Healthy Life

Article by Chani Prem T

Article by Dominic Bowen

B12 Vitamin

A vitamin is a chemical substance that is needed for a specific chemical reaction to happen in the body, but isn’t synthesized by the body, and therefore must be included in the diet. The diet requirements for normal function are generally comparatively tiny. Most vitamins that are known today were discovered because their deficiency causes familiar illnesses. Examples are scurvy, due to a deficiency of vitamin C, which at last incentivized British sailors to carry limes onboard ship, and beriberi, due to a deficiency of thiamin, or vitamin B1.

B12 Vitamin Supplemental vitamins are generally not required by people who’ve sundry, well-balanced diets and standard metabolism. Nevertheless supplements are commonly advisable for people with limited diets or increased prerequisites for vitamins,eg pregnant women and growing children. Also, a number of gut diseases can interfere with absorption of vitamins and cause inadequacies even in people who have acceptable nutritional supplies.

B12 Vitamin Vitamin B12 is required for several imperative biological reactions. Two of its most critical roles are in the production of elements of DNA and the right functioning of different parts of the neurological system. Tissues in which cells are constantly dividing, such as bone marrow and the liner of the entire gut and respiration tracts, require a sustained supply of vitamin B12. Normal function of cells throughout the nervous system and spine also requires vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 comes from animal products and bacteria. The stomach produces a factor that binds to the vitamin in food and permits it to be absorbed in the small intestines. Therefore , the primary causes of vitamin B12 deficiency are diet deficiency and malabsorption.

B12 Vitamin Diets that are lacking foods from animal sources have a tendency to be low in vitamin B12 ; strict vegans, as an example, need a source of B12. Nonetheless it can take five years for somebody with sufficient stores of vitamin B12 to develop a deficiency after a major change in diet. Illnesses of the gut and small intestine could cause Problems with absorption and consequent vitamin B12 deficiency. A few individuals make antibodies to the cells that produce the belly factor required for assimilation of B12, and therefore can’t produce the factor. As a result, they develop a condition called pernicious anemia, which could cause a cut in the amount of blood cells. Extensive bowel resections, removal of lots of the stomach, or inflammatory bowel illness can also cause vitamin B12 deficiency. All these conditions need to be treated with monthly vitamin B12 injections since the vitamin can’t be absorbed from food or pills without the belly factor.

B12 Vitamin Vitamin B12 deficiency has a couple of major manifestations. A characteristic anemia, in which the red blood cells are larger than normal, may progress to incorporate low numbers of white blood cells and platelets also. The indicators of anemia include fatigue and lack of breath on effort. The lining of the mouth and gut tract can be thin and abnormal. The neurologic symptoms are especially significant and often hard to recognise. Difficulty with position sense, nerve damage, depression, memory loss, and dementia are seen with vitamin B12 deficiency even when the hematologic manifestations aren’t plain. Recent studies have highlighted the value of screening for B12 lack in older people with mild dementia. B12 inadequacy in older individuals is related to changes in the gut tract with ageing and reasonably limited diets, both Problems that seem to be more common with advancing age. Pernicious anemia is most typical in older girls. Because of this, the 2005 Diet Guiding principles for US citizens recommends that folks over age 50 consume vitamin B12 in its crystal form ( i.e, fortified foods or supplement pills ).

B12 Vitamin Diagnosing mild cases of vitamin B12 deficiency can be difficult. While looking for low B12 levels can be helpful for diagnosis of harsh deficiency, serum levels of folate, homocysteine, methylmalonic acid, 2-methylcitric acid, and cystathionine can help in making the diagnosis in milder cases. The only medical signs for administration of vitamin B12 are deficiency of the vitamin or risk indications for developing such deficiency, such as stomach or bowel illness or a limited diet.

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Article by Michael Tibus

What is Vitamin B for? This is a question that is often asked and understandably so. There are many important vitamins that we need to be taking on a daily basis. This in itself becomes a daunting task trying to remember what they are, which ones to take, and how we benefit by taking them. So I decided to make a little reference guide to the Vitamin B directory, if you will, so that we can come to a quick understanding of what each is and how it can help us. Here is the breakdown:

B complex

Simply, this vitamin group consists of all eight water-soluble B vitamins.

Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)

It enhances circulation and assists in the formation of blood. It helps the body digest carbohydrates and helps in the production of hydrochloric acid (stomach acid). It optimizes our mental processes and brain function. It also works as an antioxidant that protects the body from the degenerative effects of aging.

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)

It is necessary for the production of red blood cells, antibodies, cell respiration (energy attained from food), and cell growth. It renders aid in the prevention and treatment of cataracts. It expedites the use of oxygen throughout the body and helps the body absorb iron and Vitamin B6. It is greatly needed during pregnancy; the development of the fetus can be gravely affected without it.

Vitamin B3 (Niacin)

It is needed for proper circulation and healthy skin. It aids the nervous system so it functions properly. It aids in the digestion of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. It also assists in the synthesis of sex hormones and helps lower cholesterol.

Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid)

It helps the body release adrenal hormones to relieve stress. It plays a role in the development of antibodies, assists in converting vitamins for the body to use, and helps convert carbohydrates, fats, and proteins into energy. It also helps in the prevention of certain forms of anemia.

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)

This vitamin is involved in more bodily functions than any other nutrient or supplement. It is useful for the body in that it helps balance the levels of sodium and potassium and it promotes red cell production. It is needed for normal brain function and for RNA and DNA synthesis. It plays a role in the body’s defense of cancer and helps prevent arteriosclerosis. It is helpful in the treatment of asthma, arthritis, and allergies.

Vitamin B7 (Biotin) – also known as Vitamin H

It is needed for healthy hair and skin and it helps relieve muscle pain. It also aids in the digestion of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. And it promotes healthy sweat glands, bone marrow, and nerve tissue.

Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid)

It promotes good brain health, the production of red blood cells, and the production of energy. It is a great vitamin for strengthening the immune system and it is vital for the production of white blood cells and their function.

Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin)

It helps regulate the production of red blood cells and is needed to prevent anemia. It also helps in the conversion of iron so the body can use it. If you are a person who suffers from sleep loss, this vitamin can help enhance your sleep. If you are a vegetarian you need this vitamin because it is exclusively found in meat.

Solution for Supplementation

It is very hard to keep tract on what foods exactly have which B vitamin. I am not saying that it can’t be done but it certainly is more problematic than not. Important vitamin of interest would be those that incorporates the B complex vitamins. Additionally, vitamins that include Vitamins, A, C, D, and E, Zinc, Selenium, Copper, Manganese, Inositol, Chlorella (the most important trace element), Chromium, and Choline would be an excellent purchase as well. If you take a vitamin with this kind of balance on a daily basis you will never have to worry if you’ve met your daily vitamin requirement or not.

RDA or ODR?

The majority of vitamins on the market give you your RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) which is required only to fight disease. The majority of vitamins available for purchase meet this minimum requirement. While shopping, look for vitamins that go beyond this and give you ODR (Optimum Daily Recommendation). It focuses on improving your health, not just preventing disease.

So this is just a quick reference guide to help you understand the B complex vitamin group. They are all very important to our existence and we should not go a day without taking them. Try your best to include them in your diet and you will continue to maintain good health.

Article by Alex Shawn

One of the most popular methods of losing weight is by concentrating on increasing the consumption of particular vitamins. Vitamins are essential in helping the body function that way it is supposed and providing it with the right amounts of certain vitamins will allow it to benefit your weight loss aspirations.

Fat Burning Vitamins for Weight Loss

Losing weight, whether it’s a single pound or a large number of pounds, is extremely hard to do. This requires a lot of effort and hard work, and even then, it sometimes fails to work. However, with the proper guidance and a decent workout regimen that is based on the right physical activities and the perfect diet, the results you are looking for are imminent. One of the most important components of a weight loss program is the intake of certain vitamins. However, to figuring out which vitamins are more effective than others seems impossible thanks to some great doctors this is no longer a dream. These experts have been kind enough to label the most important vitamins for weight loss, which will be discussed in detail below.

Vitamins for Weight Loss – The B Vitamins

The most important set of vitamins for weight loss, or fat burning vitamins, are in the B vitamin family. B2 is a very common vitamin and is found in a number of everyday items, such as milk, cheese, almonds, eggs, wheat and green vegetables. The role of this vitamin is to improve the performance of our thyroid glands. The best sources of the B3 vitamin are chicken, liver, tuna, turkey, salmon, eggs, oats, barley and a number of others. The role of this vitamin is the same as the B2 vitamin. Moving onto the B5 vitamin, which is also found in eggs, chicken, liver, kidney, as well as, meat, wheat bran, nuts, beans, bread and certain green vegetables? This vitamin aims to improve the functioning of our adrenal glands, as well as increase the amount of energy out body produces.

The B6 vitamin is most commonly known to produce amino and fatty acids that are essential to our body. The best sources to get this vitamin are wheat germ and bran, sardines, oats, poultry & meat, avocado, bananas, eggs, and dried fruit. B12 is present in poultry items, meat, fish, eggs and milk. Most people never considered this as one of the essential vitamins for weight loss, however, recently it has been portrayed differently. This vitamin helps to break down fatty acids, which in turn leads to an increase for energy our body produces. Consequently, the more B12 we consume, the longer we will be able to exercise and take part in physical activity.

Vitamins for Weight Loss – The Other Essential Vitamins

Vitamin C is also very effective in helping people lose weight. This vitamin is found in oranges, kiwi, lemons, broccoli, black currants and strawberries. This is the only vitamin that is in liquid form. The way it helps to reduce weight is by helps to prevent people from feeling hungry, which is vital when trying to lose weight. Fatty acids and choline are also very effective in weight loss because they help to increase the metabolism and increase the production of energy.

Article by Ben Adams

Among the fat-soluble vitamins, Vitamin A is the first to be unveiled. It is a pale yellow primary alcohol that came from carotene. It usually affects the maintenance and formation of the skin, bones, teeth and mucous membrane as well as vision and reproduction.

Vitamin A is also called retinol and it is popularly known for helping the eyes adjust to light changes. This vitamin is mostly sourced from animal foods such as liver, fish liver oil, milk and other milk products, eggs and butter.

It is advisable that Vitamin A be obtained from the diet rather than from the supplements. It is because Vitamin A acquired from a varied diet provides the optimum potential of heath benefits that supplements cannot.

Vitamin A can also be found in various dark green and deep orange fruits and vegetables including carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, bok choy, turnip greens, mustard greens and romaine lettuce.

Liver is a very rich source of Vitamin A since it is chiefly stocked in the liver of animals and humans. There are also small amounts of this vitamin in most human tissues. this kind of Vitamin A is found in chemical forms dubbed as retinoids. The rest of the Vitamin A in the human and animal bodies is produced in the intestines from the beta-carotene and other carotenoids, which is abundant in many vegetables and fruits. The beta-carotene is the most active carotenoid but it is inefficiently sucked up and transformed to retinol compared to the Vitamin A that comes from animal sources. The top sources of beta-carotene include carrots, pumpkins, broccoli, apricots, spinach and collard greens, sweet potato and cantaloupe.

Vitamin A intake is unquestionably necessary to human health. If you didn’t acquire the right amount of this vitamin, you will become A-deficient. This deficiency is called Hypovitaminosis A. Vitamin A deficiency can cause xerophthalmia which can lead to night blindness. Other symptoms of Vitamin A deficiency are skin dryness, susceptibility to bacterial invasion and dryness of the eyes caused by malfunctioning of the tear glands. However, sufficient amount of Vitamin A has so many health benefits.

* Vitamin A is best known for promoting as well as maintaining healthy eyesight. This vitamin helps the eye’s retina to function well. Vitamin A is also very significant for the veracity of the mucous membranes around the eyes.

Vitamin A is really helpful in inhibiting night blindness as well as in helping the eyes to adjust from bright light to darkness. Aside from that, eyedrops with Vitamin A are also effective in curing eye disorder specifically dry eye which is due to the tear glands’ inability to secrete sufficient fluid.

* Guards the body against infections like flu, colds and bronchitis. Vitamin A is also known as “the anti-infective vitamin”. It plays an important role in guarding the body from infection. Vitamin A can be very valuable in fighting colds and other common infections by sustaining the healthy maintenance of the mucous membrane. This nutrient also keeps the body surfaces healthy to make them capable of attacking micro organisms. In case of chronic bronchitis, Vitamin A promotes curing of lung tissues that are damaged.

Also, Vitamin A encourages and improves many immune functions like antibody response and the activity of different white blood cells including phagocytes and T helper cells. This immune-enhancing function of Vitamin A helps heal the infected tissues of the body and boosts its resistance to infection.

* Helps fight cancer. Aside from boosting the immune system, Vitamin A may also be of value in fighting breast and lung cancer as well as in escalating the rate of survival of those who are suffering from leukemia. This nutrient can also guard the body against the progression of a melanoma, a type of skin cancer that’s usually malignant. Moreover, studies show that cancer patients encompassing high vitamin A intakes usally have good response to chemotherapy treatment.

* Aids in normal pregnancy and fetal development. Due to its imperative role in cell development and differentiation, sufficient amount of Vitamin A helps in ensuring that the changes taking place in the cells and tissues during fetal growth normally happens.

* Heals skin diseases like acne, rosacea, eczema as well as psoriasis. Studies proved that Vitamin A is necessary in achieving healthy skin

* Protects the body against certain gastrointestinal problems. Vitamin A is helpful in protecting the lining of the digestive tract. Thus, it may relieve symptoms of ulcers and inflammatory bowel disease.

* Promotes health of epithelial cells. This nutrient is necessary in forming healthy epithelial cells. These cells include the internal and external surfaces of the body and are located in the lungs, skin, inner ear, developing teeth, sex organs, gums, nose, sex organs, glands and their ducts, cervix and other body parts. Most epithelial cells generate mucus, which is needed to lubricate body surfaces and defend micro organisms that may attack the body.

The human body needs sufficient amount of Vitamin A daily so make sure to include Vitamin A-rich foods in your diet. If you’re taking Vitamin A supplements, it must be taken with food. Some fat in your diet will improve absorption.

Article by kim standerline

An overview of the fat-soluble vitamins

Vitamins are grouped into two different categories: those that are fat-soluble and those that are water-soluble. In this article, we’ll discuss the different fat-soluble vitamins and exactly what they do for your health.

Fat-soluble vitamins are different from water-soluble vitamins in that they are stored in the liver and the fatty tissues of the human body. This occurs as opposed to water-soluble vitamins, which are flushed from the body regularly. For that reason, one doesn’t need to constantly replenish their supply of fat-soluble vitamins; on the contrary, taking too many fat-soluble vitamins can lead to a level of toxicity due to the fact that they are stored for such long periods of time. For this reason, taking vast amounts of supplements containing these vitamins can be very destructive to your health. The fat-soluble vitamins are recognized as Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, and Vitamin K.

Vitamin A is commonly referred to as retinol. This compound helps the body to perform many functions. Vision is affected by Vitamin A, and a Vitamin A deficiency can lead to night blindness. In addition, Vitamin A facilitates bone growth, development of the teeth, and the maintenance of the body’s mucus membranes.

Vitamin D is a unique vitamin in the fact that it can actually be produced by the human body. A substance known as biotin is created in the intestines, and when our skin is exposed to sunlight, the biotin in our body synthesizes into Vitamin D. Vitamin D is responsible for healthy bone growth and development, as well as helping to maintain proper levels of calcium and phosphorous within the body.

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, helping the body to protect itself from the harmful effects of free radicals. These rogue cells attack normal cells in the body, causing damage to cell membranes and decreasing the life span of the cells. A diet rich in Vitamin E-containing foods has been shown to decrease the risk of cancer and heart disease.

The final fat-soluble vitamin is Vitamin K. This vitamin is also produced in the intestines, much like Vitamin D. Proper levels of Vitamin K are crucial for body activities such as blood clotting. It also works in tandem with Vitamin D to help properly mineralize the bones of the body.

As you can see, it is of some importance that you maintain your body’s supply of fat-soluble vitamins. While you don’t need to have them every day, it’s crucial to ensure that you are getting enough of them for your body to carry out its basic functions healthily. While these vitamins are important to intake, it’s also crucial to get all the water-soluble vitamins your body needs.

Since excess water-soluble vitamins are flushed out of your system, you need to ensure that you are getting the water-soluble vitamins on a daily basis. To find out about how much of each vitamin you need to consume, peruse the Recommended Dietary Intake or RDI charts that are available, helping you to determine roughly what your daily intake should be.