Vitamin Supplements

A trip to the local health shop will show that we have only scratched the surface of the options open to us for self-medication. There are a great variety of products on the shelves which bear little or no relationship to vitamins, but they sell well and people take them, so what do they do and are we missing out on something?

This area in the health business has taken over from the tonic makers of the last hundred years or so. Until the 1930s we relied on tonic wines, cough syrups, liver pills and many more to relieve our ailments. Many of these preparations had their origins in herbal medicine, a form of treatment which reached its peak in the seventeenth century under the guidance of Nicholas Culpepper. The advance of medicine and the tightening of the laws on advertising has taken some of these products out of the chemists and into the health shops. Read the rest of this entry »

The well-planned vegetarian diet provides a perfect example of how to get all the vitamins you need without really trying. All the fruit and vegetables supply vitamin C, and the and pulses (beans and lentils), together with the whole grains and cereals, make up most of the B complex vitamins. Many vegetarians are health orientated and keen on sport and outdoor exercise. This ensures they will get all the vitamin D they need from the sunshine.

The only deficiency which might occur concerns B12 and this possibility is usually confined to vegetarians who do not eat dairy produce. Read the rest of this entry »

This is always a good subject for debate and the constant question about sex and vitamins is ‘do they help, do we need them and which are the real sex vitamins?’ The answers are never very clear, but hope springs eternal in all of us and we continue to search for the elixir of life. The claims or, more correctly, the clever copywriting on certain products in the health stores suggest that the answer has been found and lies in the formula for a mixture of vitamins, minerals and herbs. There have been no trials to prove its efficacy. In fairness it must be said that the subject does not lend itself to large scale clinical trials and statistics, but there is very little to suggest, scientifically speaking, that such a mixture would improve our sex lives. Read the rest of this entry »

Time Release and Sustained Release

A major step forward in vitamin manufacturing has been the introduction of time release supplements. Time release also known as sustained release is a process by which vitamins are enrobed in micropellets [tiny time pills] and then combined into a special base for their release in a pattern that assures eight- to twelve-hour absorption. Most vitamins are water soluble and cannot be stored in the body. Without time release, they are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, and, no matter how large the dose, are excreted in the urine within two or three hours.

Time-release supplements can offer optimum effectiveness, minimal excretary loss, and stable blood levels all during the day and through the night. Read the rest of this entry »

Where Vitamins Come From

Most vitamins are extracted from basic natural sources. Because vitamins are natural substances found in foods, the supplements you take — be they capsules, tablets, powders, or liquids — also come from foods. Though many of the vitamins can be synthesised, most are extracted from basic natural sources.

For example: Vitamin A usually comes from fish liver oil. Vitamin B complex comes from yeast or liver. Vitamin C is best when derived from rose hips, the berries found on the fruit of the rose after the petals have fallen off. And Vitamin E is generally extracted from soya beans, wheat germ, or corn. Read the rest of this entry »

Vitamin A

FACTS:

Vitamin A is fat soluble. It requires fats as well as minerals to be properly absorbed by your digestive tract.

It can be stored in your body and need not be replenished every day.

It occurs in two forms — preformed vitamin A, called retinol [found only in foods of animal origin], and provitamin A, known as carotene [provided by foods of both plant and animal origin].

Vitamin A is measured in USP Units [United States Pharmacopoeia], IU [International Units], and RE [Retinol Equivalents].

10,000 IU daily is the average adult dosage, though the need increases with greater body weight. Read the rest of this entry »

Vitamin B₁ (Thiamine)

FACTS:

Water soluble. Like all the B-complex vitamins, any excess is excreted and not stored in the body. It must be replaced daily. Measured in milligrams [mg.].

B vitamins are synergistic — they are more potent together than when used separately. B₁, B2, and B6 should be equally balanced [i.e. 50 mg. of B₁, 50 mg. of B2, and 40 mg. of B₆] to work effectively.

The official RDA for adults is 1.2 to 1.4 mg. [During pregnancy and lactation 1.4 mg. is suggested.] Read the rest of this entry »

Vitamin B2 [Riboflavin]

FACTS:

Water soluble. Easily absorbed. The amount excreted depends on bodily needs and may be accompanied by protein loss.

Like the other B vitamins it is not stored and must be replaced regularly through whole foods or supplements.

Also known as vitamin G.

Measured in milligrams [mg.] Read the rest of this entry »

Vitamin B₁₂[Cobalamin]

FACTS:

Water soluble and effective in very small doses.Commonly known as the “red vitamin“, also cyanocobalamin.

Measured in micrograms [mcg.].

The only vitamin that contains essential mineral elements.

Not well assimilated through the stomach. Needs to be combined with calcium during absorption to benefit body properly.

Recommended adult dose is 3 mcg., with larger amounts suggested for pregnant and lactating women. Read the rest of this entry »

Excipient: any inert substance used as a dilutant or vehicle for adrug.

Exogenous: being derived or developed from external causes. FDA: Food and Drug Administration.

Fibrin: an insoluble protein that forms the necessary fibrous network in the coagulation of blood.

Free-radicals: highly reactive chemical fragments that can produce an irritation of artery walls, start the arterio-sclerotic process if vitamin E is not present; generally harmful.

Fructose: a natural sugar occurring in fruits and honey; called fruit sugar; often used as a preservative for foodstuffs and an intravenous nutrient. Read the rest of this entry »