Vitamin Supplements

Understanding Your Digestive System

Knowing how your digestive system works will clear up, right at the start, some of the more common confusions about how, when, and where nutrients operate.

Mouth and OesophagusDigestion begins in the mouth with the grinding of food and admixture of saliva. An enzyme called ptyalin in the saliva already begins to split starches into simple sugars. The food is then forced to the back of the mouth and into the oesophagus, or gullet. Here is where peristalsis begins. This is a kneading “milking” constriction and relaxation of muscles that propels material through the digestive system. To prevent back-flow of materials, and to time the release of proper enzymes — since one enzyme cannot do another enzyme’s work — the digestive tract is equipped with valves at important junctions. Read the rest of this entry »

Vanadium

FACTS:

Inhibits the formation of cholesterol in blood vessels. No dietary allowance set.

WHAT IT CAN Do FOR You:

Aid in preventing heart attacks.

DEFICIENCY DISEASE:

None known.

BEST NATURAL SOURCES:

Fish.

SUPPLEMENTS:

Not available.

TOXICITY:

Can easily be toxic if taken in synthetic form.

PERSONAL ADVICE:

This is not one of the minerals that needs to be supplemented. A good fish dinner will supply you with the vanadium you need. Read the rest of this entry »

Magnesium

FACTS:

Necessary for calcium and vitamin-C metabolism, as well as that of phosphorus, sodium, and potassium.

Measured in milligrams [mg.].

Essential for effective nerve and muscle functioning. Important for converting blood sugar into energy.

Known as the antistress mineral.

Alcoholics are usually deficient. Read the rest of this entry »

Iodine [Iodide]

FACTS:

Two-thirds of the body’s iodine is in the thyroid gland.

Since the thyroid gland controls metabolism, and iodine influences the thyroid, an under-supply of this mineral can result in slow mental reaction, weight gain, and lack of energy.

The RDA, as established by the National Research Council, is 80 to 150 mcg. for adults [1 mcg. per kilogram of body weight] and 125 to 150 mcg. for pregnant and lactating women respectively. Read the rest of this entry »

Kelp

This amazing seaweed contains more vitamins and minerals than any other food. To be more specific, kelp has vitamin B2, niacin, choline, carotene, and algenic acid, as well as twenty-three minerals which range as follows:

Plus traces of: barium, boron, chromium, lithium, nickel,silver, titanium, vanadium, aluminium, strontium, and silicon. Because of its natural iodine content, kelp has a normalising effect on the thyroid gland. In other words, thin people with thyroid trouble can gain weight by using kelp and obese people can lose weight with it. Read the rest of this entry »

Mindell Dieting Tips

Before starting any diet, check with your physician. If you don’t feel that your family doctor understands your dieting needs, contact a bariatrician, who specialises in the field.

If you’re on a low- or no-carbohydrate diet, beware of artificially sweetened “sugarless” or “dietetic” gum or candy that has sorbitols, mannitols, or hexitols. These ingredients are metabolised in the system as carbohydrates, only more slowly.

If you’re on a diet that allows alcohol, a glass of wine before dinner stimulates the gastric juices and aids in proper digestion.

Watch out for such diet fallacies as:

Gelatin dessert is nonfattening.

Grapefruit causes you to lose weight.

Fruits have no calories.

High-protein foods have no calories. Read the rest of this entry »

Retarding the Aging Process Through the Remarkable Nucleic Acids

Aging is caused by the degeneration of cells. Our bodies are made up of millions of these cells, each with a life of somewhere around two years or less. But before a cell dies, it reproducesitself. Why, then, you might wonder, shouldn’t we look the same now as we did ten years ago? The reason for this is that with each successive reproduction, the cell goes through some alteration — basically, deterioration. So as our cells change, deteriorate, we grow old.

Dr. Benjamin S. Frank, author of Nucleic Acid Therapy in Aging and Degenerative Disease [New York: Psychological Library, 1969; revised 1974], has found that deteriorating cells can be rejuvenated if provided with substances that directly nourish them — substances such as nucleic acids. Read the rest of this entry »

• Sweats and flushes can occur from too much vitamin K. Niacin should be used cautiously by anyone with severe diabetes, glaucoma, peptic ulcers, or with impaired liver function.
• Do not give niacin to your dog or cat; it causes flushing and sweating and greatly discomforts the animal. Do not supplement a pet’s diet with vitamins A or D unless your vet specifically advises it.
• Excessive amounts of PABA (Para-aminobenzoic acid) in certain individuals can have a negative effect on the liver, kidneys, and heart.

• Iron should not be taken by anyone with sickle-cell anaemia, haemochromatosis, or thalassaemia. Read the rest of this entry »