Vitamins – Little Wonders
Vitamins are nutrients required by the body in small amounts, for a variety of essential processes.
Most vitamins cannot be made by the body, so need to be provided in the diet.
Vitamin D can be made by the body in the skin when it is exposed to sunlight.
Vitamins are grouped into fat-soluble vitamins and water-soluble vitamins.
Requirements for vitamins change across life stages.
Modern diets often cause vitamin deficiencies causing such effects as depression, neuralgia, irregular heartbeat, mental confusion and many other difficulties, Unfortunately the medical profession often treats the symptoms using drugs, and so the cause still exists.
To quickly go to particular vitamins click ok:
Vitamin A
Vitamin B
My Experiences With The Vitamin B Group
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
Vitamin E
Vitamin K
Vitamins and Miscarriage
Multivitaminsa and Minerals
Vitamin A
The total vitamin A content of the diet (from both animal and plant sources) is normally expressed as retinol equivalents (RE).
Vitamin A is essential to the normal structure and function of the skin and mucous membranes such as in the eyes, lungs and digestive system. Therefore, because it is what helps prevent or kill germs and viruses attacking the mucus membranes it is vital for vision, protection of lungs, throat, eyes and embryonic development, growth and cellular differentiation, and the immune system.
Deficiency
Vitamin A deficiency is a serious public health problem worldwide. It can lead to night blindness (impaired adaptation to low-intensity light) and an eye condition called xerophthalmia (dryness of the conjunctiva and cornea) and eventually total blindness. Marginal deficiency contributes to childhood susceptibility to infection, and therefore morbidity and mortality, in both developing and developed countries. Vitamin A deficiency is common in many developing countries especially among young children.
In the UK, frank deficiency is rare but low intakes are relatively common. For example, depending on age and sex between 6% and 20% of children have intakes that are unlikely to be adequate (below the Lower Reference Nutrient intake, LRNI). In adults, intakes tend to be higher although 16% of men aged 19-24 have intakes below the LRNI. In the UK, supplements containing 233µg of vitamin A are recommended for infants and young children from age 1 to 5 years (from 6 months for infants that receive breast milk as their main drink).
Toxicity
Excess retinol during pregnancy can increase the risk of birth defects. As a precautionary measure, women who are pregnant, or who might become pregnant, are advised not to consume high dose vitamin A supplements (>2800-3300 μg/day). Liver and liver products may contain a large amount of vitamin A, so these should also be avoided in pregnancy.
Large amounts of retinol can also cause liver and bone damage. To prevent adverse effects on bones, intakes above 1500 µgrams of retinol equivalents from food or supplements should be avoided. The Food Standards Agency advises that, as a precaution, regular consumers of liver (once a week or more) should not increase their intake of liver or take supplements containing retinol (for example, cod liver oil).
Food sources
Liver, whole milk, cheese, butter and many reduced fat spreads are dietary sources of retinol. Carrots, dark green leafy vegetables and orange-coloured fruits, e.g. mangoes and apricots are dietary sources of carotenoids. Vitamin A is also often voluntarily added to reduced fat spreads, as is vitamin D. Cod liver oil is a great source taken daily.
My Experience With Vitamin A
In my thirties I suffered many ‘cold sores’ on my lips, also I had started wearing reading glasses. I read that when exposed to cold as when swimming in the sea or cold water, the body uses great amounts of vitamin A – also vitamin A, because it is used keeping healthy all of the mucous membranes, which includes the mouth, the nose, digestive tract, the eyes and the skin, problems in those areas might be due to low intake of vitamin A. While is Australia I learnt that many of the native aborigines living inland suffered eye problems but the aborigines living along the coastline didn’t have eye problems. This was because those living along the coastline ate a lot of fish oils containing vitamin A. Taking fish oil, such as cod liver oil, my mouth ulcers and eyesight improved. So that now at 83 I do not need glasses even to read.
My mouth before taking vitamin A. Most links for mouth ulcers advertise treatment for symptoms, but vitamin A treats the cause. People do not realise that the diet of processed foods such as all white flour products, white rice and sugary drinks are often the cause of cancer and other diseases. I now take Cod liver Oil capsules daily at at 83 do not need glasses.
Vitamins B
B vitamins are a class of water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in cell metabolism. Though these vitamins share similar names, they are chemically distinct compounds that often coexist in the same foods. In general, dietary supplements containing all eight are referred to as a vitamin B complex. Individual B vitamin supplements are referred to by the specific number or name of each vitamin: B1 = thiamine, B2 = riboflavin, B3 = niacin, etc. Some are better known by name than number: niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin and folate.
Each B vitamin is either a cofactor (generally a coenzyme) for key metabolic processes or is a precursor needed to make one.
| Vitamin | Name | Structure | Molecular Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin B1 | thiamine |  |
Promote growth. Helps fight air or seasickness. Aid digestion, especially of carbohydrates. Relieve dental postoperative pain. Improve your mental attitude. Aid in treatment of herpes zoster. Keep nervous system, muscles, and heart functioning normally.If you are a smoker, drinker, or heavy sugar consumer, you need more vitamin B1.If you are pregnant, nursing, or on the pill you have a greater need for this vitamin.As with all stress condition disease, anxiety, trauma, post-surgery-your B-complex intake, which includes thiamine, should be increased. |
| Vitamin B2 | riboflavin |  |
Aid in growth and reproduction. Promote healthy skin, nails, hair. Help eliminate sore mouth, lips, and tongue. Benefit vision, alleviate eye fatigue. Function with other substances to metabolise carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
If you are taking the pill, pregnant, or lactating, you need more vitamin B2. If you eat little red meat or dairy products you should increase your intake. There is a strong likelihood of your being deficient in this vitamin if you are on a prolonged restricted diet for ulcers or diabetes. (In all cases where you are under medical treatment for a specific illness, check with your doctor before altering your present food regimen or embarking on a new one.) |
| Vitamin B3 | niacin |
 |
Regulated digestion. Treats pellagra. Improves skin. Reduces the symptoms of Arthritis. Prevents the risk of heart disease. Mental health. Diabetes. Aids in Parkinsons Disease. |
| Vitamin B5 | pantothenic acid | Properly assimilate protein and fat. Aid in the conversion of tryptophan, an essential amino acid, to niacin. Help prevent various nervous and skin disorders. Alleviate nausea (many morning-sickness preparations that doctors prescribe include vitamin B6). Pr
If you are on the pill, you are more than likely to need increased amounts of B6. Heavy protein consumers need extra amounts of this vitamin. If you are taking a B complex, make sure there is enough B6 in the formula to be effective. B6 is expensive, and some vitamin formulas are short on it. If you can’t remember your dreams, it might be that you need a separate pyridoxine tablet in addition to your multivitamin or B complex. |
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| Vitamin B6 | pyridoxine, pyridoxal, pyridoxamine |  |
Properly assimilate protein and fat. Aid in the conversion of tryptophan, an essential amino acid, to niacin. Help prevent various nervous and skin disorders. Alleviate nausea (many morning-sickness preparations that doctors prescribe include vitamin B6). Promote proper synthesis of anti ageing nucleic acids. Required for the proper absorption of vitamin B12. Necessary for the production of hydrochloric acid and magnesium.
Reduce night muscle spasms, leg cramps, hand numbness, certain forms of neuritis in the extremities. Work as a natural diuretic. If you are on the pill, you are more than likely to need increased amounts of B6. Heavy protein consumers need extra amounts of this vitamin. If you are taking a B complex, make sure there is enough B6 in the formula to be effective. B6 is expensive, and some vitamin formulas are short on it. If you can’t remember your dreams, it might be that you need a separate pyridoxine tablet in addition to your multivitamin or B complex.
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| Vitamin B7 | biotin |  |
Aid in keeping hair from turning grey. Ease muscle pains. Alleviate eczema and dermatitis. Help in preventive treatment for baldness.
If you drink a lot of eggnogs made with raw eggs you probably need biotin supplementation. Be sure you’re getting at least 25 mcg. daily if you are on antibiotics or sulpha drugs. Balding men might find that a biotin supplement may keep their hair there longer.
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| Vitamin B9 | folate |  |
Folate acts as a co-enzyme in the form of tetrahydrofolate (THF), which is involved in the transfer of single-carbon units in the metabolism of nucleic acids and amino acids. THF is involved in pyrimidine nucleotide synthesis, so is needed for normal cell division, especially during pregnancy and infancy, which are times of rapid growth. Folate also aids in erythropoiesis, the production of red blood cells.[8] |
| Vitamin B12 | cobalamin |  |
Vitamin B12 is a nutrient that helps keep the body’s nerve and blood cells healthy and helps make DNA, the genetic material in all cells. Vitamin B12 also helps prevent a type of anemia called megaloblastic anemia that makes people tired and weak. Two steps are required for the body to absorb vitamin B12 from food.
Vitamin B12 is involved in red blood cell formation. When vitamin B12 levels are too low, the production of red blood cells is altered, causing megaloblastic anemia. Adequate vitamin B12 levels are crucial to a healthy pregnancy. Studies show that a fetus’s brain and nervous system require sufficient B12 levels from the mother to develop properly. Maintaining adequate levels of vitamin B12 may help prevent the risk of age-related macular degeneration. |
Deficiencies
Several named vitamin deficiency diseases may result from the lack of sufficient B vitamins. Deficiencies of other B vitamins result in symptoms that are not part of a named deficiency disease.
| Vitamin | Name | Deficiency effects |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin B1 | thiamine | Deficiency causes beriberi. Symptoms of this disease of the nervous system include weight loss, emotional disturbances, Wernicke encephalopathy (impaired sensory perception), weakness and pain in the limbs, periods of irregular heartbeat, and edema (swelling of bodily tissues). Heart failure and death may occur in advanced cases. Chronic thiamin deficiency can also cause alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome, an irreversible dementia characterized by amnesia and compensatory confabulation. |
| Vitamin B2 | riboflavin | Riboflavin deficiency can cause ariboflavinosis, which may result in cheilosis (cracks in the lips), high sensitivity to sunlight, angular cheilitis, glossitis (inflammation of the tongue), seborrheic dermatitis or pseudo-syphilis (particularly affecting the scrotum or labia majora and the mouth), pharyngitis (sore throat), hyperemia, and edema of the pharyngeal and oral mucosa. |
| Vitamin B3 | niacin | Deficiency, along with a deficiency of tryptophan causes pellagra. Symptoms include aggression, dermatitis, insomnia, weakness, mental confusion, and diarrhea. In advanced cases, pellagra may lead to dementia and death (the 3(+1) D’s: dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia, and death). |
| Vitamin B5 | pantothenic acid | Deficiency can result in acne and paresthesia, although it is uncommon. |
| Vitamin B6 | pyridoxine, pyridoxal, pyridoxamine | Vitamin B6 deficiency causes seborrhoeic dermatitis-like eruptions, pink eye and neurological symptoms (e.g. epilepsy). |
| Vitamin B7 | biotin | Deficiency does not typically cause symptoms in adults but may lead to impaired growth and neurological disorders in infants. Multiple carboxylase deficiency, an inborn error of metabolism, can lead to biotin deficiency even when dietary biotin intake is normal. |
| Vitamin B9 | folic acid | Deficiency results in a macrocytic anemia, and elevated levels of homocysteine. Deficiency in pregnant women can lead to birth defects. |
| Vitamin B12 | cobalamin | Deficiency results in a macrocytic anemia, elevated methylmalonic acid and homocysteine, peripheral neuropathy, memory loss and other cognitive deficits. It is most likely to occur among elderly people, as absorption through the gut declines with age; the autoimmune disease pernicious anemia is another common cause. It can also cause symptoms of mania and psychosis. In rare extreme cases, paralysis can result. |
Food Sources for the B Vitamins:
B vitamins are found in highest abundance in meat. They are also found in small quantities in whole unprocessed carbohydrate based foods. Processed carbohydrates such as sugar and white flour tend to have lower B vitamin than their unprocessed counterparts. For this reason, it is required by law in many countries (including the United States) that the B vitamins thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and folic acid be added back to white flour after processing. This is sometimes called “Enriched Flour” on food labels. B vitamins are particularly concentrated in meat such as turkey, tuna and liver. Good sources for B vitamins include legumes (pulses or beans), whole grains, potatoes, bananas, chili peppers, tempeh, nutritional yeast, brewer’s yeast, and molasses. Although the yeast used to make beer – Brewers Yeast – results in beers and the yeast being a source of B vitamins, their bioavailability ranges from poor to negative as drinking ethanol – alcohol inhibits absorption of thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), biotin (B7), and folic acid (B9). In addition, each of the preceding studies further emphasizes that elevated consumption of beer and other alcoholic beverages results in a net deficit of those B vitamins and the health risks associated with such deficiencies. Alcohol is a known poison so alcohol is also a powerful drug that kills someone nearly every hour in the UK, the vast majority of them men. Alcohol poisoning is a leading cause of poisoning especially among young people.
The B12 vitamin is not abundantly available from plant products, making B12 deficiency a legitimate concern for vegans. Manufacturers of plant-based foods will sometimes report B12 content, leading to confusion about what sources yield B12. The confusion arises because the standard US Pharmacopeia (USP) method for measuring the B12 content does not measure the B12 directly. Instead, it measures a bacterial response to the food. Chemical variants of the B12 vitamin found in plant sources are active for bacteria, but cannot be used by the human body. This same phenomenon can cause significant over-reporting of B12 content in other types of foods as well.
Example: I know what I am about to say will be taken as stupidity by people who suffer depression, but it is largely a matter of imprinted habits. Having suffered depression for years and having found a way out of the dark place, I know the route out. It is not a route for people who are in the habit of believing there is no cure, that drugs are the only way to deal with it, or suffer enormous fear about change or meeting new aspects of self. Some people actually believe that depression is normal, and so it is our real nature to be depressed. But having found my way out without antidepressants and am on stable ground – much more so that normal – I know that we are not destined to feel pain and despair. Life is not all about pain as Buddhism states. It is all about a stable emotional life and knowing how to transform oneself with so much to offer us. But it takes work and consistency to remove all the rubbish put into us, and to clear all the dark debris that is the cause of depression – debris that block the light of our being. See Opening to Life
Example: Since she was 11, Sara’s life had been a nightmare of mental and physical suffering. Her history included chronic insomnia, episodic loss of reality, attempted suicide by hanging, amnesia, partial seizures, nausea, vomiting and loss of periods. Her knees were so painful (X-rays showed poor cartilages) and her mind so disperceptive that she walked slowly with her feet wide apart like a peasant following a hand plough drawn by tired oxen. Psychiatrists at three different hospitals gave the dubious waste-basket labels of ‘schizophrenia’, ‘paranoid schizophrenia’ and ‘schizophrenia with convulsive disorder’. At times her left side went into spasms with foot clawed and fist doubled up. Both arm and leg had a wild flaying motion. Restraints were needed at these times. Psychotherapy was ineffective. Most tranquillisers accentuated the muscle symptoms. She tested positive for pyroluria and was given B6 and zinc. Urinary kryptopyrrole was at times as high as 1000mcg%, the normal range being less than 15. She was diagnosed as B6 and zinc deficient and treatment was started. Over three months her knees became normal, the depression subsided, as did the seizures, her periods returned, the nausea vanished and so did the abdominal pain. She has had no recurrence of her grave illness, finished college and now works in New York. She takes zinc and B6 daily. When under stress of any kind, she increases her intake of vitamin B6.
Perhaps the most significant discovery in the nutritional treatment of mental illness is that many depressed and mentally ill people are deficient in vitamin B6 and zinc. But this deficiency is no ordinary deficiency that is simply corrected by eating more foods that are rich in zinc and B6. It is connected with the abnormal production of Kryptopyrroles.
People with depression or other mental health disorders often have high levels of Kryptopyrroles in their urine when tested. Kryptopyrroles rob the body of vitamin B6 and zinc, causing these nutrients to be excreted in the urine, this results in a deficiency of B6 and zinc that requires supplementation to correct.
Symptoms of pyroluria – High Kryptopyrroles
- Disperceptions
- Depression
- Intolerance to some protein foods, drugs or alcohol
- Definite body odour and breath
- Morning nausea and constipation
- Difficulty remembering dreams
- Crowded upper front teeth.
- White spots on finger nails
- Pale skin which does not tolerate sunlight
- Frequent upper abdominal pain
- Frequent head colds and infections
- Stretch marks in the skin
- Irregular cycle or impotency
- Any of the above when stressed
- Belong to all-girl family with look-alike sisters
- A family history of mental illness
- A history of miscarried boys
My Experiences With The Vitamin B Group
I experienced neuralgia in the left side of my face and it spread down my left arm. It was so painful I couldn’t sleep for three nights. On the third night I was pacing up and down in the kitchen feeling desperate and searching my mind and I remembered reading years ago that a lack of vitamin B’s can lead to neuralgia. Apparently the nerves have a coating that can be eaten away when we lack the B vitamins, this exposes the nerve to attack causing pain. I realised I had an unused bottle of Brewers Yeast tablets and quickly opened it and took a handful of the tablets. But I then felt hungry for more and ate another handful, then another – Brewers Yeast is a food , not a drug, and so there was no harm in eating so many. In fact, in about a quarter hour the pain began to decrease and that night I slept soundly.
Sciatica has several causes but it is worth trying taking the Vitamin B’s because the sciatic nerve can also be exposed by lack of vitamin B.
I had been working hard building a balcony extension and been hammering to knock a door hole in a house with old thick walls. In doing that I had developed a pain in the centre of my chest that went straight through to my back. My doctor identified it as something Japanese doctors had defined as a nerve problem. As soon as he said that and suggested pain killers, I said, “It’s okay I’ve got it.” I went home and dosed myself with Brewers Yeast again. The pain disappeared. (Brewers Yeast contains Vitamins of the groups B1, B2, B3, B6, E, PP, choline).
Vitamin C
The grandadddy of such instances might be vitamin C which is useful in both treatment and prevention of cancer. Also the fetus has a great deal more vitamin C in its body than the mother, suggesting that the unborn baby needs a great deal of it. Vitamin C, which I had been told aided healthy collagen formation – aiding firm flesh.
Edgar Cayce stated that vitamin C supplies ‘the necessary influences to the flexes of every nature throughout the body, whether of a muscular or tendon nature, or a heart reaction, or a kidney contraction, the batting of the eye or the supplying of the saliva and the muscular forces in the face.’ A deficiency caused ‘bad eliminations from the lack of coordination of the excretory functioning of the alimentary canal, as well as the heart, liver and lungs, through the expelling of these forces that are a structural portion of the body.’
Taking vitamin C can detoxify Lead; zinc counteracts cadmium; selenium counteracts mercury and aids the expulsion of such poisons out of ones body. Also if you bruise easily it shows that you capillaries have ruptured and you need more vitamin C to strengthen them.
Vitamin D
Fat soluble. Acquired through sunlight or diet. (Ultraviolet sunrays act on the oils of the skin to produce the vitamin, which is then absorbed into the body.) When taken orally, vitamin D is absorbed with fats through the intestinal walls.
Properly utilise calcium and phosphorus necessary for strong bones and teeth. Taken with vitamins A and C it can aid in preventing colds. Help in treatment of conjunctivitis. Aid in assimilating vitamin A.
DEFICIENCY disease: Rickets, severe tooth decay, osteomalacia, senile osteoporosis.
Foods containing it: Fish liver oils such as cod liver oil, sardines, herring, salmon, tuna, milk and dairy products.
Vitamin E
Fat soluble and stored in the liver, fatty tissues, heart, muscles, testes, uterus, blood, adrenal and pituitary glands. An active antioxidant, prevents oxidation of fat compounds as well as that of vitamin A, selenium, two sulphur amino acids, and some vitamin C. Enhances activity of vitamin A.
Keep you looking younger by retarding cellular ageing due to oxidation. Supply oxygen to the body to give you more endurance. Protect your lungs against air pollution by working with vitamin A. Prevent and dissolve blood clots. Alleviate fatigue.
Prevent thick scar formation externally (when applied topically-it can be absorbed through the skin) and internally. Accelerate healing of burns. Working as a diuretic, it can lower blood pressure. Aid in prevention of miscarriages.
Vitamin K
Helps in preventing internal bleeding and haemorrhages. Aid in reducing excessive menstrual flow. Promote proper blood clotting. Yoghurt, alfalfa, egg yolk, safflower oil, soybean oil, fish liver oils, kelp, leafy green vegetables are good sources.
Excessive diarrhoea can be a symptom of vitamin-K deficiency, but before self-supplementing, see a doctor.
Yoghurt is your best defence against a vitamin-K deficiency. If you have nosebleeds often, try increasing your K and C through natural food sources. Alfalfa tablets might help.
Vitamins and Miscarriage
While living and working in Combe Martin, Devon, a young woman stopped me in the street saying that she had just been to the doctor because she had just started bleeding and the doctor told he she was miscarrying her baby and there was nothing could be done to stop it. In fact he told her to go to town and buy herself a new outfit of clothes to take her mind off it.
I believe she had talked to the man in the post office who had lost a lot of weight using my advice about his amazing weight lose using vitamins. So she asked me if her baby might be saved. I had never dealt with a miscarriage before but I knew that most people eat products made with white flour such as bread and white rice and eat a lot of white sugar so they lack enormous amounts of vitamin E and the B vitamins that are stripped by the refining process. So I suggested she took a strong vitamin E tablet, a good Vitamin and mineral capsule each day and at least 500 mlg of vitamin C daily. Because I knew that vitamin E is important in child bearing and preventing downs syndrome I suggested she took a strong dose. Also vitamin C strengthens the capillaries that if a person if not getting enough C vitamins the capillaries are weakened causing bleeding and bruising.
She came back a couple of weeks later and told me she had taken the vitamins and that the miscarriage had stopped. Looking at her I could see her hair was now a shinning crown upon her head, she looked radiant and later gave birth to a healthy boy.
Multivitamin and Mineral Supplements
Multibionta – in USA $10.99 and UK £15 – PROBIOTIC NUTRIENTS.
Probiotic Nutrients are natural friendly bacteria, which exist inside the body and help to maintain a healthy digestive system. Working in harmony with the body, Multibionta also supports the immune system to help you cope with today’s hectic lifestyles.
Perfect Equation Multi-Vitamin, Mineral, Phyto-Nutrient Formula with CoQ-10: 120 Capsules – $28.95