Q: How does one explain the difference between Shaklee Vita-D3 and some other company’s D3?

A: Vitamin D standalone supplements have usually been in the form of fish oil drops or oils encapsulated in soft gelatin capsules. We use a very stable, compressible form of powdered vitamin D3 in our new Vita-D3 formulation so that we can make tablets, not capsules, as the desired dosage form for this product.

By adding an aqueous film-coating, we can make them easy to swallow.

There is physically only a very small amount of vitamin D3 in each tablet because it’s such a biologically active molecule — 1,000 IU are delivered by only 25 micrograms of the vitamin! If we were to put this small amount of active ingredient into even a small soft gelatin capsule, it would have to be diluted with quite a bit of an edible oil to fill the capsule and this would contribute unwanted extra calories.

In a tablet, we can use non-caloric diluents such as dicalcium phosphate (which also acts as a source of calcium) and microcrystalline cellulose.

The compressible powdered form of vitamin D3, which has ingredients added to it to provide ongoing stability from oxidation and protection from heat during tablet compression, is more stable than vitamin D3 dissolved in oil, which needs to be protected from oxidation at all times.

Once in the stomach, the powdered vitamin matrix in our tablets breaks down and releases the fat-soluble vitamin D3 so it can be absorbed easily in the intestine.

The other Shaklee Difference of course is that each raw material and batch of tablets is tested to very high standards of quality, including checks for purity, potency and identity.

For more information or to order products, visit http://newwavefitness.myshaklee.com