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Go 'green' for optimal performance and health

By Steve Born

Product Spotlight

I consider Phytomax to be a product worthy of taking daily all year long, primarily because, even though I definitely make the effort, my daily intake of fresh, organic vegetables doesn't always hit the mark. Even in the summertime, when fresh produce is more readily available, it is difficult. I'm betting I'm not alone when it comes to a sufficient daily intake, especially when taking into account that the USDA recommends 5-6 servings of vegetables daily. Let's be honest, who among us consumes that many servings of veggies on a regular basis? My guess is that few of us do.

The sad truth is that an overwhelming percentage of Americans fall well short of the mark when it comes to adequate vegetable consumption. Dr. Bill Misner, who has been conducting dietary analyses for many years, states, "Only 7% of the dietary analyses performed between 1996-2002 were consuming adequate amounts of dietary plant foods." Now, this is just one professional who has analyzed dietary habits, but still, he's done several hundred over the course of those seven years (and countless more since then), and only 7% were consuming adequate amounts? That's a pathetically low amount!

It's important for everyone, especially athletes - because their requirements for nutrients are much higher than the average person - to consume adequate amounts of vegetables. There are substantial amounts of important nutrients - aside from vitamins and minerals - that are only obtainable via the consumption of whole vegetable foods. These "phytonutrients" (such as the indole-3-carbinol and sulphoraphane in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables) are naturally occurring plant compounds with numerous benefits that make an undeniably significant contribution to overall health. Without adequate vegetables in the diet, the body does not receive the nutrient support and protection it needs, and health and performance suffer as a result.

At this time of year in Northwest Montana and in many other parts of the country, the availability of fresh, organic vegetables is typically minimal to nonexistent. I have a hard enough time consuming adequate amounts when it's readily available; in the wintertime it's darn near impossible. That's why, especially at this time of year, Phytomax is a "must have/must take" supplement for me. Given the information listed earlier, it very likely might be for you as well.

Vegetable intake is important, and of course we highly recommend the consumption of organically grown produce. Most of us rarely eat enough to begin with, however, and the majority of the produce available simply doesn't contain the quantity of nutrients we need.

Regarding the latter, Dr. Bill Misner states, "In the past 50 years, chemoagricultural farming has depleted 90% of the soil's original minerals. Today's veggies contain only 11% of the organic minerals found in produce during World War II. To get what we once got from 3-5 servings of vegetables per day, we would have to consume 40 servings per day, or approximately the amount consumed by a medium-sized horse. What are we really missing? Plant sterols and phytoestrogens have been shown to protect us against cholesterol absorption, tumor formation, colon cancer, radiation poisoning, and the side effects of most allopathic medicines. Most of these protective phytonutrients, phytosterols, and phytoestrogens are lost during processing, degumming, refining, deodorizing, canning, bottling and packaging; we simply are not getting enough."

This is where Phytomax comes in. Three capsules of Phytomax will provide higher quality vegetable nutrition than blue-green algae, spirulina, chlorella, wheat grass juice, barley grass juice, or any other similar product. In addition, Phytomax is a concentrated source of enzymes, phytosterols, and phytonutrients, which are so important for overall health but are unfortunately no longer available in appreciable amounts in a large percentage of our food supply.

Here are Dr. Misner's thoughts on Phytomax . . .

The nutritional advantage for consuming Hydrilla verticillata [the plant used in concentrated form to produce Phytomax] presents an exceptionally potent phytonutrient from a wild noxious plant growing in unpolluted fresh waterbeds in Florida. The means by which it is processed preserves the enzymatic profile, making it one of the only green products with both enzyme integrity and free of toxic waste byproducts from competitive "greens" harvested from polluted lakes [such as Klamath Lake] in Oregon.

Because the hydrilla plant is rooted, it easily accesses high amounts of organic minerals, vitamins, enzymes, and trace micronutrients found in the prehistoric lakebed's soils. After harvesting "live" hydrilla by cutting the plant just above its root structure, an exclusive non-cooking, nonfreezing, and non-organic-altering process is carefully applied. This fivestage pressure wash, which includes an ozone injection for removing only bacteria and microorganisms, is applied in order to extract the raw foods found within the plant's green stems, stalk, and leaves. A drying process is then applied using jet turbine blowers at a maximum of 88 degrees to remove the moisture without damaging the "living" enzymes and rich nutrients stored in the harvested plant. After drying, the hydrilla is fine-ground, and encapsulated and bottled to prevent degradation or contamination from its "live" state. Hydrilla presents in a 2% solution a pH of 12.0, which contributes to increasing otherwise acidic pH generated during exercise.

Phytomax's phytosterol benefits

Dr. Misner writes, "Phytosterols may decrease cholesterol absorption by displacing cholesterol from bile salt micelles. Cholesterol analogs found in plants may be protective against colon cancer. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), a free radical fighter, antioxidant, and enzyme found in most plant life, is being seriously studied for its plausible positive effects in halting the aging process. SOD has been shown to provide a natural defense against the potentially damaging superoxide free radicals generated during exercise or aerobic metabolism. Including a source of "green" foods may not only enhance recovery, but also may prevent the side effects of radiation, formation of carcinoma, and the initiation of leukopenia."

"University studies report that milk production from dairy cattle and the egg-laying capacity of chickens were significantly enhanced when these animals were supplemented with this form of hydrilla (Phytomax)," Dr. Misner adds. "The assumption is that carryover to human physiology is obvious, though not yet confirmed by reliable research. Some studies do suggest that the nutrients from this plant may have direct application for free radical scavenging, anti-arthritic effect, stress management, remediating aging disorders, promoting healthy skin, and energy recovery."

How does Phytomax compare to bluegreen algae or wheatgrass?

According to Dr. Bill's research, "When the Phytomax [PM] profile is compared to wheatgrass [WG] and blue-green algae [BGA], the results dramatically favor PM. If a mixture is composed of 3 equal parts from the PM + BGA + WG, of the assay of 7 key vitamins and 13 key minerals, Phytomax contributes 96.4% of the total micronutrients, compared to a combined contribution of only 3.6% from the other two. It takes 2.75 lb of freshly harvested hydrilla plant concentrates to make a single serving of Phytomax. The specific phytonutrient composite has vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B12, carotenoids, essential fatty acids, calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, manganese, zinc, copper, cobalt, selenium, molybdenum, sodium, phosphorus, chlorophyll, superoxide dismutase (SOD), RNA, DNA, GLA, and the compatible digestive enzymes for enhanced absorption and use in cellular metabolism. No "green" product researched by myself during the past several years compares with the phytonutrient profile found in Hydrilla verticillata."


At Hammer Nutrition, we definitely believe that athletes and active people need to address diet first and foremost, because more than any supplement pill, diet is the foundation from which optimal health and performance can be achieved. Still, even our best efforts at consuming healthy foods - mainly organic fruits and vegetables - on a consistent basis usually falls short more times than not. That's why supplementation in general is so important to close the gap between what we need nutrient-wise and what we actually obtain in the diet. This is especially true when it comes to vegetable intake.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. How many servings of organic vegetables do I eat each day?

2. How many servings of organic fruits do I eat each day?

3. How many servings of organic cereal grains do I eat each day?

If your answers to 1, 2, and 3 do not total at least nine, then Phytomax is a supplement that you should seriously consider taking on a regular basis. Dr. Misner writes, "While we never recommend substituting a pill for a whole food, in spite of the fact that Phytomax qualifies as a whole food green vegetable, for those who consume the typical American diet, it is a step in the right direction."

Bottom line: Phytomax doesn't replace eating vegetables. Instead, it efficiently and effectively bridges the gap between what we should eat and what we actually do eat. It's an important product that wonderfully complements the vitamins and minerals provided in Premium Insurance Caps. Phytomax, a powerhouse of enzymes, fatty acids, antioxidants, RNA, DNA, chlorophyll, sterols, and phytonutrients, helps "complete the puzzle" when it comes to vitamin/mineral supplementation. All year long, but especially during the winter months, when availability of fresh, organic vegetables may be at a premium, daily supplementation with Phytomax is definitely a wise strategy to employ. HN