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Our Patient Education
Brochure contains
helpful
information
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Why do I need a nutritional supplement?
Can I get the vitamins and minerals I need from changing my diet?
If I use a supplement, do I have to worry so much about my diet?
Why is Encora® so special that I need a prescription for it?
Why have I been hearing so much about omega-3 fatty acids?
My doctor told me that I’m at risk for osteoporosis, but I’m not even 40 yet… how is this possible?
What are antioxidants? What is their relationship with free radicals?
Aren’t I getting enough vitamin D from the sun?
Why is Encora divided into morning and evening doses?
Why do I need this specific combination of vitamins and minerals?
Why do I need to focus on heart health when I’m so young?
How can Encora help with my mood? |
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Q: Why do I need a nutritional supplement? |
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A: Most American women do not obtain the recommended daily levels of many nutrients from their diet. A certain amount of vitamins and minerals is necessary to perform even the most basic of bodily functions, such as growing and repairing cells, healing wounds, fighting off disease, and more. Your doctor may prescribe Encora because it offers greater benefits than most commonly available multivitamins. With Encora, you also get therapeutic daily doses of calcium, essential (omega-3) fatty acids, and folic acid for added protection from osteoporosis, heart disease, and mood fluctuations. There is more folic acid in Encora than an over-the-counter supplement can offer. |
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Q: Can I get the vitamins and minerals I need from changing my diet? |
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A: A balanced diet and an active exercise program are the bedrock of a healthy lifestyle. Fruits, vegetables, whole-grain breads, and cereals are excellent places to look for the required daily allowance of vitamins and minerals. However, vitamins and minerals are continuing to decline in our food supply. By the time food has traveled from the farm to the supermarket to the home, its nutritional value has plummeted. Some key vitamins are found in very unpopular sources (i.e., animal organs, such as liver, kidney and others). Finally, more of us eat more canned and processed foods. So, you simply may not be able to get enough essential nutrients from diet alone, thus necessitating a supplement. Note: it is recommended that you consult your doctor before using any supplement. |
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Q: If I use a supplement, do I have to worry so much about my diet? |
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A: Even with the support for your bones, heart, and mood provided by Encora, it does not eliminate the need for a healthy diet with well-balanced meals. However, acquiring the recommended levels of vitamins and nutrients through diet alone is unlikely. |
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Q: Why is Encora so special that I need a prescription for it? |
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A: Encora is more than just a vitamin supplement. The therapeutic volume of folic acid for heart health found in Encora requires a doctor’s prescription. Of course, a doctor may prescribe Encora because it offers greater benefits than most multivitamins in three key areas—bones, heart, and mood—by providing ideal levels of nutrients during the times the body can best absorb and utilize them.
Most vitamins are water-soluble, meaning the body “washes them out” rather than storing them for extended amounts of time. However, some vitamins can be stored in your body’s fat, building to toxic levels over time. (1) It’s critical to understand exactly what (and in what amounts) you are putting into your body. A registered dietician will be able to analyze your current diet and recommend areas for improvement. It is unrealistic to expect that even a healthy, well-balanced diet can deliver the recommended levels of vitamins and nutrients. When you factor in the idea that the body must absorb vitamins and minerals in very specific ways, you can see why a doctor might prescribe a supplement. |
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Q: Why have I been hearing so much about omega-3 essential fatty acids? |
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A:It seems like every clinical study conducted brings more good news about omega-3 fatty acids. Initially, we started out with observations of societies in which people consuming high amounts of fish in their diet correlated to a decreased occurrence of heart problems. We have since had many more well-controlled clinical trials that have evaluated this link between fish or fish oil supplements and heart health benefits. These studies have provided very positive information related to the intake of fish and/or fish oil supplements and a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease and
death.(50,49,59,3,5)
In fact, the evidence for a cardioprotective effect of omega-3 fatty acids is so strong that the American Heart Association now recommends about 1000 mg EPA/DHA per day for CHD patients and the equivalent of about 500 mg per day for other adults. In addition to cardiovascular benefits, omega-3 fatty acids have been studied in regards to many other benefits including: eye health, mood disorders, and some inflammatory conditions, among others. By the way, we’re talking about healthy consumption of fish and/or fish oil supplements. You can’t get the same benefit from fast-food fish sandwiches or breaded/fried fish meals. |
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Q: My doctor told me that I’m at risk for osteoporosis, but I’m not even 40 yet… how is this possible? |
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A: According to Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, PhD, RD, associate professor of surgery and director of the Cancer Prevention, Detection and Control Research Program at Duke University, “Osteoporosis has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S. We get too little calcium in our diets, for one, and we don’t get enough weight-bearing exercise.” (43) Osteoporosis results from bones that have lost calcium and thickness—all but guaranteeing accidents and/or breakages—and can affect women and men of any age. In fact, women start to lose bone mass at age 30. It is responsible for more than 1.5 million fractures annually, including: over 300,000 hip fractures, approximately 700,000 vertebral fractures, 250,000 wrist fractures, and 300,000 fractures at other sites. And while osteoporosis is often thought of as an older person’s disease, it can strike at any age. (15) |
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Q: What are antioxidants? What is their relationship with free radicals? |
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A: Antioxidants are found in fruits, vegetables, other plant-based foods, and some nutritional supplements. The antioxidants vitamin E and vitamin C contained in Encora have been shown to promote overall cardiovascular health by reducing the risk of blood clots. Vitamin E also has beneficial effects on your cholesterol and cell function. (36,38) In general, antioxidants like those found in Encora fight free radicals that can damage DNA, the inside of artery walls, proteins in the eye—just about any substance or tissue imaginable. (44) |
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Q: Aren’t I getting enough vitamin D from the sun? |
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A: According to the Harvard School of Public Health: If you live north of the line connecting San Francisco to Philadelphia, odds are you don’t get enough vitamin D. The same holds true if you don’t, or can’t, get outside for at least a 15-minute daily walk in the sun. Vitamin D is critical for the absorption of calcium—the key to strong bones. (44) Most daily vitamins do not provide enough vitamin D, if they contain it all. (30-32) Encora, on the other hand, provides a daily dose of 800 IU of vitamin D, the amount recently shown to help prevent bone fractures. (1) |
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Q: Why is Encora separated into morning and evening doses? |
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A: Because the nutrients in Encora are specifically divided to allow your body to best absorb and utilize them, Encora is in 2 doses—a morning dose and an evening dose. The body can’t process a whole day’s needed supply of vitamins and minerals at one time as a typical vitamin would have you attempt. So, if you try to ingest the recommended daily allowance in a single sitting, the body may just excrete a portion and you won’t be getting what you should be getting. It’s also worth noting that most daily vitamins don’t come close to providing the ideal levels of calcium, folic acid, and omega-3s that women need.
Though you may have a very busy schedule, it is very important to remember to take both doses of Encora as recommended to get the maximum benefit of each ingredient. Keeping Encora on the nightstand, by your toothbrush, or on your kitchen counter may help you remember to take it twice a day, as directed. To make the dosing even easier, each day’s Encora comes in a convenient blister pack. These blister packs can be easily taken with you when you are not at home, or when you travel. They are also labeled AM and PM to help you distinguish between the 2 doses. |
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Q: Why do I need this specific combination of vitamins and minerals? |
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A: Women of childbearing years and beyond need precisely the combination of nutrients in Encora because they are confronted with three very specific health concerns that Encora’s combination of ingredients addresses: osteoporosis, heart disease, and mood fluctuations. Some ingredients, like folic acid, can’t be found at this level outside a prescription. Additionally, necessary components like vitamins D, C, and E, along with omega-3 fatty acids, folic acid, and calcium are delivered at opportune times to achieve maximum absorption and use by your body. |
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Q: Why do I need to focus on heart health when I’m so young? |
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A: Cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of women in the U.S., outpacing breast cancer. In 1 year, coronary heart disease (CHD) was responsible for over 262,000 female deaths.(25) The American Heart Association recommends a daily dose of about 500 mg of EPA/DHA for people with no known coronary disease, and 1,000 mg for patients with known coronary disease. The average American woman, however, consumes an average of only 90 mg of EPA/DHA per day. (14,24) Clearly, there is a national gap between what the female body needs and what it’s getting. |
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Q: How can Encora help with my mood? |
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A: Clinical evidence suggests that the omega-3 fatty acids such as those found in Encora help balance mood and (7-11) Also, the calcium contained in Encora has been shown to have a beneficial effect on a woman’s mood, in addition to its more widely known role in bone health. (22) Combining calcium and omega-3s provides extra help evening out those unexpected mood swings that we all occasionally experience. |
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