Vitamin Supplements

Recommended Daily Allowances for vitamin D are given here in both micrograms and international units. The IU is a common unit of measurement among many vitamin supplement manufacturers. Remember that people who get enough sunlight do not need additional vitamin D.

Vitamin D Optimal Daily Allowance

We recommend an optimal daily allowance of 400 IU of vitamin D per day. Fewer foods are rich in vitamin D than in other vitamins and minerals, so you may need to take a vitamin D tablet to supplement your diet. Read the rest of this entry »

Before you decide that you need to take vitamin supplements or change the way you eat, you should know where you stand and how much improvement you really need. To help you analyze your current diet, we’ve developed a system you can use to calculate your approximate vitamin D intake. Following is a list of vitamin D food sources, arranged according to the percentage of our Optimal Daily Allowance of vitamin D contained in them. Since 3 ounces of tuna canned in oil contain 197.2 IU of vitamin D and the ODA for vitamin D is 400 IUD, we’ve listed tuna in the 50 Percent category. Read the rest of this entry »

Vitamin E Health Merits

Keeping up with all of the recent research into the potential health benefits of vitamin E is difficult. The impressive findings of the best of this research, however, are impossible to ignore.

Vitamin E against Cancer

A growing body of research indicates that vitamin E can provide protection against a variety of cancers, including oral, lung, cervical, and breast cancers. For example, an eight-year Finnish study of 36,265 adults concluded that individuals with low blood levels of alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) were 1.5 times more likely to develop cancer than people with higher amounts. Read the rest of this entry »

If you answer yes to any of the following questions, you (or your baby) have an above-average risk of developing a vitamin E deficiency

• Do you have any of the following chronic illnesses: cystic fibrosis, pancreatitis, biliary cirrhosis, or Crohn’s disease? These illnesses can produce vitamin E deficiencies, particularly when they interfere with absorption of fat from the intestines. In general, however, this poor absorption must persist for five to ten years before signs of a deficiency occur.

• Is your diet high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (found in corn, safflower, and sunflower oil)? Vitamin E protects these unsaturated fats from oxidation. When you consume more of them, you need extra vitamin E to maintain this protective role.

• Are you on a weight-loss (e.g. low-fat, low-calorie) diet? Inadequate amounts of vitamin E might be consumed while dieting.

• Do you take certain medications that interfere with vitamin E absorption? Most commonly, these deficits occur with mineral oil and particular anticholesterol drugs such as cholestyramine and colestipol, when they are taken for long periods of time.

• Do you smoke cigarettes? Smoking increases the likelihood of vitamin E insufficiency

• Are you exposed to air pollution? Living in a community with high levels of smog and other environmental pollutants can increase the need for vitamin E.

• Are you pregnant or breast-feeding? Extra vitamin E is necessary to ensure proper fetal growth. The RDAs advise a 25 percent increase of this vitamin during pregnancy. Women who are nursing should increase the dose even more.

• Was your baby born prematurely, with a low birth weight? A preterm infant may have difficulty absorbing vitamin E and may also have low amounts of the vitamin stored in the liver.

Vitamin E has grabbed its share of headlines in recent years. In fact, few nutrients have been the subject of as much discussion as this one. According to the most zealous vitamin proponents, vitamin E is nothing short of a magic pill capable of everything from enhancing one’s sex life to stopping the aging process in its tracks.

You shouldn’t be surprised to learn that many of these claims have little if any scientific support behind them. Still, a growing body of evidence shows that vitamin E does have significant health benefits. This will help you sort scientific fact from fiction regarding this much-discussed vitamin. Read the rest of this entry »

Salt

Sodium and chlorine are both very powerful substances when they are alone. When combined they form a useful combination called sodium chloride. This is ordinary table salt. Without sodium chloride in our bodies, we could not live. This salt is necessary in maintaining the normal acid-base balance of the body. This is good news, for most of us like a little salt with our food. Read the rest of this entry »

Copper

This metal is particularly important because of its relationship to iron. Only a very small amount of copper is ever needed by the body. It helps in the formation of hemoglobin, acting like a catalyst in this respect. All foods contain some copper, sufficient to meet the normal needs of the body. Anyone who uses a wide variety of foods will not be deficient in this mineral. Read the rest of this entry »

Phosphorus

Another very important mineral upon which the body depends is phosphorus. This mineral plays a leading part in many of our vital processes.

It is present in every tissue and has much to do with the growth and functions of all the cells of the body. Phosphorus enters into a great many different chemical reactions, especially those involving enzymes, proteins, and carbohydrates.

Phosphorus is essential for all the muscles. Believe it or not, you could not lift an eyebrow without phosphorus! It is part of the nuclear structure of every cell. Phosphorus also helps to maintain the normal acid-base balance of the body.

In combination with calcium it forms a large part of the bony framework on which the rest of the body depends. It is essential in building sound, healthy teeth. Most of the phosphorus in the body is stored in the bones. Like calcium, it can be drawn upon for needs elsewhere. Read the rest of this entry »

Within the human body there is a surprising assortment of minerals. They have much to do with keeping us in good physical condition. Some minerals, such as calcium and phosphorus, are needed for building strong bones and teeth. If it were not for these, our bodies would collapse. Other minerals act more or less like chemical “spark plugs” through their association with the enzyme systems of the body. Still others have special functions of their own to perform.

The chief minerals of the body are calcium, phosphorus, iron, and iodine. We need more of these than of the others. For that reason, these four are the most likely to be missing from a deficient diet. There are only traces of the other minerals in the body, but most of them must also be present for normal health. Read the rest of this entry »

Who is at the Risk of Vitamin K deficiency?

If you answer yes to any of the following questions, you (or your baby) have an above-average risk of developing a vitamin K deficiency.

• Do you have a chronic illness (particularly a liver disease) or a disorder that interferes with the absorption of fats (such as ulcerative colitis, sprue, or Crohn’s disease)? These diseases can impair the body’s ability to absorb and store vitamin K.

• Are you a chronic user of mineral oil, anticholesterol drugs, or antibiotics? The nonabsorbable fats of mineral oil attach to vitamin K and carry it out of the body. Some anticholesterol drugs (cholestyramine and colestipol) inhibit absorption of vitamin K. Certain antibiotics, including tetracycline, neomycin, and cephalosporins, suppress bacterial production of vitamin K. Read the rest of this entry »