contains 220micrograms of vitamin K per cup; the same amount of raw broccoli contains just 90 micrograms. Because we use these ingredients in their raw form we can take advantage of the lower levels found in that form. Anyone who is using anticoagulant drug therapies should speak to their medical professional and may decide to increase the frequency of checking clotting rates until any minor and temporary alterations stabilise.
We believe that the AN Daily Superfood products are safe for use by people using anticoagulant drug therapies (eg Warfarin) due to their low vitamin K content. During the formulation process we endeavoured to limit the content of known high Vitamin K foods although we did use kale and broccoli due to their high content of desirable key antioxidant molecules. It must be noted that cooking is known to liberate vitamin K. Cooked broccoli, for example, contains 220micrograms of vitamin K per cup; the same amount of raw broccoli contains just 90 micrograms. Because we use these ingredients in their raw form we can take advantage of the lower levels found in that form. Anyone who is using anticoagulant drug therapies should speak to their medical professional and may decide to increase the frequency of checking clotting rates until any minor and temporary alterations stabilise.
The study that called ginseng into question for warfarin users dates back to 2004 ( http://www.uchospitals.edu/news/2004/20040705-ginseng.html ) and used American ginseng (panax quinquefolius) in quite significant doses (2g per day for 2 weeks). We use Siberian ginseng (elutherococcus senticosus) which is a completely different plant and our doses are 33 mg per 10 g serve for women and 166 mg per 10 g for men. While Siberian ginseng has some of the same effects on clotting biochemistry as American ginseng it is listed as much lower risk and we believe that the amounts we include are below the threshold for an effect, and likely less than any risk from vitamin K from other supplementary or dietary sources.
While there are certainly trace amounts of phytoestrogenic compounds in most plant-based foods, the two notable sources commonly encountered are soy (and soy related products) and flax. We have avoided using soy in our products, partially for this reason. We do use flaxseed meal but we believe that the ingredient value, including its omega-3 content, outweighs the negatives of its small phytoestrogen content. Phytoestrogens exert their negative effects via displacing estrogen from its receptor but, because phytoestrogens have a much lower affinity for the estrogen receptor, relatively large amounts are needed. We believe that the amount contributed by the inclusion of the flaxseed meal ingredient is below the threshold for concern.
Women who are planning to become pregnant often become very concerned about their nutritional status and rightly so as it has been shown to be a critical component of a successful pregnancy. As every woman is different we do suggest discussing your current nutritional status with your doctor to decide if AN Daily Superfood is suitable for your specific situation. If you are already pregnant it’s especially important to commence the use of the products only after consultation with your obstetrician as maternal and fetal nutritional requirements vary throughout the term of the pregnancy. If you are breastfeeding be aware that certain dietary components can find their way into breast milk so again use of the AN Daily Superfood should be undertaken under consultation with your doctor.
Our products are designed to complement a healthy diet, so the protein levels in our formula are not intended to meet an individual’s entire protein requirement. Rather, we’ve set the protein levels at the average daily supplementary requirement for someone who already obtains some protein from healthy meals. If the individual needs higher levels for some reason (such as intense training or recovery from illness) then increasing servings with an additional ½ to 1 scoop is a simple solution. What is most important is the quality and absorbability of the protein, both dietary and supplementary. And for our Daily Protein, we chose protein sources that work together to deliver high quality, balanced protein that your body can absorb and use optimally. To sum it up, we and our scientific advisory board feel it was much more important to create a high quality, easily absorbed and great-tasting product rather than just a product with a high protein number. It’s easy to adjust dosage but not adjust quality! .