By Joy Stephenson-Laws, JD, Founder

Many of us have been passengers in airplanes at some point in our lives. And we all know the importance of having airplanes that are in the best condition possible, in order to increase our chances of arriving at our destinations safely. For example, airplanes must successfully be able to withstand turbulence and other weather and atmospheric conditions in the sky.

So why am I talking about airplane efficiency and safety here? Well, I believe it is a good analogy for the role food plays when it comes to our health. Think of your body as the atmosphere, the food you eat as the airplane/carrier and the nutrients from the food as the passengers. Just like the airplane, the food you ingest must be of good quality in order to transport critical nutrients (important passengers) to our cells (the destination). And if there is “turbulence” in our bodies, (meaning that our bodies will not allow our food to efficiently transport the nutrients to our cells), we may have health challenges.

There are a variety of factors that may affect the ability of our bodies to accommodate or absorb the nutrients from the foods we eat. These include age, medications, gastrointestinal sensitivity, lifestyle habits (like smoking and excessive alcohol consumption), genetics, existing medical conditions and many more.

Clearly the thinking that a good solution for a healthy life is to simply eat healthy foods with more of the nutrients we are personally lacking, may not be entirely correct. If we are unable to absorb the nutrients from the foods we eat, we may not remain healthy and we may be more prone to various diseases, like diabetes, hypertension, cancer and more. Ultimately, we will not accomplish our goal of having the nutrients from the foods we eat delivered to our cells.

So what can we do?

There are many ways to address the issue of our inability to properly absorb the nutrients from the foods we eat. In many instances, we have to first ascertain what the cause is.

However, one way to ensure that our nutrients are properly absorbed and reach our cells is by utilizing liposomes as the mode of delivery for our nutrients. Think of them as our efficient aircraft/carrier that can generally withstand the turbulence in our bodies.  

What is liposomal technology?

Liposomal technology is an innovative and effective method of nutrient delivery via supplementation.

“Liposomes are spheres made of phospholipids—the primary building blocks of cell membranes. Owing to this structure,liposomes bond easily with cell membranes to facilitate intracellular delivery of their nutrient cargo. Thanks to this enhanced delivery and absorption, nutrients delivered in liposomal form at lower doses may have equal or greater efficacy than higher doses provided in forms that are less bioavailable,” according to doctors and nutrition specialists from Designs for Health, a research-backed supplier of nutritional products.

Liposomes essentially provide a structure around the supplement that allow your body to better absorb the nutrients. This brief video gives a clear visual of how it works.

For someone like me who has genetic issues absorbing vitamin C, liposomal technology proved to be a great method for my nutrient delivery.  Because it doesn’t really matter how many vitamin C rich foods I eat, I will never be able to absorb the vitamin C from the foods in sufficient quantities to remain healthy. So in my case, liposomes are my aircrafts which deliver my passenger, vitamin C (a nutrient), to my cells. 

In an earlier article, I discussed that up to 26% of men and 14% of women may be vitamin C deficient. And the recommended daily allowance may be insufficient to keep us healthy.

But sometimes there are negative consequences to increasing vitamin intake orally, including diarrhea and other forms of GI discomfort.

“Liposomal vitamin C offsets the decrease in absorption known to occur with increasing oral doses,” according to Designs for Health. “[N]utrients delivered via liposomes enter the lymphatic circulation first, bypassing first-pass metabolism in the liver, thus increasing bioavailability.”

Liposomal delivery of vitamins and dietary supplements is relatively recent and is based on its success with increasing the effectiveness and targeting of pharmaceuticals.

Another option is intravenous vitamin C, but this may be inconvenient for some people. It may also be more expensive.

So in addition to eating a healthy diet and getting your nutrient levels tested, ask your doctor about any malabsorption issues you may have and suggest liposomal delivery of your nutrients.

Being an informed and proactive patient, as opposed to a reactive one, will help you live your happiest and healthiest life.

Enjoy your healthy life!

The pH professional health care team includes recognized experts from a variety of health care and related disciplines, including physicians, attorneys, nutritionists, nurses and certified fitness instructors. This team also includes the members of the pH Medical Advisory Board, which constantly monitors all pH programs, products and services. To learn more about the pH Medical Advisory Board, click here.