questions and answers

what advantages does Vitamize® chewing gum have compared to vitamin tablets or fizzy tablets?

certain vitamins are absorbed better and more quickly by the mucous membranes in the mouth rather than through the stomach. Additionally Vitamize® chewing gum contains no therapeutic doses of vitamins and so a small amount of vitamins can be consumed several times during the day. This prevents a "vitamin shock" and promotes a continuous supply of vital vitamins. The regular chewing of chewing gum strengthens the jaw muscles and gums and stimulates saliva flow, which can inhibit the formation of plaque. Through an increased flow of saliva bacteria in the oral cavity is also neutralised. The more saliva there is in the oral cavity the fewer attacks are launched against the teeth. Furthermore, saliva is rich in minerals and our teeth need minerals to maintain healthy tooth enamel.

i eat healthily. Do I really need to take more vitamins?

a balanced diet is after all the most important condition for looking after your body sufficiently with all vital vitamins. Our current lifestyle often makes eating a balanced and healthy diet every day not easy, however. Convenience, lack of time and a vast array of nutritionally poor fast food outlets frequently lead to an unbalanced diet and thus to an insufficient supply of essential nutrients. The body needs a regular supply of vitamins, minerals and trace elements. When this is not guaranteed it can lead to blatant deficiencies of single or several micro nutrients with symptoms like tiredness or exhaustion. Negative effects (quicksilver, aluminium, pesticides, toxic metals like lead and environmental effects like free radicals and also taking medication for extended periods of time) can additionally lead to unbalanced micro nutrients in the body - and unfortunately this is also the case with an optimal diet.

why are additional vitamins useful for me?

• soils are leached in conventional farming. That leads to growing foodstuffs having reduced mineral content
• many foodstuffs have travelled many miles and been in storage for a long time before they are sold. This leads to a reduction of vitamins.
• the further processing of foodstuffs, cooking and conserving destroys further vitamins.
• irregular meals, insufficient chewing of the food, snacking and stress contribute to digestion problems. That makes it difficult for the body to take nutrients from the food.
• many types of medication prevent important minerals being absorbed and cause or strengthen deprivation.
• particular periods of your life and certain health conditions increase the need for certain nutrients. Examples of this are pregnancy, intensive sport, stress and illness.
• environmental pollution can lead to our body needing more nutrients in order to make pollutants absorbed harmless and to eliminate them.
• our genes differ from person to person, we have individual strengths and weaknesses. Therefore every one of us has an individual need for vitamins and minerals.
• it has been proven for many nutrients that they can have a preventative effect on illnesses such as high blood pressure, arthritis or cancer or can support the healing process.

why is it that the merits and dangers of products enriched with vitamins keep being controversially discussed?

the controversial discussion is based on these three key concepts:

• in industrial nations with a sufficient range of food on offer an obvious shortage practically does not exist.
• everyone can nourish themselves sufficiently and healthily.
• too many vitamins are eliminated.

These points are principally advocated by single specialist communities or consumer protection and apply to healthy adults without other stress in the broadest sense. In reality however the range of foodstuffs and the state of nourishment of the population are not always congruent. The European SENECA study has brought together a tonne of data about nourishment, lifestyle, mental health and vitamin status since 1988. According to this study the assimilation of different vitamins is not optimal for large groups in Europe.

do vitamins give you energy?

vitamins in themselves do not contain any energy which can be directly used by the body. They are however used in energy metabolism and thus have an indirect effect on capability. Especially in the case of deficiency the supply of vitamins leads to an increase in capability for this reason.

how can vitamin deficiency manifest?

obvious mineral deficiency is very rare in industrialized countries. They are more often subclinical (=difficult to recognise) vitamin deficiencies. Symptoms for subclinical vitamin deficiencies are varied. Typical features are: tiredness, irritability, frequent small infections, skin problems and low performance. In the long run, an increased tendency towards different illnesses, faster ageing and impeded performance appear from a subclinical shortage.

how often should multivitamins be taken?

only very few vitamins can be stored at all. Vitamins should be taken daily or several times a day to ensure a continual supply. If you have decided to take multivitamins or it seems necessary, you should do this daily or several times a day, as taking them sporadically cannot really contribute to covering the daily requirement.

can I overdose on certain vitamins?

the gap between help and harm is very wide where vitamins are concerned. Therefore you should not expect side effects even if you vastly exceed the recommended daily amount (RDA). Except for the vitamins A and D, you can even go fifty times over the RDA. Nutritional experts would even consciously set higher dosages as a rule. The body mostly eliminates excess amounts of vitamins. This is especially the case for water soluble vitamins. The fat soluble vitamins A and D have less of a safety zone, because these are stored by the body and thus can lead to harm. It must be noted with vitamin A that a very high dose of vitamin A in the first three months of pregnancy can lead to malformation of the foetus. For this reason a dose of 2.8mg (=9,300 I.U.) should not be exceeded (incl. food intake). As vitamin A is also important for the healthy development of the child at the beginning of pregnancy, a daily supply of 2500-5000 I.U is recommended.

is there a difference between artificially produced vitamins and those that we get from normal food?

when it comes down to the same chemical substance there is fundamentally no difference. Most artificially produced vitamins are identical to those in nature. Artificially produced vitamins can even be partially better absorbed by the body because they are administered without the additional indigestible foodstuff components in the food. We only relatively badly absorb certain vitamins from nature like beta-carotene (provitamin A) from raw carrots because it is a provitamin which needs to first be turned into Retinol, which is actually vitamin A, for an efficient effect. Vitamin supplements are however no replacement for a balanced and varied diet.

are the recommended daily doses the same worldwide?

no, legislation abroad in the healing and foodstuff sector can differ enormously. In the USA for example, almost exclusively higher daily doses are recommended.

does taking vitamin C at night lead to sleeping badly?

certain people can sleep worse when they take vitamin C supplements at night. Vitamin C has a stress relieving effect on most people however. That is why vitamin C is sometimes consciously recommended by specialist nutritionists in the evenings as well.

as an allergy sufferer, can I take Vitamize® chewing gum without hesitation?

Vitamize® products can be labelled as hypoallergenic. For more exact information about the ingredients please consult a specialist.

some pieces of chewing gum are marbled very differently from others - does this have an effect on the concentration of vitamins?

no. The marbling process is exclusively to colour the pieces of chewing gum. After the removal of the outer packaging, the colour of the chewing gum makes the flavour recognisable at a glance. Production technology causes very minimal variation in the ratio of vitamins in single pieces of chewing gum, but this has nothing to do with marble colouration.

where do the raw materials for Vitamize® products come from?

the vitamins in our products come, wherever possible, from natural sources. Most vitamins processed in Vitamize® chewing gum are produced by means of fermentation and are further processed to eliminate all natural impurities. Our supplier has more than 30 years' experience and the most modern laboratory facilities with state-of-the-art technology and equipment at their disposal. They are pioneering concerning safety and quality with a FS22000 certificate and are members of the SEDEX funding for ethical and responsible business practices worldwide. A comprehensive analysis certificate is created for every single batch of vitamins.

Vitamize® chewing gum is completely aspartame free. What sweetener does Vitamize® use?

Vitamize® chewing gum is sweetened with neotame. Neotame is a sweetener based on an amino acid. The amino acid in neotame is also naturally found in most products containing protein such as milk products, vegetables and meat. Neotame can be used as a "diabetic sugar" as it has no effect on blood sugar or the concentration of insulin in the blood plasma. Depending on the concentration, neotame is between around 7,000 and 13,000 times sweeter than sucrose and clearly exceeds the sweetness of other sweeteners like cyclamate, aspartame (30 times sweeter) or saccharin and can thus be used very sparingly. Neotame is quickly absorbed and is completely eliminated from the body, and contains no calories.

what criteria are Vitamize® ingredients subjected to?

the choice of raw materials is made with great care and is based on decades of know how. The new Vitamize® multivitamin chewing gum delivers 12 worthwhile vitamins as an ideal food supplement in an optimised and balanced recipe of vitamins A, C, D, E, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, folic acid, and biotin. We rely on our certified premium producers and use only raw materials of the highest quality. To react to the constantly changing needs of our consumers, we have constantly been improving and further developing our products in recent years.

where are Vitamize® products produced?

Vitamize® does not run its own production company. Cooperation agreements for production have already been in place for years with various producers in the USA which are all specialists at one single stage of production. Depending on requirements we can thus fall back on a specialist who has great knowledge in their field, who is familiar with current trends and the newest production technology and who offers the best price-performance ratio. Even if these suppliers do not belong to us and are not subject to our controls, we are jointly responsible for their working methods in relation to quality and environmental management corresponding to our standards.

how does Vitamize® ensure the high quality claim of the consumers?

the impeccable quality and health security of our products is of the highest importance for us. Our market products count as a promise to consumers that all of our chewing gums can be consumed without hesitation. As foodstuff producers we are aware that we bear a huge responsibility towards our consumers and customers.
To ensure the high quality of products and ingredients, production, packaging and distribution are subject to strict quality management. Our suppliers have an integrated quality management system at their disposal, which regularly checks production plants, processes and systems. This ensures that even our strict internal guidelines alongside Europe-wide and national conventions and legal provisions are maintained. Our guidelines determine the approval of exclusively chosen suppliers as far as ingredients, raw materials and packaging are concerned. The testing of products in test laboratories and strict controls in every phase of production and packaging of finished pieces of chewing gum also ensure careful handling of our natural resources alongside the health security of consumers. As when we speak of quality, we mean more than just the high quality product features of our chewing gum. Vitamize® is committed to sustainable management and is obligated to environmentally friendly business behaviour as far as possible.