Vitamin Supplements

Now you know how to read the labels and find out if a particular supplement contains what you need, here’s how to turn your nutrient needs into a supplement programme.

Theoretically, you could take a mega-mega-multi that has everything you could possibly need in it. The trouble is, this would be enormous, impossible to swallow and no doubt give you a lot more than you need of some nutrients. The other extreme is to take one supplement for each vitamin, exactly matching your requirements — but you’d end up with handfuls of pills. Read the rest of this entry »

Most of the minerals essential for health are supplied from food to the body as a compound, bound to a larger (food) molecule. This binding is known as chelation, from the Greek word chela, meaning ‘a claw’. Some form of chelation is important, since most essential minerals in their ‘raw’ state are positively charged. The gut wall is negatively charged, so once separated from food through the process of digestion, these unbound positively charged minerals would be attracted to the gut wall. Read the rest of this entry »

Zinc Minerals

Zinc is one of the most thoroughly researched and widely deficient minerals. About a thousand papers are published each year indicating its value for a variety of conditions. The best absorbed forms of zinc include zinc picolinate, amino acid chelate, citrate and gluconate. Zinc supplementation is relatively non-toxic. In doses of 2000mg symptoms of nausea, vomiting, fever and severe anaemia have been reported. Small amounts of zinc, particularly in the form of zinc sulphate, can act as an irritant in the digestive tract when taken on an empty stomach. There is also some evidence that zinc, at levels of 300mg per day, may impair rather than improve immune function. It is generally considered safe to supplement up to 50mg per day. Read the rest of this entry »

The safety of minerals depends on three factors. Firstly, the amount — all minerals show toxicity at exceedingly high doses. Secondly, the form — trivalent chromium, for example, is essential, while hexavalent chromium (which is not found in food or supplements) is very toxic. Thirdly, the balance with other minerals in the diet — iron supplementation, for instance, can exacerbate zinc deficiency since it is a zinc antagonist. The reason for this antagonism is that many minerals are atomically very similar to each other. So if you lack one mineral but take in an excess of another similar mineral it can slot into the wrong enzyme, speeding up or slowing down or simply stopping the enzyme from working. Read the rest of this entry »

How Much Selenium Do You Need?

Conclusive evidence of the need for selenium has emerged only in recent years, and our knowledge of this nutrient is still evolving. With some research indicating that elevated levels of selenium could help prevent certain types of cancer, we believe that the consumption of selenium at doses somewhat higher than the RDAs is important.

Optimal Daily Allowance

We recommend that all people consume 100 mcg of selenium per day. This nearly doubles the RDA for women and is almost a 50 percent increase for men.

While you could probably safely increase your selenium intake to 200 mcg per day, it’s unwise to go any higher because a few people may begin to experience adverse reactions at these elevated levels. Read the rest of this entry »

Selenium—in conjunction with an enzyme called glutathione peroxidase—acts as an antioxidant. In this role, it helps prevent oxidative damage in the body. In particular, selenium appears to work together with vitamin E to prevent injuries to cells. By consuming adequate amounts of both selenium and vitamin E, you can help your body fight off cell damage that can contribute to several serious diseases.

• Selenium appears to play a role in preventing heart disorders.
• Selenium seems to help prevent cancer.
• Selenium protects the body against the harmful effects of certain toxic substances, including arsenic, mercury, and copper. It appears to bind to these substances and render them less harmful. Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

Vitamin E [Tocopherol]

FACTS:

Fat soluble and stored in the liver, fatty tissues, heart, muscles, testes, uterus, blood, adrenal and pituitary glands.

Formerly measured by weight, but now generally designated according to its biological activity in International Units [IU]. With this vitamin 1 IU is the same as 1 mg.

Composed of compounds called tocopherols. One of the eight tocopherols — alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, zeta, eta, and theta — alphatocopherol is the most effective.

An active antioxidant, prevents oxidation of fat compounds as well as that of vitamin A, selenium, two sulphur amino acids, and some vitamin C. Read the rest of this entry »

Selenium

FACTS:

Vitamin E and selenium are synergistic. This means that the two together are stronger than the sum of the equal parts.

Both vitamin E and selenium are antioxidants, preventing or at least slowing down aging and hardening of tissues through oxidation.

Males appear to have a greater need for selenium. Almost half their body’s supply concentrates in the testicles and portions of the seminal ducts adjacent to the prostate gland. Also, selenium is lost in the semen. Read the rest of this entry »

Cravings, which can sometimes mean allergies, are more often nature’s way of letting you know that you’re not getting enough of certain vitamins or minerals. Frequently these specific hungers develop because overall diet is inadequate.

Some of the most common cravings are:

Peanut ButterThis is definitely among the top ten, and it’s not at all surprising. Peanut butter is a rich source of B vitamins. If you find yourself dipping into the jar often, it might be because you’re under stress and your ordinary B intake has become insufficient. Since 50 g. of peanut butter — a third of a cup — is 284 calories, you’ll find it easier on your waistline to take a B-complex supplement if you do not want to gain weight. Read the rest of this entry »