HEAD START MULTIVITAMIN POWDER
Head Start is a one-of-a-kind children’s multivitamin powder that helps to fill in nutrition gaps and support kids to thrive. It mixes easily and has no aftertaste, making it enjoyable for even the most picky eaters.
A few years ago we set out on a mission to find the best children’s multivitamin there was, but we were dismayed that we couldn’t find one that checked all of the boxes on what we were looking for: gmo-free, unflavored, contains methylated forms of b-vitamins, and no artificial colors, flavors, or fillers. So we partnered with a local Naturopathic doctor, Dr. Matt Angove, and together came up with a children’s multivitamin that we are proud to support.
Head Start is made by Dr. Wholeness and contains all the major nutrients needed for complete nutrition. It is balanced with equal amounts of calcium and magnesium. Vitamin A for immune and skin support. It also contains choline which helps support learning and memory. Marigold is also included for the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin for eye support.
A key benefit in the Head Start Multivitamin is as much in what we DON’T put in the bottle as what we do:
- EXCLUSION of folic acid and cyanocobalamin B12 (both synthetic vitamin forms)
- INCLUSION of Methylated Folate (the natural form found in dark leafy greens) and Methylcobalamin (the natural form found in fish and eggs).
The big word nutritionists use to describe the Head Start folate is (6S)-5-Methyltetrahydrofolic acid which is one step better than leafy greens!
It’s a long name but it makes a BIG difference. Bottom line, methylated folate is CRITICAL for proper nutritional support.
WHY IS METHYLATED FOLATE FAR SUPERIOR TO FOLIC ACID?
The short answer is that the Methylated version is its “reduced, active, ready-to-use form” whilst folic acid has to be converted via SEVERAL metabolic processes.
Simply requiring more steps to processes wouldn’t necessarily be the “end of the world”, except for the fact that MANY individuals suffer from a MTHFR gene mutation that causes the folic acid conversion process to “back up” and folic acid, instead of being converted into the usable form the body recognizes, begins binding usable forms of folate in the body!
In recent years, increasing evidence of the advantages of reduced folate vs. folic acid have been found. The rational use of reduced folate (particularly reduced and methylated such as Quatrefolic®) is derived from the inability of a large part of the world population to assimilate and metabolize folic acid from food or supplements (most of folate consumption is coming from the man-made folic acid version in supplements and added to foods).
Folic acid and food folate are not biologically active and need to be converted to the metabolically active 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) through a multi-step process where the enzyme methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) owns a key role. If that seems complicated, here is a big, fancy, and possibly more complicated chart to show you how it works:
Some individuals, due to their unique genetic patterns and expression, have polymorphic forms of this enzyme and do not produce adequate or effective MTHFR. In other words since they aren’t producing MTHFR, they aren’t converting Folic Acid.
Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is one of the most important enzymes in human physiology, deficiencies in production or function of this enzyme have been associated with increased risk of different diseases.
NO FILLERS, NON-GMO
For peace of mind, Head Start does not contain any wheat, gluten, yeast, soy, dairy, fish, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, artificial colors, sweeteners or preservatives. It is non-gmo.
Please note: the container is filled based on the weight of the product (78 g), not based on volume. You will find that the container isn’t filled to the top with the vitamin, but rest assured the container still contains the 60 servings the nutrition label states.