Health and Fitness Hints

Health food enthusiasts promote a variety of naturally occurring compounds that may or may not have vital biological activity in humans as vitamins. The following are some of those compounds. Some can be synthesized by our bodies others are part of existing vitamins while others have no known value based on any scientific evidence.

Laetrile or B17: An amygdalin, a simple chemical compound consisting of two molecules of sugar, one molecule of benzaldehyde and one molecule of cyanide. It has been promoted as a cure for cancer but it is not recognized as a legitimate cancer therapy by the FDA. Chronic cyanide intoxication from laetrile in the diet has produced cases of slow progression of nerve damage that leads to muscle weakness and deafness. However, a lot could be said also about the toxic effects for all chemotherapeutic agents used today.

Para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA): This compound is part of the vitamin folate, it is a non-protein amino acid, and humans cannot use it to make folate. If taken along with sulfa antibiotics can defeat the effect of the antibiotic. It may have anti-fibrosis activity.

Pangamic acid, Vitamin B15: Pangamic Acid has been used as an antioxidant, for anti-aging, as an anti-cancer agent and to reduce cholesterol. However, no study reported any beneficial effect. Its distribution is illegal in USA.

Orotic acid, Vitamin B13: It is a non-essential substance as it is manufactured in the body by intestinal flora. In its purified or synthesized form, orotic acid is listed as toxic. It is marketed as calcium orotate when combined with elemental calcium, increases calcium absorption and helps prevent osteoporosis.

Orotic acid helps with the production of genetic material. It has been used in conditions such as multiple sclerosis and chronic hepatitis. It is also used in cosmetics in moisturizing and anti-aging skin creams. However, some cancer research consider orotic acid to be a powerful tumor promoter.

Inositol: myo-inositol is the bioactive form of inositol. It plays an important role in the structure of eukaryotic cells. It is some times classified as vitamin B-complex member though it is not as it is synthesized by the human body from glucose-6-phosphate (G-6-P). It is found in many foods such as cereals nuts, beans, cantaloupe melons and oranges. Inositol is vital for many biological processes of the body and participates in a diverse range of activities.

These substances may be essential to some animals and lower organisms for growth but there is no evidence they do so for humans. They may include it in multi vitamins or as part of the B-complex group preparations.

Health and Fitness Best an online Health Choice Destination.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Although a daily multivitamin pill cannot substitute nutrients available in a balanced diet, does it give you partial protection when you drift from that “perfect” diet? In a perfect world you should get all the vitamins and minerals you need from your food, but for the great majority of us this is not exactly the case. According to JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association, research workers have been reporting as far back as in 2000 and advocate multivitamins as an affordable insurance against suboptimal nutrient ingestion.

Multivitamins could have short and long term benefits. In the short term you might anticipate to have enhanced levels of energy, better immunity to infection and coping better with stress. On the long term basis, benefits include better cardiovascular, bone, optic and immune health. Since we all live in the frantic 21st century there are a lot of reasons for potentially needing multivitamins.

Outcomes of a study by the Lewin group in 2003, US documented that daily use of multivitamins by older adults could result to more than $1.5 billion savings in Medicare across five years. The potential five year savings represented in part savings from reduced risk of hardening of the arteries, improved resistance to infection and less hospital stays. The study found that daily use of multivitamins was a potentially effective way to improve older adults health especially heart and immune health.

A list of GOOD reasons why you may need multivitamin Supplements.

Poor Digestion: A compromised digestive system could limit the body’s uptake of vitamins from food.

Excess Alcohol Intake: Regular and heavy use of alcohol step-ups the need of B-group vitamins.

Smoking: Tobacco smoking increases the demand for vitamin C by 30% than that of a non-smoker.

Use of Laxatives: Use of laxatives speeds intestinal transit time leading in poor assimilation of vitamins and minerals.

Use of Antibiotics: while useful in fighting infections they as well kill friendly bacterial in the gut that makes some of the B Vitamins.

Fad Diets: Even the low-fat diets, if aimed to extremes could be low in vitamins A, D and E. Vegetarians unless they design skillfully their diet could become vitamin B12 deficient which leads to anemia.

Cooking: Cooking especially overcooking and reheating food can destroy heat-susceptible vitamins such as the B-group, vitamin E and vitamin C. Boiling vegetables strips the water soluble vitamins such as B-group and vitamin C. Vitamin B6 could be damaged by irradiation from use of microwaves.

Food Storage: Most common sources of vitamin E such as cereals and oils are present days highly refined to increase storage life but this call for the removal of vitamin E. Also freezing food containing vitamin E could significantly reduce levels once the food gets defrosted.

Daily Stress: All three physical, emotional and chemical stressors could increase the demand for vitamins B2, B5, B6, C, and E

Teenager Years: fast growth especially among girls puts high demands on vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron.

Pregnancy: It creates greater than average demands for nutrients such as B-group vitamins, especially folic acid, vitamins A, D, E and minerals calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc.

Use of Oral Contraceptives: They could step-down the assimilation of folic acid and increase the demand for vitamin B complex especially B6, vitamin C and zinc.

Lack of Sunlight: Shift workers, disable individuals, the aged and those whose exposure to sunshine is lowest could suffer from inadequate amounts of vitamin D.

Athletes: Professional athletes go through substantial stress. The demand, in particular for B-group vitamins, vitamin C and iron, increases substantially.

Health and Fitness Best an online Health Choice Destination.

Choline is the latest addition to the list of essential nutrients grouped with the vitamin B-complex. It is an organic compound present in the lipids of the cell membranes and in the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. It is a part of all tissues and cells. Choline is absorbed from the small intestines and taken up by the liver. Excess Choline it is mostly converted into betaine but some is excreted in the urine.

The function of choline is that of a precursor of acetylcholine a neurotransmitter involved with memory, attention, learning, structural integrity of cell membranes, lipid metabolism, and liver export of VLDL and prevents deposition of fat in the liver. It is also a precursor for the methyl donor betaine. Choline is necessary for function of all cells and for life to be sustained. Humans can synthesize small amounts of choline but it must be consumed in the diet to maintain health.

Natural Source of Choline

Choline is widely distributed in foods, principally in the form of phosphatidylcholine but also as free choline. There is much choline available in foods that a deficiency is unlikely. Eggs, liver, turkey, beef and peanuts are rich sources. It also can be synthesized from the amino acid serine. The Adequate Intake for adult men 19 years and older is 550mg/day and adult women 425mg/day. The upper level for adults is 3.5g/day.

Studies on male volunteers showed when they where fed choline deficient nutrition the decreased choline stores were responsible for damage of the liver. High doses of choline have been associated with a fishy body odor, hypotension, gastrointestinal problems, vomiting and salivation. It has been noted that people suffering Parkinson’s disease liver and kidney disease, , depression and trimethylaminuria a genetic disorder might be at risk of adverse effects if consume choline at near upper levels.

Intake of Choline, as with all other B-group, if taken alone for long periods of time it may result in loses of other B vitamins. It is also important to understand that Vitamin Supplements cannot substitute a balanced diet.

Health and Fitness Best an online Health Choice Destination.