Posted by dodo on Aug-22-2008
Posted by dodo on Aug-13-2008
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 »
Posted by dodo on Aug-11-2008
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.
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 »
Posted by dodo on Jul-31-2008
Posted by dodo on Jul-19-2008
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.
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 »
Posted by dodo on Jul-10-2008
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 »
Posted by dodo on Jul-9-2008
Posted by dodo on Jul-4-2008
How Much Calcium Do You Need?
Not everyone agrees with the formal RDAs for calcium. A National Institutes of Health consensus panel on osteoporosis has advised that women consume more calcium than recommended in the RDAs-1,500 mg in the years after menopause if they are not taking supplemental estrogen. The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends 1,000 mg per day for postmenopausal women who are not on estrogen replacement therapy.
Although the RDAs call for only 800 mg of calcium for men and women over the age of 25 (with an increase to 1,200 mg for pregnant and lactating women), we recommend a daily intake of 1,500 mg for everyone. Women clearly need more calcium to help protect them against osteoporosis, even if they are postmenopausal and on hormonal replacement therapy (which can also help protect their bones). Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by dodo on Jul-1-2008
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 »
Posted by dodo on Jun-30-2008
Before you decide that you need to take iron 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 iron intake. Our ODA for men is 10 mg; for women, it ranges from 12 to 15 mg, rising to 20 mg for women with heavy menstrual flow. For the purposes of this test, we have used an ODA of 15 mg.
To determine your average daily intake of iron, start by keeping an accurate food diary for three or four days. The longer you keep the diary, the more accurate your calculations will be. Write down exactly what you eat and drink, together with an estimate of the serving size. Read the rest of this entry »
