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SONA Prenatal is an advanced, scientifically balanced formulas provided in a natural base of Norwegian Kelp and bioflavonoid complex. These `superfoods` provide functional support to the formulas, with kelp providing Nature`s richest source of organic trace minerals and bioflavonoid complex providing powerful anti-oxidant support. Norwegian Kelp SONA Prenatal incorporates a superior source of organic trace minerals. Sea plants, most notably Ascophyllum Nodosom (Norwegian Kelp), have long been recognized as a superior source of vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients. Norwegian Kelp contains over 60 essential minerals and trace minerals, and being a sea plant, these nutrients are in the most bio-available form possible, making kelp the finest source of organic minerals on the planet. Organic minerals are the only form of mineral that the body can incorporate directly into the cells and tissues, and organic minerals are only provided by plants, with sea plants being the most potent and most complete form. Inorganic mineral forms such as calcium carbonate from dolomite, oyster shell and coral are poorly absorbed because the body must first break them down via the digestive process before they can be absorbed. This is a very inefficient process, and in health y people, less than 6% of the inorganic mineral will be transformed to the organic form for incorporation into cell membranes. In the elderly, or in people with digestive disorders, the absorption of inorganic minerals can be close to zero. When kelp is included in the SONA Rx, the absorption of these myriad nutrients is further enhanced, making SONA Rx the most effective trace mineral supplement possible.
Citrus Bioflavonoid Complex
Bioflavonoids, often called vitamin P (P for permeability), were first discovered and named by Dr. Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, the Nobel Prize winning discoverer of vitamin C. Bioflavonoids are water-soluble flavone derivatives which include Hesperidin, Quercitin, Naringin and Rutin. Bioflavonoids are found along with vitamin C in foods such as citrus fruits, green peppers and buckwheat. Bioflavonoids are essential for the absorption and utilization of vitamin C. The bioavailability of vitamin C is enhanced when adequate bioflavonoids are present, and in turn, the bioavailability of bioflavonoids is enhanced when adequate vitamin C is present. Ideally, bioflavonoids should be in equal ratio with vitamin C as in the SONA Rx. They assist vitamin C in keeping collagen, the "intercellular cement" in a healthy condition. As a potent antioxidant, bioflavonoids keep vitamin C and adrenalin from being oxidized by copper-containing enzymes. They reduce the risk of heart disease by their ability to lower cholesterol and triglycerides. They improve capillary permeability and reduce red blood cell aggregation. They have anti-allergy and anti-inflammatory activity and reduce swelling and body fluid concentration at sites of inflammation, and they dilate small arteries, improving circulation. They stimulate bile production, influence endocrine glands, and have anti-parasitic and anti-bacterial properties. Bioflavonoids reduce platelet adhesiveness and reduce the incidence of heart disease and stroke. Together, vitamin C and bioflavonoids have proven helpful in treating capillary injuries and they help minimize contact sport bruising. They also have proven helpful in the treatment of bleeding gums, eczema and hemorrhaging. SONA Prenatal uses one of the most potent forms of bioflavonoids with a Hesperidin content of not less than 22%. Many products that contain bioflavonoids use a less costly and less effective form of raw bioflavonoids. The only way to know the quality of the bioflavonoids in a formula is to see if the label indicates the amount of Hesperidin present. If no claim is made for the Hesperidin content, then the product is unlikely to contain the higher grade of bioflavonoids. SONA Based Vitamin levels The vitamin levels in the SONA formulas are based on the Suggested Optimal Nutrient Allowances (SONAs) as proposed to the US Senate. Through the effort of a 15 year study, it is now possible to extrapolate suggested optimum daily nutrient allowances or SONA`S. The SONA`S are levels of nutrients found in a study of 13,500 male and female subjects living in six different regions of the United States conducted by senior investigators, Drs. Emanuel Cheraskin and W. M. Ringsdorf at the University Of Alabama Medical School. The results of their $2 million dollar study are contained in 49,000 bound pages found in 153 volumes, whose results have been published in over 100 papers during the 1970`s & 1980`s. They correlated intakes of essential nutrients with signs and symptoms of disease. The healthiest individuals - those with the least clinical signs and symptoms, consumed supplements, and ate a diet richer in essential nutrients relative to calories than those with more signs and symptoms of disease. Based on the logical assumption that those who are free of symptoms are healthier than those who show clinical signs and symptoms of disease, the ideal daily intake of each essential nutrient was taken to be that level consumed by people who were free from symptoms and signs of disease. Cheraskin and Ringsdorf found optimum intakes of essential nutrients to increase with age. The SONA formula is ideal for those under 50 years of age. The SONA Rx, on the other hand, provides increased levels of some nutrients to meet the increased needs of those over 50 years of age and for those who have increased nutrient demands such as competitive athletes or those with an unusually stressful lifestyle. For more information please see the article: Establishing a Suggested Optimal Nutrient Allowance (SONA). The RDAs - intakes of minerals and vitamins which prevent deficiency symptoms in healthy, average adults - are inadequate for optimum health, especially during stress, growth, pregnancy, lactation, strenuous and athletic activity, healing from disease and injury, and advancing age. At present, the RDA`s represent the nutritional equivalent of the minimum wage. Just like the minimum wage, they offer little hope of significantly improving the quality of your life. For almost everyone, the SONA`S represent supplement levels of essential vitamins and minerals designed to maintain optimum health over one`s life-time. On June 19, 2002, the American Medical Association, after decades of anti-vitamin policy, has reversed its position and now recommends that Americans take at least one multivitamin pill each day. While only one multivitamin daily is not enough to maintain optimum health over one`s lifetime, it is better than no supplementation at all, and is a welcome beginning to a new appreciation of the role of nutrients in preventing disease. It is tragic that the Medical profession and the pharmaceutical industry have largely ignored the results of numerous published scientific studies, including the SONA study, on the role of nutrition in maintaining good health. The quality of life for millions could have been improved and countless lives saved if the AMA had adopted this new position 20 years earlier. The Vitamins in the SONA Rx & SONA Prenatal All the major vitamins that have been the subject of the investigations in the SONA programme are included in the formula. The levels of vitamin B12, vitamin B6 and vitamin E are increased in the SONA Rx, and vitamin K has been added. The minor vitamins biotin and pantothenic acid, for which no SONA`s have yet been established, are also included at the new EC RDA levels, as these are also essential for optimal health. In the case of vitamin A, a combination of the vitamin and its precursor beta-carotene is used to insure an adequate level of antioxidant activity without including a level of vitamin A that might exceed accepted levels of safety. The Minerals in the SONA Prenatal The essential minerals play a very important role in the body. They make it possible for muscles to contract, for the brain and the nervous system to work and to combine with amino acids to produce co-enzymes that control the many living processes such as energy production and growth. In nature, the minerals are rarely found alone, but are bound as inorganic compounds in the earth, or in living organisms, with a variety of natural substances as organic complexes. In the SONA formulas, the minerals are combined with amino acids by a process known as chelation, which mimics the form in which most minerals are found in food. Amino Acid Chelated Minerals can therefore be more rapidly and efficiently absorbed from the digestive tract into the bloodstream than inorganic forms of minerals. Highly bio-available, amino acid chelated minerals are prepared using advanced technical processes that require scrupulous monitoring of mineral/amino acid ratios, pH, and ingredient concentrations. Exact balancing of materials is necessary to avoid the formation of inorganic salts which can irritate the gastrointestinal tract. Amino acid chelation closely resembles how minerals are found in foods & what occurs in the human digestive tract. Amino acid chelates are absorbed rapidly and efficiently, making them the most bio-available of mineral forms. Enerex`s chelated minerals are manufactured by a special technology that uses proteolytic enzymes to digest rice protein and citric acid to ionize the minerals. Rice protein is used as a source of amino acids because it is less allergenic than other commonly used proteins such as wheat, yeast, corn and milk. For a more complete description of mineral chelates, please view the article: Synergistically Balanced Amino Acid Chelated Minerals. Calcium and magnesium in the SONA formulas are provided in the ideal 1:1 ratio. Calcium and magnesium are vital components of bone and tooth metabolism. Both participate in energy production, muscle contraction, nerve function, maintenance of the acid-alkali balance of the body fluids, and nucleic acid metabolism. Several smaller doses of calcium and magnesium over the course of the day are absorbed more effectively than one large dose. For more information view: Calcium to Magnesium Ratio Zinc is essential for many physiological processes, including cellular nucleic acid synthesis, sensory taste and smell, keratin metabolism, sexual and reproductive processes, wound healing, etc. Soil deficiency of zinc is widespread, often resulting in zinc deficiency in non-supplemented diets. Zinc and copper compete for absorption in the digestive tract, and therefore are provided in a carefully balanced ratio. Normally, iron absorption from the gastrointestinal tract is a very inefficient process. Concomitant administration of vitamin C and bioflavonoid complex and certain components of the B-complex, especially folic acid and vitamin B12 greatly increase iron uptake. Vitamin B-complex factors stimulate gastric and duodenal secretions, increasing hydrochloric acid production which solubilizes iron for absorption. Vitamin C keeps iron in its reduced state and binds the mineral for easier absorption. Vitamin C is especially useful for raising iron absorption under conditions of iron deficiency The SONA Rx includes copper because the incorporation of iron into the oxygen-carrying red blood cell pigment, hemoglobin, is copper-dependent. Molybdenum is also included because of its involvement both in the transport of iron, and in energy production. Iron in the SONA Prenatal Ever since an article published in the JULY 26, 1999 Issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, titled Iron, Atherosclerosis, and Ischemic Heart Disease 1, suggested that elevated iron levels might be a contributing factor in the development of atherosclerosis and ischemic heart disease, there has been a trend among vitamin manufacturers to bring out iron free formulas, and by so doing, creating in the public mind, as well as in the mind of some health care practitioners, a fear that iron supplementation might be harmful. This is an unfortunate misinterpretation of the report. The report relates to a specific type of iron called heme iron, which is found in red meat. The report refers to a study by Snowdon et al 2 that found a threefold difference in risk of fatal coronary disease in 45 to 64 year-old men who ate meat daily, compared to those who did not eat meat. Meat consumption was positively associated with fatal ischemic heart disease in both men and women. This was the first study to clearly show a dose-response relationship between meat consumption and ischemic heart disease risk. The report also shows a lack of correlation between non-heme iron intake and coronary heart disease (CHD), and suggests that dietary non-heme iron does not contribute to an increased cardiovascular risk. Non-heme iron is the type of iron used in most dietary supplements including the SONA. The report also refers to a follow-up study of 44,933 men (with no previous history of CHD) aged 40 to 75 years by Ascherio et al 3, which showed, after adjustments for established risk factors, that there was no significant association between total iron intake and risk of CHD. CONCLUSIONS: These results do not support the hypothesis that dietary iron in general increases coronary risk in men; they are consistent, however, with an increased risk of myocardial infarction among men with higher intakes of heme iron (meat eaters), which is itself positively associated with iron stores. The report did not take into account other well-known risk factors in the development of CHD such as smoking, drinking, high fat diet, elevated levels of cholesterol and homocysteine, stress, lack of exercise, heredity and long-term sub-optimal intake of nutrients including vitamin E and C. It could be a fatal mistake to suggest, as the report suggests, that abolishing iron fortification of foods and avoiding nutritional supplements that contain iron will reduce the incidence of CHD. This approach can create a false sense of security, especially amongst middle-age men, if they think that they can avoid CHD without addressing all of the other risk factors. The obvious, but omitted, conclusion of the report would be to recommend a reduction in the dietary intake of heme iron by reducing or eliminating the consumption of red meat. This simple solution would also reduce the other risk factors such as saturated fat and cholesterol, to say nothing of reducing the risk of mad cow disease. This is of course, a political recommendation as well as a scientific one. Any suggestion that consumption of red meat would have a bearing on the development of CHD, or any other health condition, would bring the wrath of the powerful agriculture lobby, which includes the beef and dairy industries. A study published in October 2002, confirms the lack of correlation between ferritin concentrations and transferrin levels in patients with coronary artery disease. In patients referred for coronary angiography, serum ferritin levels were not associated with an increased extent of coronary atherosclerosis 4. The report also discussed the special iron needs of those involved in physical training such as athletes. Physical training reduces iron stores by creating a negative iron balance as shown in athletes. This gives rise to a condition known as sports anemia, a common condition in many athletes, both male and female. Building muscle mass such as in bodybuilding and weightlifting leads to an increased need of iron for myoglobin. The report suggests that it is the lower iron levels in athletes that is responsible for their lower risk of CHD, but avoids other positive benefits of exercise on the incidence of CHD such as improved aerobic capacity, lower body fat and cholesterol, stronger heart etc. Iron deficiency is the most common nutrient deficiency in the world. Groups likely to suffer from iron deficiency include pregnant and lactating women, menstruating women, vegetarians, children during early and adolescent periods of rapid growth, and those who experience symptoms of fatigue. In fact, the majority of the population suffers from some form of sub-clinical iron deficiency. Iron absorption from red meat (heme iron) is about 15%, whereas absorption from plant sources (non-heme iron) is only about 4%. Iron absorption is governed by the body`s need: an iron-anemic person may absorb 50-60% of iron present in food. Inorganic iron such as ferrous sulfate is often used in low quality dietary supplements and in fortification of cereals. Inorganic iron is poorly absorbed and can cause constipation and gastric distress - it should be avoided. In summary, to meet the optimum dietary needs of the majority of the population, organic (non-heme iron) supplementation along with optimum levels of all the other minerals, vitamins and enzymes is essential to maintain good health throughout one`s lifetime. The SONA Rx perfectly meets the optimum nutritional needs of the majority of the population over 50 years of age, and the SONA Prenatal provides extra iron recommended during pregnancy. B. de Valk, MD, J. J. M. Marx, MD, PhD. Iron, Atherosclerosis, and Ischemic Heart Disease . Archives of Internal Medicine Vol. 159 No 14 July 26, 1999.
Snowden DA, Phillips RL, Fraser GE. Meat consumption and fatal ischemic heart disease . Prev Med 1984 Sept. 13(5): 490-500.
Ascherio A, Willett WC, Rimm EB, Giovannucci EL, Stampfer MJ. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health , Boston , MA . Dietary iron intake and risk of coronary disease among men . Circulation 1994 Mar. 89(3): 969-74
Auer J, Rammer M, Berent R, Weber T, Lassing E, Eber B. Body iron stores and cornary atherosclerosis assesed by cornary angiography . Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 2002 Oct: 12(5):285-90
Silica in the SONA Prenatal The SONA formulas contain bamboo extract, the richest known source of natural silica containing over 70% organic silica. This is more than 30 times the level as found in the widely used Horsetail plant (Equisetum), which contains about 2-3% silica. The bamboo extract is prepared from Tabashir bamboo stem from India ( Bambusa vulgaris ). Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element on earth after oxygen. It is a sister element of carbon. Silicon`s role as an essential nutrient in human nutrition was not established until 1972, but silicon is now known to play a part in the integrity of the skin, ligaments, tendons, bone and in the health of the arteries. The body constantly metabolizes silicic acid. Silica is eliminated through such natural processes as urination, hair loss and nail trimming. This natural secretion of silica can be from 10 to 40 mg daily. The average adult body contains about 20 grams of silica, and it is necessary for the body`s silica stores to be maintained at this level to promote good health. As we age, less silica is assimilated, therefore daily supplementation with the SONA Rx will help maintain this necessary equilibrium and to minimize the effects of premature ageing. Silicon is thought to improve the cardiovascular system, as it is essential to the structural integrity, elasticity and permeability of the arteries. Silica may be useful in reducing blood fats & cholesterol. Artherosclerosis can occur as a result of silicon deficiency whereas silicon is abundant (up to 14 times more) in the arteries of people who are free of heart disease. Silicon improves the condition of the hair, nails, teeth, gums and skin and has been used to alleviate eczema and psoriasis. Silica plays an essential role in mineral absorption and may help in re-calcifying de-calcified bones & de-calcify soft tissue deposits of calcium. Silicon enhances the function of iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium and boron, and is essential for normal bone development which may help prevent osteoporosis. Silicon helps maintain the correct calcium-magnesium balance. Silicon may be useful in strengthening the musculo-skeletal system, preventing injuries and helping bones to heal in athletes & others. Silicon supplementation may retard the ageing process. At birth, the body contains a maximum level of silica that declines with age. As the body`s natural level of silica declines, it exhibits the signs attributable to ageing such as bone loss, dry and wrinkled skin, weakened teeth and gums and hair loss. Silicon converts aluminum from both water and other dietary sources into insoluble hydroxy-aluminosilicates, which cannot enter the bloodstream or brain. This has important consequences for preventing the development of Alzheimer`s dementia by assisting the body in eliminating aluminum. Aluminum is thought to a causative factor in the development of Alzheimer`s disease. Silicon stimulates chondroblasts to deposit chondroitin sulfate and hyaluronic acid into the cartilage matrix. This has important implications in managing arthritis pain as silicon will improve the function and effectiveness of glucosamine sulfate, which is the precursor of both chondroitin sulfate and hyaluronic acid. Silicon may help protect against and heal gastric ulcers and arthritis (connective tissue healing).
Functions of Silicon
Functions as a cross-linking agent, providing strength and resilience to collagen & elastin connnective tissues.
Essential for bone & cartilage collagen synthesis present as silicic acid in mucopolysaccharides, the structural components of connective tissues.
Essential for bone calcification.
Stimulates growth.
Required for the proper functioning of the enzyme prolyhydroxylase that functions in the formation of collagen in bone, cartilage and other connective tissues.
The inclusion of silica, make the SONA formulas the most complete nutrition supplements available. The SONA Prenatal Contain Optimum Levels of important Essentia
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