Vitamin Supplements

They keep hormones in check

These essential fats also help to control the sex hormones in both men and women. In adolescents, they help to alleviate the hormone fluctuations so common during puberty, and thus prevent against outbreaks of acne, mood swings, and even ‘growing pains’. In adults, they help to stimulate fertility, decrease the severity of pre-menstrual syndrome and regulate menstrual cycles. In menopausal women, they alleviate mood swings and depression, and make this rather rocky ride a little easier to cope with.

They indirectly help to improve insulin resistance

For this reason they are used in fat loss programmes. Read the rest of this entry »

A common protest of patients whom I advise to embark on a fat- free diet is, ‘But don’t our bodies need some fat?’ Yes, in order to achieve optimum health they do. Now I’m going to introduce you to what I call the golden drops: essential fatty acids. So powerful are these fatty acids in maintaining health that they have been nicknamed ‘Vitamin F’. I like to think of them also as the master vitamins, because they play such a crucial role in nutrition. Read the rest of this entry »

Vitamin B3 Basic Functions

In concert with a variety of enzymes, niacin participates in a variety of metabolic processes. It helps convert energy derived from carbohydrates, fats, and protein into a form that the body can use.

In large doses, niacin (specifically, nicotinic acid) positively affects fats in the blood: it can decrease total cholesterol, while increasing the HDL (”good”) component of cholesterol. 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 »

Pantothenic acid gets its name from the Greek word pantos, which means “everywhere.” That’s an indication of just how prevalent this B vitamin is in plants and animals. At least a small amount of pantothenic acid is present in most of the foods we eat.

Once you consume pantothenic acid, your body changes most of this B vitamin into a substance called coenzyme A, which is required to convert carbohydrates, fats, and some proteins into energy. Pantothenic acid is also necessary for the body to produce hormones and to form hemoglobin and a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. Read the rest of this entry »

Biotin gets its name from the Greek word bios, meaning “life.” Bacteria in the human intestines seem to produce enough biotin to meet the body’s needs. This B vitamin is also available in common foods—most notably in organ meats.

Biotin is important in a number of processes, including the body’s manufacturing and use of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. 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 »

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 »