Vitamin Supplements

Who benefits from supplements?

The answer is simple: Everyone. Many of my colleagues will probably want to burn me at the stake for this but there is enough evidence to prove that most people today do not eat a balanced enough diet to get all the vitamins they need. In addition, the fast pace, stress and pollution of modern society result in a greater need for vitamins and other nutrients. Read the rest of this entry »

Food supplements are here to stay and can give you a kick-start when you need it, but the utter confusion they sometimes cause does more harm than good

One of the fastest growing sections of the health industry is that of vitamin preparations. However, there is still a great deal of ignorance among both the public and health workers as to their desirability and meaningful use. The budget that most people have for “luxuries” like vitamins and health literature is limited. Read the rest of this entry »

There is a male brain type and that this brain type is not about gender; rather, it is about the level of testosterone during fetal life. Baron Cohen, whose work on autism is highly respected, believes that one form of autism, Asperger’s syndrome, represents an extreme of the male brain type.

Asperger’s syndrome is often called high-functioning autism, because intelligence is not affected — in fact, it may be higher than normal. Indeed, some AS individuals may be supremely gifted, but they also have great difficulties with relationships and with empathy. Read the rest of this entry »

In order for your body to absorb the vitamin B12 that you consume, cells in the stomach lining must produce a protein called intrinsic factor. Without enough of this factor in the gastric juices, the intestines cannot absorb B12, and a deficiency may occur.

Vitamin B12 Basic Functions

•  Vitamin B12 is required for manufacturing and developing red blood cells in the marrow.
• Vitamin B12 is necessary for the body to use folic acid properly. Read the rest of this entry »

Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)

Vitamin C is the great healing vitamin of the body. It has many functions and is very important, especially when the body is under some stress, such as during a prolonged illness or when fighting a severe infection. It is needed for the cells that produce the collagen substances that hold the tissues together. It is particularly important in maintaining the walls of the smaller blood vessels. It also aids in the absorption of iron from the digestive tract. Read the rest of this entry »

Over the years, no other vitamin has received as much media attention, hype, and hoopla as vitamin C. Thanks in great part to its most prominent and outspoken advocate, Linus Pauling, millions of people religiously consume large amounts of vitamin C in hopes that it might cure them of everything from the common cold to cancer.

Despite all this attention, the average person isn’t sure what to believe about this highly touted nutrient. Furthermore, until recently, most physicians weren’t sure what to tell their patients. Research has now provided us with many of the answers. Read the rest of this entry »

At one time vitamin B was thought to be one single substance. Now we know there is a whole family of these vitamins, more than a dozen of them. We refer to them as the B complex vitamins. They are often found together in various foods. But they are all different in their effects upon the human body. Some are needed in the transfer of energy within the cells. Others are required for the formation of red blood cells. But they have other activities as well. Read the rest of this entry »

Among the most exciting findings of modern times is the discovery of vitamins. Until a few years ago no one even dreamed of their existence. For centuries it had been observed that during long ocean voyages sailors often came down with a mysterious disease called scurvy, which affected the skin, the gums and teeth, and other parts of the body. This disease usually cleared soon after the sailors reached land and began to eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Read the rest of this entry »

Vitamin D is not like other vitamins. Because the body can manufacture this nutrient, in fact, vitamin D fails to meet the classic definition of a vitamin. Vitamin D is manufactured in the skin, with ultraviolet light driving the process. With regular exposure to sunlight, most people can manufacture enough of this vitamin to meet all of their needs. People who do not get enough year-round exposure, however, may require dietary D as well. Certain groups, including older people, have difficulty producing vitamin D themselves and may also require dietary D.

While rickets, a disease caused by a vitamin D deficiency, has been around for thousands of years, our knowledge of the vitamin itself has a relatively short history. It was first isolated and synthesized. Read the rest of this entry »

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

• Are you an older person? Skin production of vitamin D tends to slow down with age. Studies of older people—particularly older women—show that as many as 75 percent are at marked risk for vitamin D deficiencies.
• Are you confined indoors and not exposed to sunlight? With limited sun exposure, your skin will produce a minimal amount of vitamin D, leaving you to rely on diet alone for your vitamin D needs.
• Do you have kidney or liver disease? Vitamin D, formed in the skin, must be modified chemically in the kidney and liver before the body can use it. This process can be severely impaired if these organs are diseased. Read the rest of this entry »