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	Frequently asked Questions: BrainChild Supplements Q: Why does BrainChild Nutritionals make only liquid supplements? A: To better answer this question, let's first take a look at how our digestive system functions. The food is first wetted by electrolyte-rich saliva in the mouth. Then adequate chewing and mastication converts food solids into saturated liquids. In the stomach, hydrochloric acids, pepsin, and mucous are secreted and the stomach contents approach a more liquid state. After sufficient time, movement, liquification, and digestive action in the stomach, the food contents now a liquid slurry called chyme, enter the duodenum, or first section of the small intestine. Here they are saturated with more mucous, pancreatic bicarbonate and enzymes, and bile to further liquefy and break down the nutrients from the food we eat into vitamins, minerals, peptides, carbohydrates, fats and fatty acids that our cells can utilize in their normal structure and function. The liquid nutrients in BrainChild Nutritionals (BCN) supplements are extensively mechanically pre-digested to a very small particle size. This process facilitates optimal absorption of nutrients through the walls of the intestines, into the bloodstream, and ultimately into the cells, where their support of cellular energy production and detoxification is most crucially needed. They are also good-tasting when mixed into a favorite juice and easily administered, saving the "amateur apothecary" (who opens 8 capsules and crushes 3 tablets with a mortar and pestle to put together the needed nutrients) a great deal of time and money. An independent clinical study of BCN Spectrum Support liquid supplements was conducted through the Southwest Autism Research Center and Arizona State University in 2000 and published in The Journal For Alternative and Complimentary Medicine. This study showed that all symptoms of either loose stools or infrequent bowel movements in the children on the spectrum in the study were completely resolved in less than one month. The study also reported that where sleep disruptions accompanied the stool anomalies, (possibly a parallel phenomenon of GI inflammation or dysfunction), those issues were also resolved within a parallel time frame. Studies have shown that liquid nutrients can be at least 3-5 times better absorbed and assimilated than capsules, tablets, or powders. Short of doctor-prescribed IV or injectable nutrient delivery, oral or sublingual liquids have proven to be the best means to normalizing nutrient status in the body. With this in mind, please note that extremely huge dosages of many essential nutrients are no longer required when using our sub-micron particle suspension formulas. (Please consult our dosage chart on the website or in our info packets for the best starting dosage based on a carefully designed mg per kg ratio) By accomplishing more with less, we are able to create better tasting formulas that utilize smaller particle sized and lower quantities of superior forms of nutrients within a far more effective, liquid delivery vehicle. Clearly, when nutrient status and overall health are compromised and getting results are the highest priority, liquid supplements are the best choice in oral administration. Q: Aren't capsules and tablets easier to administer and just as effective as liquids? A: Tableted supplements are made by compressing fairly large volumes of nutrient powder, along with binders like cellulose fiber or vegetable starch in tablet presses that exert three to four tons of pressure per square inch, making a smaller, more easily swallowed finished product. This tablet is more like a piece of gravel and not easily broken down to the liquid state our GI tracts convert food into. Colonic therapists often report fully intact tablets in outflow from the colon going out of the body with little nutrient assimilation taking place, especially when digestion is sub-optimal. Powders and capsules, while a little better than tablets, must be fully wetted and broken down to be assimilated. Often, powders in capsules are only dry milled to just the 10-100+ micron particle size range, and are not well absorbed through the gut lining without significant digestive action. Children on The Spectrum commonly have digestive issues like low stomach acid, pancreatic bicarbonate, fat digesting bile, and enzymes, contributing to or exacerbating the maldigestion and malabsorption of nutrients. It is unlikely that powders or capsules will be fully broken down and assimilated in the presence of these issues. If only partially broken down, these powdered nutrients may also cause intestinal irritation and nausea. Clearly, one of the primary functions of digestion is to fully liquefy the food we eat so nutrients can be better assimilated into our bodies. Why interfere with the natural function of our body's physiology? If the objective of digestion is to turn the solids we eat into liquids, why put dry powders, capsules, or tablets into the GI tract, especially when the very digestive processes at issue are commonly functioning at a sub-optimal level in children and adults with gastro intestinal issues? Digestive problems that further limit the breakdown and assimilation of powders, capsules, or tablets are bypassed when BCN liquid suspension nutrients are utilized. In fact, minerals like magnesium and calcium provide essential nutrient support for the contraction/relaxation of smooth muscles of the intestine and colon that facilitate normal peristaltic movement, digestion, and nutrient absorption. When these crucial minerals are delivered in a more efficient and effective manner, the digestive tract receives the needed raw materials to normalize its structure and function. Since nutrient absorption and proper nutritional status are often major issues with children on The Spectrum, especially those undergoing mineral-depleting chelation therapy, optimal nutrient delivery and assimilation is and has always been our highest priority at BCN. Capsules or tablets are often not an option for early interventions for many children, and also for adults with swallowing issues. For adults or children with oral sensory defensiveness to swallowing, presenting liquids is the only clear choice in supplementation. Q: Why do you offer a variety of vitamin and mineral formulas? A: As many clients and practitioners have come to know, individuals with neurotoxic or Spectrum conditions have a wide variety of nutritional needs, with some responding very well to specific forms or levels of certain nutrients and others benefiting from either far more or less or different forms of these same nutrients. Some individuals may have enhanced metabolic needs, while others have intolerances to some of the very nutrients others benefit greatly from. That is why you'll find that BCN offers Spectrum Support I, II, III, along with Spectrum Support II with PAK B-6, and Ultra-Sensitive vitamin formulas. We also provide three mineral formulas for foundational mineral support with Spectrum Support Minerals, chelation support with Mega-Minerals, and Ultra Sensitive Minerals for severely allergic/intolerant individuals who have been unable thus far to tolerate other targeted Spectrum supplement products. Q: Why don't you offer vitamins and minerals in one bottle? A: BCN vitamin and mineral formulas are divided into separate bottles for many important reasons. First, we can maximize potency in each bottle and facilitate better taste compliance in so doing. Second, vitamins and minerals in liquids have longer shelf lives and higher residual potencies when they are not blended in formulas together. Third, with separate formulas, you can easily increase the dose of minerals while holding or even decreasing the dose of vitamins or vice versa. This functionality makes our formulas extremely versatile both within the parameters of each individual product and interactively with all the others we offer. Lastly, chelation for heavy metals via DMSA or DMPS can cause or worsen severe mineral deficiencies in what could be described as a "friendly fire" nutrient depletion scenario. Health- giving minerals co-administered with chelators can also draw their binding potentials away from the intended targets of metal toxins, resulting in a lose/lose situation of mineral depletion and reduced chelation benefit. To circumvent this scenario, most practitioners utilize a "days on/days off" mineral administration protocol with chelation. Having separated mineral and vitamin products provides flexibility without the loss of vitamin supplementation. Q: Why are there herbs in your formulas and what functions do they serve? A: We utilize trace quantities of herbs in our vitamin formulas (except the Ultra-sensitive Formula, which does not contain any herbs) that are designed to help recycle glutathione and support gut, immune, and neurological function. Our herbs are organically grown, extracted in gluten-free alcohol, and finally rendered as alcohol-free extracts. They are Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) and have been used by traditional practitioners on nearly every continent with good safety and efficacy when given to very young children. We avoid buying herbs from China. Our minerals utilize a decoction of herbs that: 1. Enhance liver function 2. Move bile 3. Boost immune function and the body's defense against physical and mental stress 4. Provide anti-microbial mucilaginous polysaccharides that reduce inflammation in the gut and help regenerate the intestinal mucosal barrier Our herbal glutathione recycling tincture, Herbathione, is a more concentrated form of the herbs used in our vitamins. More than a dozen research articles supporting the included singular herb's effects on increasing plasma and hepatic/liver glutathione are referenced on the FAQ page, under "About The Herbs We Use", or available in our product information packet. This is an excellent adjunct support to any form of glutathione administration as it facilitates more effective redox or recycling of glutathione to defend the body against free radicals and heavy metals like mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic. Q: What is IntestiMend? IntestiMend is an innovative sulfur, gastrointestinal, and detoxification support supplement that utilizes a broad range of sulfur-based accessory nutrients. A healthy gastrointestinal tract is lined with a protective barrier of sulfate that appears to provide resistance to a wide range of biological, viral/immunological, dietary, inflammatory and toxicological challenges. Compromises in sulfation chemistry from toxin exposure may diminish this natural resistance. IntestiMend is designed to provide precursor, multi-elemental and catalyst support for the cellular protective barrier called Glycosaminoglycans (GAGS), which are predominantly composed of sulfur-bearing amino acids bonded to polysaccharide sugar molecules. These are often dysfunctional in the damaged intestines of children and adults with digestive or Spectrum issues. Many parents of children on the Feingold Diet that have had accidental ingestions of restricted foods or additives have reported that IntestiMend completely halts severe reactions to these foods within 20-30 minutes. While it has not yet been demonstrated, it may function in a similar manner with accidental gluten/casein food ingestions for those individuals on a Gluten Free Casein Free (GFCF) diet as well. IntestiMend also works well as a daily sulfur support supplement for children and adults with low sulfur/sulfate levels and may also boost glutathione levels. Q: How is your LiquiZinc formula different from other zinc supplements? A: LiquiZinc is a super-absorbable therapeutic liquid zinc supplement that effectively raises plasma zinc status and helps balance elevated plasma copper and cadmium. Use this product gently when copper or cadmium are somewhat elevated to ensure effective metallomineral balance, or to maintain crucial zinc status when levels are normal. Please note: this product should be used with a practitioner's supervision and plasma monitoring when toxic levels of copper, cadmium, or other heavy metals are present.