Nutrient Bioavailability: Optimizing Supplements for Absorption

The value of proper nutrition, and the adverse effects of deficiency, is visible in virtually every body system. However, merely ingesting nutrients often isn’t enough to maintain optimal health and well-being. 

For the body to absorb, utilize, and reap the benefits of nutrients properly, they must be bioavailable. 

In this article, we’ll discuss the role of nutrient bioavailability, and how advanced micronutrient and genetic testing elevates the standard of personalization in nutrition.   

Understanding Nutrient Bioavailability Factors

Nutrient bioavailability refers to the proportion of nutrients available for use and storage in the body, and how efficiently our bodies can use these nutrients. 

Several factors can influence bioavailability, including: 

• Cell matrix and structures 
• Food matrix and structures 
• Chemical form of the nutrient 
• Source of the nutrient (animal vs. plant) 
• Genetics 
• Nutritional status 
• Digestive issues 
• Medical conditions 
• Alcohol or tobacco use 
• Intestinal bacteria balance 

Nutrient bioavailability is a significant factor in nutritional balance. If the body’s utilization of nutrients isn’t accounted for when recommending supplements, patients can easily remain deficient with a suboptimal nutritional status. 

Determining Micronutrients Inside & Outside the Cell

The first step in optimizing nutrition is to identify deficiencies and excesses, ideally through intra- and extra-cellular micronutrient testing. 

Symptoms alone can’t reveal specific nutrient levels to identify the root of nutrient imbalances.  

Vibrant‘s micronutrient testing, part of the NutriProZ Longevity Program, gives a detailed analysis of nutritional status and provides insights into which nutrients are not getting absorbed properly. 

The NutriProZ micronutrient test measures direct levels of 40+ intracellular and 40+ extracellular micronutrients using serum and white and red blood cells to reveal levels of: 

• Vitamins 
• Minerals 
• Cofactors 
• Amino acids 
• Metabolites 
• Antioxidants 
• And essential fatty acids  

Vibrant’s micronutrient testing also provides both short and long-term nutritional status over the previous four months before testing. 

This detailed micronutrient analysis allows you to pinpoint exactly which nutrients your patients are over- or under-absorbing currently and over a longer period. 

Personalizing Nutrient Needs with Genetic Testing

Micronutrient testing will detect nutrient imbalances, but genetic testing paints a fuller picture. 

Each individual absorbs and processes nutrients differently—a  phenomenon largely attributed to their genes. 

All individuals have a unique response to what they eat, called a nutrigenetic profile. This is based on their specific genes and the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in their genome that relate to nutrient absorption and utilization.  

Certain SNPs code for proteins and enzymes involved in nutrient metabolism, transport, conversion, storage, bioavailability, and more. 

When these processes are impaired, it can lead to nutrient insufficiency, deficiency, overload, or toxicity. 

So, what does this mean?  

Different individuals have unique nutritional needs, and the best way to trace an individual’s needs back to the root is through genetic testing. 

Genetic testing, like that included in Vibrant’s NutriProZ program, can reveal the SNPs that impact nutrients and their use in the body.  

NutriProZ tests for 50+ SNPs that determine how the body and cells absorb, transport, convert, and uptake nutrients. 

This information is pivotal in determining the types and amounts of nutritional supplements that would be most effective for your patients.  

Evaluating the Impact of Lifestyle on Nutritional Status 

Along with micronutrient and genetic testing, the NutriProZ program uses a comprehensive lifestyle assessment to evaluate how lifestyle factors like diet, physical activity, sleep, and many more influence nutritional status. 

Your patients self-report their answers to these questions, helping inform their custom supplement formula. 

For example, if your patient reports low energy levels, their supplement will include specific compounds that improve energy. 

Personalized Supplements & NutriProZ: Enhancing Absorption for Maximum Benefit 

Here’s where personalized supplements come into play. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, personalized supplements target an individual’s specific cellular micronutrient needs and absorption rates.  

This custom approach ensures that patients receive optimal nutrients in the most bioavailable forms. This allows them to utilize nutrients efficiently and greatly improve overall health.. 

Vibrant’s NutriProZ program uses this personalized approach to nutrition and to both address deficiency and optimize nutrient bioavailability. NutriProZ determines short and long-term nutrient deficiencies by first measuring micronutrient levels. 

The micronutrient testing determines nutrient levels in both red and white blood cells and serum. This allows you to see not only levels of nutrients but also if patients are properly absorbing the nutrients they’re consuming. 

For example, if serum shows low levels of Omega 3’s, this indicates that the patient requires a more bioavailable form of that nutrient.  

Then, through genetic testing, you can gain further insights into how the body is utilizing nutrients.  

For instance, if an individual carries a SNP that impairs conversion from carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, to retinol (vitamin A), the patient would receive vitamin A in retinol form to ensure absorption in the body. 

By integrating these insights from micronutrient and genetic testing, as well as lifestyle assessment, NutriProZ supplements consider the whole individual when determining nutritional needs.  

From genetic predispositions to direct levels of micronutrients in the cells and blood, NutriProZ caters to how an individual’s body works, resulting in a supplement specifically designed to resolve their unique nutrient needs and restore balance in the body.  

Future of Supplementation is Personalization

The NutriProZ Longevity Program represents the future of supplementation by bringing personalized medicine to nutrition.  

By focusing on nutrient bioavailability and customizing supplements to individual needs, you can help your patients optimize their cellular nutrients. Optimized cellular nutrition can boost energy, sharpen mental clarity, improve sleep quality, and ultimately, increase healthspan and lifespan. 

Regulatory Statement:

The general wellness test intended uses relate to sustaining or offering general improvement to functions associated with a general state of health while making reference to diseases or conditions. This test has been laboratory developed and its performance characteristics determined by Vibrant America LLC and Vibrant Genomics, a CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited laboratory performing the test. The lab tests referenced have not been cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Although FDA does not currently clear or approve laboratory-developed tests in the U.S., certification of the laboratory is required under CLIA to ensure the quality and validity of the tests.