OT: supplement storage

[Guest guest]

Good article from Health Sciences Institute:

Dear Reader,

When dark spots develop in supplement capsules, you know that can't be good. But

this is a common problem when supplements are exposed to one or more of the

three thieves of potency: temperature, humidity, and light.

Fortunately, there's an easy step you can take to control those thieves. And

you'll not only avoid dark spots, you'll also be sure to get the very highest

potency out of your daily supplements.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Stop, thief!

-----------------------------------------------------------

The one place in the home that's specifically designed to store

medicines--namely, the medicine cabinet--turns out to be the worst place to

store drugs and supplements.

Humidity is the primary culprit. After a shower, your bathroom is as damp and

muggy as Miami after a good hard July rain. And because humidity like that can

be penetrating, Perdue University researchers conducted an experiment to see how

vitamin C holds up under various temperature and relative humidity conditions.

The quick answer: Not so good.

High temperature and humidity (especially humidity) had significant effects on

degradation of vitamin C supplements. And needless to say, with cold and flu

season upon us, you want to get every bit of the potency from your daily C.

The Perdue team writes: " This research highlights the importance of considering

phase transformations when constructing shelf life models and maintaining

vitamin C in the solid state for enhanced stability. "

That's a scientist's way of saying, " Get the supps out of the bathroom--now! "

More specifically, it's the water soluble vitamins that degrade when exposed to

bathroom humidity. Here are the eight water-soluble:

* Vitamin C

* Vitamin B1

* Vitamin B2

* Vitamin B6

* Vitamin B12

* Niacin

* Folate / Folic acid

* Pantothenic acid

Of course, a good multivitamin will contain all or most of those vitamins, so

the multis have to leave the bathroom too, as do any pills in capsule form

because they all contain powders.

So...where do you go after the bathroom?

The kitchen may seem like a logical choice because most supplements are taken

with food, and that's where the food is. But kitchen temperatures and humidity

are often just as intense as they are in the bathroom.

The Perdue team suggests the bedroom is probably the best spot. And for some

bedrooms that might be true. But even there you'll get temperature swings. And

if you use a humidifier, well...humidity follows.

My vote for best place to store and protect the potency of your supplements

might seem a little bit odd, but hear me out...

If your linen closet isn't in the bathroom, that's the one spot in your home

that probably maintains the lowest humidity and most even temperature

year-round. And linen closets are dark, which is a plus because light is the

third thief of supplement potency.

And there's one more benefit. Sometimes--let's face it, it happens--visitors to

your home might be tempted to take a peek in the medicine cabinet when they use

the bathroom. But what happens in the linen closet stays in the linen closet.