Pesi asks

My chiropractor who is also a nutritionist swears by the vitamins made by this company called Standard Process. He claims this company has its own fields of plants and vegetables and is completely free from any synthetic materials.  Their labels will not have the usual Thiamine, Riboflavin, etc but only food based like carrot, ginger etc. He says these products from standard are very easy on the stomach and are absorbed very easily by the body compared to others like synthetics and blends. Their website is standardprocess.com and their flagship product multivitamin called CATALYN costs $31 for 360 tablets (twice a day).

What is this brand called ALL ONE which you recommend and how does it compare to this CATALYN from Standard Process?

The Vitamin Professor Responds

Standard Process products are sold exclusively through chiropractors and are one of their “profit centers”. Also, many health professionals sincerely but mistakenly believe the marketing hype regarding “whole food vitamins”.  See also my recent blog post on the “whole food vitamin myth”

I will try to address your question, but it is like comparing apples to oranges.

In broad strokes here are the differences:

Potencies:
- CATALYN from Standard Process contains only 4 mg of Vitamin C per recommended serving.
- ALL ONE is much higher potency. ALL ONE contains 1,000 mg of Vitamin C per recommended serving.

Completeness:
- CATALYN contains only six (6) vitamins. Vitamin A, vitamin C), vitamin D, vitamin B1, vitamin B2 & vitamin B6. There are no minerals and no protein (amino acids).
- ALL ONE is a complete vitamin / mineral & amino acids (protein) supplement with over fifty one (51) nutrients.

Excipients (inactive substances used in tablet production):
- CATALYN contains binders, flow agents, lubricants and disintegrating agents: glycerin, arabic gum, calcium stearate, starch.
- ALL ONE powder contains no non-nutritive excipients.

Sugar:
- CATALYN contains sucrose (sugar).
- ALL ONE contains no added sugar.

Suitable for vegetarians?
- CATALYN contains animal by-products; bovine adrenal, bovine liver, bovine spleen, ovine spleen, bovine kidney etc.
- ALL ONE multiple powders: 2 are vegetarian (contain milk proteins) and 6 multiple formulas are certified vegan.

Plant based?
- CATALYN does contain “plant based” materials (ginger, carrot etc), however, the potencies for the six (6) vitamins they list are from synthetic sources listed right there on their label: Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6), Thiamin (vitamin B1), ascorbic acid (vitamin C), cholecalciferol (vitamin D), vitamin A palmitate (vitamin A) and riboflavin (vitamin B2.)

- ALL ONE powders, multiples and weight loss formulas, are in whole food bases. For example, our Green Phyto Base formula is in a base of high quality California grown rice protein and contains 2 grams of concentrated ORGANIC greens: green kamut (non hybridized wheat grass), barley, alfalfa, oats, Cruciferous vegetable juice powder including green cabbage, kale, parsley and broccoli – all grown in fertile, unpolluted soil and combined with dulse, sea vegetables, kelp and the potent micro-algae spirulina. Now THAT is more like whole foods than any hard compressed tablet, including CATALYN.

For more on the myth of whole food vitamins, see: http://www.all-one.com/professor/whole-foods-vitamins/

I hope this addresses your questions.

All the best,

Doug Ingoldsby
AKA, “The Vitamin Professor”