Vitamin Supplements

How Much Vitamin B3 Do You Need?

The body’s requirements for vitamin B3 can be met in part by the conversion of tryptophan to niacin. Even so, most people need to consume additional niacin to meet the RDA guidelines.

Optimal Daily Vitamin B3 Allowance

To select an optimal daily allowance (ODA) of niacin, we examined the energy needs of men and women and chose a level to meet the needs of the most active individuals. We believe that 20 NE (niacin equivalent) per day—the highest RDA—is an optimal amount. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’ve read the ads in health magazines, you may have seen claims that large doses of B6 can alleviate depression, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), asthma, muscle fatigue, and even autism. But you shouldn’t take these claims too seriously: scientific evidence does not support most of them. Proponents of B6, for example, claim that doses of 50 to 200 mg can “cure” PMS. According to research studies, a placebo seems to be just as effective. Read the rest of this entry »

Many statements have been made about vitamin B12, most commonly that B12 can boost energy. Scientific evidence does not substantiate most of these claims, although research does show promise in the area of cardiovascular health.

How Much Vitamin B12 Do You Need?

Your body needs little vitamin B12. Consequently, RDAs are low— for example, only 2.0 mcg for adult men and women. Read the rest of this entry »

Thiamin, the first of the B vitamins to be discovered, was initially isolated in the mid-1920s. Today we know that thiamin plays an important part in changing energy stored in carbohydrates to a form that our bodies can use. Thiamin is also necessary for the nervous system to function properly, and it may be involved with producing nerve transmitters.

Signs of Thiamin Deficiency

The first symptoms of a thiamin deficiency can include constipation, fatigue, and loss of appetite. Probably the best-known thiamin deficiency disorder—a disease called beriberi—occurs in the most severe cases of deprivation. 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 C intake. Following is a list of vitamin C food sources, arranged according to the percentage of our Optimal Daily Allowance of vitamin C contained in them. 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 »

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. In fact, most people get all of the vitamin K they need through diet alone.

To help you analyze your current diet, we’ve developed a system you can use to calculate your approximate vitamin K intake. Following is a list of vitamin K food sources, arranged according to the percentage of our Optimal Daily Allowance of vitamin K contained in them. Since 1 cup of raw carrots contains 17.81 mcg of vitamin K and the ODA for vitamin K is 80 mcg, we’ve listed carrots in the 20 Percent category. (We have erred on the conservative side when rounding off percentages.) Read the rest of this entry »

Folic Acid Health Merits

Some of the most exciting news in vitamin research comes from studies of the connection between folic acid and the prevention of birth defects.

How Much Folic Acid Do You Need?

Your body’s need for folic acid can fluctuate widely, depending on factors such as age and circumstances. More than any other single group, pregnant women require an elevated consumption of folic acid. The RDAs call for more than doubling of folic acid intake during pregnancy. Read the rest of this entry »

Magnesium Health Merits

Hypertension Cure

Magnesium may help reduce high blood pressure. Some evidence suggests that too little magnesium in the body causes muscles in the blood vessel walls—the so-called vascular smooth muscles— to constrict. As the channels in these vessels become narrower, blood pressure tends to increase.

In ongoing studies, researchers are examining magnesium as a potential treatment for other health disorders, from osteoporosis to asthma to diabetes. To date, this research has been too limited to produce any conclusions. Read the rest of this entry »