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Vitamins : Health Advantages of Vitamin Supplementations

Article by Leanne H. James

Vitamins are great for the human body. It is 1 of the virtually remarkable demands for the nourishment of human being. People should work out properly for the sustenance of the human body through ingestion of proper measure and form of vitamins. A lot of individuals nowadays are also applying vitamins to improve the functions of the heart and some other vital organs of the body.

Reaching the preferred degree of vitamins for the body is not a simple operation. The proper vitamin supplement should be chosen if one wishes to benefit the wanted result of a healthier body. Below are some the benefits that vitamins can impart your human body. By learning this info, precise point of vitamin supplementation that will contribute to specific nourishment will be achieved.

The human heart is a really viable organ of the human body system. Therefore, it is needed that this organ should be sustained with vitamins to guarantee capable operation. Ingestion of proper varieties of vitamins can help lower high blood pressure degree and high cholesterol capacity. This will contribute to safer heart and healthier blood circulation.

Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin E are some of the essential vitamins required by the human body for specific and general growth of the human cardiovascular system. Aside from these vitamins, the human heart likewise requires other sorts of vitamins like Vitamin B1, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin B6.

Let us have a narrower look at the kinds of vitamins needed by the human heart. Vitamin A, D, E and K are kinds of fat-soluble vitamins. Vitamin A can be incurred in dairy products, organ meats like livers, love oils and green vegetables. One of the crucial purposes of Vitamin A is the nourishment of the cells. It can assist in the sustenance of the skin, mucous membrane and hair. Vitamin A as well assists us to go through in dim light and is necessary for appropriate bone development, breeding and tooth development. Lack in Vitamin A will effect in issues in the skin part.

Some Other remarkable vitamin type essential by the human body is Vitamin D. Vitamin D can be found in numerous sources like dairy products, eggs, liver, salmon, and cheese. Vitamin D also helps in development of the bones and teeth. Deficiency in Vitamin D will result in weakening of teeth and bones.

Vitamin E and Vitamin K are other essential vitamins. Vitamin E services in stimulating the nervous system operate well. Vitamin E can be found from greens and veggies. On the other hand, Vitamin K can be seen too in greens and vegetables.

Given what you have learned so far, vitamins are absoulutely essential by the human body to operate well. Vitamin supplementations can be in the form of capsules and pills now so it will be handy for consumers to add it in their day-to-day eating habit. Consult your physician or dietician first before having vitamin supplements to ensure wellness of the body. With the appropriate amount of vitamins for your human body, you will have a sounder life-style and healthier living.

Leanne H. James writes informative articles on health-related issues and the use of natural health supplements and vitamins. If you would like to find out more information on natural online pharmacy, visit Natural Online Pharmacy New Zealand at Healthy.co.nz.










Millions of people take vitamins everyday convinced of their power to help hem stay healthy. However, being in the habit of taking large doses of vitamins can cause different consequences.
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Vitamins : Nutritional Supplements: The Amazing Vitamin C

The real facts about Vitamin C may surprise you. First of all what is Vitamin C? Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin. Unlike the oil soluble vitamins such as A and E, Vitamin C cannot be stored by your body. Since Vitamin C is not stored by your body, we need to get it from our diet or from supplements.

But Can’t Our Bodies Just Make Vitamin C?

Great question! Most animals have the ability to make their own Vitamin C. And make it they do… lots of it. It is estimated that if we had the ability to make our own Vitamin C we would make between 3000 and 10,000 mg every day… and 3 to 4 times that amount if we were being stressed by infection.

Unfortunately, humans along with guinea pigs, fruit bats and gorillas are the only mammals that need to ingest our daily dose of Vitamin C. The only vitamin we humans have the ability to make is Vitamin D… and we need the sunshine to help us do that.

Some very exciting facts about Vitamin C have sprung up within the last few years. First off, Vitamin C along with Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), have been called the most essential of the “essential nutrients.” That is, without an adequate supply of these two, you die. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but certainly years sooner than the folks with optimal levels of both in their bodies.

Arrrrr!!! Shiver Me Timbers!

Remember the stories about the sailors of old and the disease they contracted during long voyages called scurvy? Scurvy was nothing more than not having enough Vitamin C in their bodies. Without an adequate supply of Vitamin C, the blood vessels did not have enough collagen to repair themselves. Some of these sailors literally bled to death through cracks in their blood vessel walls.

Fortunately, in 1747 a Scottish doctor got a clue about Vitamin c and linked citrus fruits with a decreased incidence of Scurvy. Towards the end of that century, the Brits began sending along lime juice with their sailors on long voyages. Now you know why British sailors are called “limeys.”

Facts About Vitamin C and its Antioxidant Properties

If you’ve read the section of my site on the facts about Vitamin E, you’ve no doubt read about what an antioxidant does. If not we can review quickly.

The cells of your body are under a lot of stress… oxidative stress. Oxidative stress occurs when highly unstable molecules called free radicals roam freely throughout your body.

Free radicals are a by-product of not only the normal metabolic processes of your cells but also your environment… things such as air pollution, sun exposure, industrial chemical exposure, ozone, nitrous oxide (from auto exhaust), cigarette smoke, alcohol consumption and so on.

Free radicals damage cell membranes and DNA and can result in changes to your cells that cause life threatening chronic diseases down the road. When your cells are being damaged by these free radicals, we say your cells are experiencing oxidative stress… and one of the facts about Vitamin C is that it is an antioxidant and can significantly neutralize the free radicals and the damage to your cells that cause oxidative stress.

Facts about Vitamin C and Heart Disease

One of the facts about Vitamin C that we feel is most significant is the role Vitamin C plays in the production of collagen.

Collagen is a protein. It is the connective tissue that holds our bodies together and keeps us from falling apart. Collagen is found in your skin, bones, ligaments, tendons, liver, cartilage, bone marrow and blood vessels.

Collagen is essential for the repair of our bodies. Without collagen our bodies don’t heal. And without Vitamin C we don’t make collagen.

What Does Collagen Production Have to Do With Heart Disease?

Remember the facts about Vitamin C above and the sailors with scurvy? They weren’t getting any Vitamin C. So when their blood vessels cracked, no collagen was being produced to repair the cracks.

Why do your blood vessels crack in the first place? Well consider this. Your heart beats about 4000 times every hour. That’s 96,000 times a day and 35,040,000 times every year (yes that’s million)! The blood vessels of your heart are being squeezed and released that many times as well.

Imagine you were to run over a garden hose laying in your driveway that many times. Do you think it might soon develop some cracks?

Although your body has a difficult time repairing those cracks in the complete absence of Vitamin C (and hence scurvy), most folks in the developed world get just enough Vitamin C to keep scurvy at bay… but not much more.

Problem is, as this sub-optimal amount of Vitamin C in their body is repairing with collagen, it’s not quite enough. Your liver then determines that the repairs are not being made quick enough and sets about to produce a special form of LDL called lipoprotein-a.

Lipoprotein-a is very sticky and acts as a putty to fill in the cracks that the lack of collagen left behind. Great right? Leak stopped.

Well the leak is stopped yes, but being as sticky as it is, lipoprotein-a catches and glues down all the other LDL (bad cholesterol) that floats by. This action results in plaque build-up inside the vessel walls and can eventually close off these blood vessels… and we all know what that means!

Facts about Vitamin C and Cholesterol

Can Vitamin C lower cholesterol? A relationship has been shown experimentally between high levels of Vitamin C and low levels of cholesterol. An article appearing in the National Library of Medicine shows that Vitamin C provides the same mechanism for inhibiting the production of cholesterol as do cholesterol lowering statin drugs.

The American Heart Association also reported that Vitamin C lowered LDL cholesterol in children who were predisposed to high cholesterol.

The facts about Vitamin C also show that Vitamin C lowers cholesterol without the dangerous side effects of these statin drugs. Statin drugs have been shown to inhibit the production of another essential nutrient called Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). Decreased levels of CoQ10 result in significant muscle myopathy (wasting away). And since the heart is a muscle, statin drugs have been linked to Congestive Heart Failure (CHF).

More Facts about Vitamin C

Vitamin C has been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s when taken with Vitamin E and cut your chances of having a stroke.

Why is that? Remember the facts about Vitamin C above as an antioxidant? Well, most researchers agree that Vitamin C’s powerful antioxidant properties are responsible. By neutralizing the cell damaging effects of those free radicals running around in your body, Vitamin C works to keep your cells healthy and free of damage. And if your cells are healthy, you are healthy!

Vitamin C is also known to protect the immune system. Vitamin C aids in the manufacture of white blood cells. White blood cells destroy viruses and bacteria.

Also remember the facts about Vitamin C as aiding in the manufacture of collagen? Well collagen being the connective tissue that holds our skin together, our skin is what keeps pathogens out in the first place.

Yeah, But I Drink My Glass of Orange Juice Everyday… Well Almost

What are the facts about Vitamin C concerning the amount you should take? Well who do you want to believe? The official U.S. Government RDA for Vitamin C is 60 to 90 mg. Some would argue that this level does nothing more than ward off scurvy. They would also argue that these levels do nothing to prevent chronic, long term, debilitating diseases.

An article in the American Journal for Clinical Nutrition reports on a study done on antioxidant vitamins and coronary heart disease risk. The study looked at 9 other studies which included participation by Harvard School of Public Health and Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.

Conclusions: “The results suggest a reduced incidence of major CHD (coronary heart disease) events at high supplemental vitamin C intakes.”

How high was the daily Vitamin C intake of the 293,172 patients during this ten year study? Above 700 mg!

Ok, But Is Vitamin C Safe?

In an article titled “Vitamins E and C Are Safe Across a Broad Range of Intakes” published in THE AMERICAN JOURNAL of CLINICAL NUTRITION, a large study concluded that Vitamin C supplements of up to 2000 mg per day were safe for most adults. Exceeding that limit could result in gastrointestinal upset or mild diarrhea.

You can learn much more than just the facts on Vitamin C at our content rich site called Health Supplements Advisor.

Article Source:
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Brain Stress Cycle And Natural Vitamin Supplements

What is stress? All of us in terms of, stress can be seen as a process of interior design starts using the threat of an image that becomes imbalance, in which a person is unable to adapt in a timely manner. Stress is usually done in acute (brief) or chronic (long-term, possibly repeated) stress factors in the body. Examples: Road Rage Against you in traffic this morning triggered an acute stress, while annoying the boss of the work is triggered by chronic stress.

 

How much of psycho physiological mention that you are “stressed”? Would it be dangerous to you?

 

Your brain is full of spirit Endeavour mitigate these stressors an additional opportunity for the psycho-physiological homeostasis of the body. A challenge may be due to stress factors for modern humans are different stressors in early humans. First human face only acute stressors and debilitating genetic gave our time to give us two basic options: fight or flight! In any case, the system requires a mode of action, the fight against the more exaggerated the problem acute or run from it.

 

People these days are facing different stresses. The same chronic or repeated stressors often the case, said an annoying boss requires a response which is certainly not physically fight or flee. His whole body responds in its own way by releasing several primitive biological molecules, the neurotransmitters in the brain that induce the body to take action. But what action is appropriate dummy?

 

Modern problems require more options, and do not overdo them. This means that smoking and not to “stress” as (s) play stressor at the end.

When the body is prepared activities are extremely acute, it will disable some of your own body systems, such as learning and memory, and gave the presidency to tell others of breathing and pumping oxygen-rich blood to the muscles quickly. Went to the stressor, the body reacts with the balance (homeostasis that is) its systems.

 

But imagine if the stress continues to repeat, and his body never returns to homeostasis? At this stage, the disease shows its head, is able to turn deadly! People have a wrong understanding, but what? United States, 75% of trips to health are stress-related problems.

 

Exactly what happens in your body and what you can do to improve your complaint?

 

The global brain dynamics are to maintain homeostasis in your body if the release of certain neurotransmitters (in particular circumstances, at the molecular level, communicators) is more than feeling the limbic system of the brain. Phylogenetically speaking, the emotional center of the fight or flight is very ancient, pre-modern man. Neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin, GABA, and the precursor of adrenaline) cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) ​​for the full functioning of the body. The brain contains the BBB to help keep the body from harmful molecules in it, and distribute the action of control molecules (neurotransmitters).

 

The next phase of the neurological system (of which the mind can control the center) was divided by the sympathetic nervous system to quickly move the fight or flight, and the parasympathetic nervous system, an extraordinary opportunity for the homeostasis of the body. Scalping strategies are to coordinate the body’s reaction to the threat and immediately after.

 

Two possible problems can occur in response to the threat (s):

1. Exaggerated the extent of the acute response.

 2. Extended Solution to chronic repeated threats real or imagined. What serious clinically identifiable symptom as their brain is not advanced enough to automatically handle the threats phylogenetically modern age. Precisely what is called the stress cycle and movements that will communicate with the disease and even death?

 

What can be done to mitigate, if not solve these things, because the phylogeny of the human race?

 

When the age of plasticity or changeability within the brain is reduced then a simple treatment of acute, as the amount of pharmaceutical professionals (infection of the approach) are generally insufficient or less. Approach to wellness (preventative maintenance is the best, because of natural supplements for health after a certain time, the advice of your physician you strengthen in acute trauma and strengthens vitality to face chronic threats.

Dr. Mark is the author of this article working for Healthy green that provides the finest organic vitamins, Custom vitamins, condiments and Natural supplements. They also offer organic multivitamin for women during pregnancy. They use all natural and organic ingredients to create our Natural vitamins supplements.  Must see http://www.healthygreen.co/

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Potential Vitamins Give You Better Brain Performance

Learn more about Potential Vitamins here: http://www.marsvenus.com/p/potential-vitamins Subscribe to John Gray’s Mars VenusYouTube channel for more helpful h…

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Rhinebeck, NY (PRWEB) November 10, 2013

In 1985, Lou Paradise President and Chief of Research of Topical BioMedics, Inc., the developer of Topricin Pain Relief and Healing Cream found himself in pain… Riddled with severe bilateral Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). The condition was caused by injuries he sustained as a decorated Marine Corps combat/rescue/helicopter medivac crew chief and the physical demands of conducting hundreds of rescue missions of military personnel and Vietnamese citizens. For more than twenty years, Mr. Paradise has been on a mission to help as many veterans as possible to live life without the discomfort of pain or the harmful side effects of OTC chemical pain pills and addictive opiates.

A tragic reality: Studies indicate that, along with suffering PTSD, veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are twice as likely to be prescribed opioid and other narcotic pain medications for dealing with their physical pain. These veterans are likely to abuse the drugs and become addicted, as well as abuse alcohol. This troubled behavior places veterans at risk of acting violentlyharming themselves or othersas well as increasing suicidal thoughts and actions.

Moreover, studies indicate that veterans who suffer from PTSD and who have a past diagnosis of drug and/or alcohol abuse are four times more likely to be prescribed opioid/other narcotic pain killers than veterans with no history of addiction. Another sad fact: self-inflicted injuries and suicide is more likely to occur in individuals who take Rx drugs.

Vitamins : Vitamin E – Just the Facts, Ma’am

It is important to understand that we are ultimately responsible for our own well-being and should do whatever is necessary to maintain our health and assist our bodies in resisting and fighting disease. Since health practitioners agree that vitamins are essential for life and health, we must ensure that we receive adequate amounts for our bodies to function properly and to protect us from illnesses. Vitamin E is one of the vitamins to which we should pay particular attention.

A vitamin is an organic substance essential for life that regulates metabolism and assists the processes that release energy from digested food. Vitamin E, discovered in the mid-twentieth century, assists in strengthening our immune systems and helps protect us from a variety of problems as well as several serious illnesses. This vitamin can be obtained from food or supplements.

There are two kinds of vitamins and both are needed by the body. Vitamin E, like vitamins A, D, and K, is a fat-soluble vitamin that can be stored within the body in fatty tissue. Vitamin B complex and vitamin C are water-soluble vitamins that cannot be stored and the excess amounts are excreted in the urine. Fat-soluble vitamins – with the exception of vitamin A – are measured in international units (IUs), and studies by the U.S. government’s National Institute on Aging have shown that at least 200 IUs daily of vitamin E are needed to garner any significant benefits from taking this vitamin.

How Does It Help?

o Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that protects tissue against free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules that usually contain oxygen and can interaction with DNA and other molecules leading to an impaired cell function. Vitamin E, one of the chemical compounds that prevents oxygen from reacting with other compounds, neutralizes free radicals, and is, therefore, one of the body’s natural defenses against cancer and cardiovascular disease.

o Vitamin E is also important in the formation of red blood cells and helps the body use vitamin K. Vitamin E improves circulation, is necessary in the repair of tissue, promotes normal blood clotting and healing, and can reduce scarring, too.

o Women find it useful in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome and fibrocystic disease of the breast.

o Older adults take it to help reduce blood pressure, relax leg cramps, help prevent cataracts, and, perhaps, to assist in reducing age spots.

o Vitamin E also helps prevent anemia, maintains healthy nerves and muscles, and promotes healthy skin and hair.

Where Do We Find It?

Food sources of vitamin E are nuts (e.g., almonds), sunflower seeds, cold pressed vegetable oils, whole grains (e.g., wheat germ), olives, legumes, and dark and leafy vegetable (e.g., asparagus and spinach). There are also significant quantities of this vitamin in such foods as brown rice, cornmeal, eggs, kelp, milk, and organ meats. Some herb vitamin E sources are alfalfa, bladderwrack, dandelion, flax, nettle, and rose hips.

Vitamin E, like all other vitamins, is not only available from food sources, but also as a supplement. It can be purchased in the form of a tablet, a capsule, or a liquid, and as a powder that can be mixed with water or juice or added to gels or bars. It can also be administered by injection. Read labels carefully so that you purchase only those supplements that have been extracted from a natural food source and have no harmful additives included. A proper balance of vitamins are needed in the body because they work in synergy, or cooperative action, and high doses of one vitamin can induce a depletion of another. You can take vitamin E safely in a one a day multivitamin, or as single vitamin supplement if you wish to take an amount higher than is included in a multivitamin. Visit a vitamin store and watch for the opportunity to purchase your vitamins at a discount.

How Much Do We Need?

The amount of vitamin E you need depends on your age, your weight, and the problems you are trying to solve or prevent. Remember that supplements should be taken daily, and should be taken with food so that you will receive other nutrients to assist in their assimilation. Keep your supplements in a cool, dark place to protect their potency, and take them as part of your mealtime routine:

o To maintain good health, you should take a minimum amount of 200 IUs daily.

o To help lower raised cholesterol levels, especially in young adults, take 300 to 600 IUs daily.

o For reducing menopausal symptoms, take 400 IUs daily.

o To help combat coronary artery disease and poor circulation, take 400 IUs daily.

Be Careful:

It is important to understand the different functions of vitamins if you are going to ingest them separately instead of within a multivitamin where the formulation will ensure a proper balance. In the case of vitamin E, there are a variety of concerns of which you should be aware:

o Vitamin E should be taken under medical supervision if you are also taking blood-thinning drugs (anticoagulant medication). Vitamin E acts as a blood thinner, too.

o Remember that vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin, and since it will be stored in the body in fatty tissue, it can reach toxic levels. People who decide to take mega-doses of vitamins and don’t know what they’re doing can suffer from too much of a good thing with this vitamin. If you are taking a multivitamin supplement and a separate vitamin E supplement, make sure you are not taking a toxic dose. Anything over 1200 IUs should not be taken without consulting a health professional.

o Be careful if you take iron as well as vitamin E. These two supplements should be taken at different times of the day because iron in the form of ferrous sulfate will destroy vitamin E. Organic forms of iron such as ferrous gluconate or ferrous fumarate, however, will not harm the vitamin. Read the label and make sure you know which form of iron you are taking.

o Diabetics, people with overactive thyroids, and those with rheumatic heart diseases should be especially careful not to take more than recommended dosages of vitamin E.

o If you suffer from high blood pressure, begin with 200 IUs of vitamin E per day and gradually increase the dose over a period of six weeks until you reach the desired level.

o If you are taking vitamin E, you must also take a minimum dose of zinc as well, and some supplements will include the necessary amount of zinc in the Vitamin E tablet or capsule.

Vitamin E is an important element in our arsenal of disease-battling nutrients, and there is an increasing lack of vitamin E in our diets because of our dependence on processed food and the depletion of nutrients in the soil. Fortunately, supplements allow us to obtain whatever amount of vitamin E we need to keep us healthy.

Scott Gray is currently freelance writing and enjoys providing tips to consumers about vitamins, multivitamins, and herb vitamins.

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The Missing Ingredient For Good Health
Why Most Health Foods Are A Waste Of Money! And The Real Reason You Can Take Vitamins, Minerals, And Herbs By The Handful And Still Suffer Poor Health.
The Missing Ingredient For Good Health

Vitamin a vitamins

Vitamin a

 Foods For Brighter Vision

 First IMPORTANT. The body only absorbs 5% of vitamins from pills or tablets the rest is flushed down the toilet. Find out how you can absorb 90%. Look at Alivemax at the bottom of this page.

HEALTHY eyes depend on a good range of food and minerals. Here are the vitamins you want to maintain a good vision Vitamin A. It may protect surfaces in the eye against oxidative damage and is believed to have a role in the mend of cells that have been injured. Foods with Vitamin Aare liver, dairy goods and eggs. Vitamin C. It is present in high concentrations in the tissues of the eye.

 

Deficiencies may lead to many eye issues.

Foods high in Vitamin C are kalamansi, blackcurrants, strawberries and citrus fruits.

 

Vitamin a

Zinc. It is located in numerous tissues in the eye, where it is assumed to play a protecting role against age-implicated wear. Eggs, seafood, meat, nuts and legumes all are high in zinc. Potatoes in the UK, everybody eats 207lb of this flexible plant each year and surveys suggest two-thirds of us believe – in the case of the jacket spud at least – that it qualifies as one of our counseled ‘five portions of fruit and vegetables a day ‘. However amazingly, it does not, according to the governing body at least.

 

Vitamin a

In spite of the incontrovertible fact that the potato is one hundred % natural, fat and cholesterol-free and loaded with vitamins and minerals, the Dep. of Health ( DoH ) hasn’t included it in the ‘five a day ‘ factors since it launched its healthy-eating campaign in March 2003.

In reality it does not even class the potato as a plant in any way. ‘Potatoes are botanically catalogued as a plant, but they’re classified nutritionally as a starchy food, ‘ announces a DoH spokesman. ‘This is usually because when eaten as an element of a meal, they are most often utilized in place of other starchy carbs ,egg bread, pasta or rice. Commended 5 portions of fruit and veggies a day. ‘.

Have a health day with Vitamin a.

.

 

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Vitamins : Vitamin Euphoria – A Shot in the Dark

Do we need to pop those vitamin pills?

Vitamins seem to be so good for everything. The newly born needs them to grow properly; women take them to be happy; men use them to maintain or increase potency; athletes ingest them to stay fit; and older people take them to become younger or to avoid the flu. Even foods are categorized into good and bad, depending on how many or few many vitamins they contain. Ever since vitamins were produced synthetically they were made available in every drugstore or health shop around the world. Now you don’t have to eat all that vitamin-rich food anymore to stay healthy, all you need is to pop in a couple of those essential vitamin pills a day, or so the advertisements tell you. But if you don’t pay heed to this advice, you are told that you may become vitamin deficient and put your health at risk.

And so we act obediently, out of fear of risking our lives. If you feel tired or suffer from lack of concentration (which could be due to lack of sleep or overeating), you may be prescribed vitamin B pills. Then there is vitamin C if you catch a cold (which could result from stress, working too hard or eating too much junk food). Vitamin E, you are told, helps you prevent a heart attack (so you may no longer need to watch out for the true risk factors of heart disease). Accordingly, we spend billions of dollars on vitamin pills each year to fight off every kind of ill from the common cold to cancer.

Nowadays, artificial vitamins are added to almost every processed food – not because they are so good for you, but because foods that are “enriched” sell better. Cereals, bread, milk, yoghurt, boiled sweets, even dog food with added vitamins leave the supermarket shelves much faster than do those without them. Smokers, meat eaters, sugar addicts, or people who drink too much alcohol can now continue enjoying their self-destructing habits without having to fear the dreaded vitamin deficiency, thanks to the blessed food industry. The magic food supplements have become an insurance policy against poor diet, and nobody has to feel guilty anymore over eating junk food. And on top of that, scientific research suggests that taking large doses of supplements may protect you against disease, even though there is no real evidence to support that claim. As seen in the sales figures, the public believes that the more vitamins you take, the healthier you get.

But are vitamins really so good for your health? Despite the massive amounts of vitamins consumed in modern societies, general health is declining everywhere, except in those countries that still rely mostly on fresh farmed foods. Could the mass consumption of vitamins be even co-responsible for this trend?

Sodium and water are essential to maintain sodium levels and hydrate the body, but too much of either can seriously upset the body’s electrolyte balance. Overconsumption of vitamin A, for example, can cause loss of hair, double vision, headaches, and vomiting in women, all indications of vitamin poisoning. If a woman is pregnant, the supplement can even harm her unborn baby. As we will see, vitamins can even endanger a person’s life.

Vitamin Deficiency – Or Something Else?

In the beginning of the 17th century, Japan was afflicted with a disease, called beriberi, which killed many people. By the year 1860, over one third of Japan’s marines had fallen ill with symptoms of weight loss, frequent heart complaints, loss of appetite, irritability, burning sensations in the feet, lack of concentration, and depression. The symptoms quickly disappeared whenever rice, Japan’s most important staple food, was replaced with other foods.

Thirty years later the Dutch physician Christiaan Eijkman conducted an experiment feeding chicken with white rice. The chicken developed symptoms such as loss of weight, weakness, and signs of nerve infection, which Eijkman interpreted as being beriberi. The symptoms disappeared again when the chicken were fed with brown rice. Soon later Eijkman discovered a few, previously unknown substances within the bran of the whole rice; one of them was named B1. This initiated the era of vitamins.

But, as it turned out, beriberi wasn’t caused by vitamin B1 deficiency. People no longer suffered from beriberi once they discontinued eating rice altogether. It should have been noticed from the beginning that, with “no rice – no vitamin B1 – no beriberi,” the disease must have had other causes than vitamin deficiency. Japanese marine soldiers died within three days after consuming white rice, yet it takes much longer than that to get a B1 deficiency. The origin of this mysterious disease was revealed when in 1891 a Japanese researcher discovered that beriberi is caused by the poison citreoviridine. Citreoviridine is produced by mold in white rice that is stored in filthy and humid environments.

Yet until today, the vitamin B1-beriberi-hypothesis is still maintained in medical text books around the world. Although it has never been proved that a B1 deficiency causes such symptoms as fatigue, loss of appetite, exhaustion, depression, irritability, and nerve damage, many patients having these symptoms are told that they have a vitamin-B deficiency. During vitamin B1 trial studies, all the participants complained about the highly monotonous diet they were given; they suffered fatigue and loss of appetite, regardless of whether they received B1 in their diet or not. As soon as they returned to their normal diet, even without B1, the symptoms spontaneously disappeared.

Another B-vitamin is nicotinic acid or also known as niacin. It has become very popular and is now routinely added to many foods. Niacin is supposed to safeguard us against diarrhea, dementia, and the skin disease pellagra. Pellagra is more widespread among people who eat maize, though not everyone who eats maize gets pellagra. Pellagra was found to be caused by food poisoning through spoiled maize. The poison involved has been identified as T2-toxine and is known to disturb niacin metabolism, thus producing pellagra. Besides the great importance given to taking extra niacin today this substance is not really a vitamin at all since it can be produced by the body itself.

Nobody Knows How Much You Need

Governments and international organizations such as the WHO frequently release figures that propose a Daily Ratio of Allowance (DRA) for every vitamin that you supposedly need to stay healthy. The nutritional experts in different countries however, have different opinions about how much of each vitamin your body must have. An American, for example, is supposed to take at least 60mg of vitamin C, whereas a British citizen is considered better off taking only 30mg. A Frenchman can only remain healthy if he consumes 80mg of this vitamin whereas Italians are told they need 45mg. These figures are “adjusted” every few years, although our bodies’ basic nutritional requirements have not changed over the past several thousand years.

Nobody really knows how many vitamins are good for us because the requirements, constitutions, and absorption rates for vitamins differ from person to person. Vitamins need to be digested before they can be made available to the cells and tissues. Once a person’s the digestive ability (AGNI) has diminished due to congestion of liver bile ducts with intrahepatic stones, for example, foods and even vitamins can no longer be digested properly.

When scientists calculate our vitamin requirements, they usually add a 50 percent “safety factor” to the original figures to make certain that we eat enough of them. And because vitamin extraction from food during the digestive process is so much less than 100 percent, these figures are increased one more time. The official methods of analyzing the amount of vitamins we require are inadequate because we simply do not know how much of each vitamin the human physiology needs. The thin, hyper-metabolic Vata body type, for example, may have a far greater need for vitamin B-6 than the heavier-set, hypo-metabolic Kapha type who can never really run out of it.

It is also not known how much of each vitamin is contained in a banana, an apple or a junk of cauliflower. Vitamin contents fluctuate greatly with the size of the fruits, their maturity, the condition of the soil, country of origin, time of harvesting, and the use of pesticides. How many of the vitamins contained in these foods actually end up being utilized by the body depends on the digestive capacity and body-type. All this makes official nutritional figures highly unreliable and speculative.

The vitamin theories originate in the assumption that the human physiology has stores for vitamins that always must be full up in order to saturate the tissues of the body. This assumption, however, has never been proven by scientific research. While calculating human vitamin requirements, nutritional science assumes that the body’s metabolic processes take place at a top speed, which would require plenty of vitamins. Our bodies, however, are not machines that run at top capacity day and night. Most of us are not marathon runners, and even they don’t run for 24 hour’s day after day, month after month, and year after year.

It is very questionable whether the saturation of our body tissues with vitamins is even desirable. We need a certain amount of fatty tissue in our body, but this does not mean we should all be excessively filled with fat. Oxygen, too, is considered vital for all our body’s functioning, yet if its concentration in the air is consistently too high it can cause serious bodily harm. Why should vitamins be an exception? And anyway, vitamin deficiency is…

Rarely Caused by Lack of Vitamins

In the majority of cases, a vitamin deficiency does not occur because of insufficient vitamin intake in the diet. A vitamin deficiency is rather caused by a congested capillary network that is unable to diffuse sufficient amounts of the vitamins into the intercellular fluids. This can have a number of reasons, overeating protein foods being one of the major ones.

A diet rich in protein foods, such as meat, fish, pork, cheese, milk, etc., will eventually block the basal membrane (BM) of the small and large blood vessels in the body (see The Key to Health and Rejuvenation, chapter 9 on heart disease). Stress, over-stimulation, and dehydration can have a similar effect. The subsequent thickening of the BM and connective tissues makes it increasingly difficult for the basic nutrients, including vitamins, to reach the cells. If trans-fatty acids are consumed, as contained in most processed and refined fats, oils and fast foods, cell membranes become thick and congested, thereby preventing nutrients from reaching the cell interior. All this greatly increases the amount of metabolic waste and toxins in the body, overtaxes the liver, and causes the growth of gallstones. The gallstones inhibit the flow of bile, which subdues AGNI, the digestive power and increasingly hinders the assimilation of nutrients, including fats. When fats are no longer properly digested, the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K, which are normally stored in the liver, become deficient. This problem becomes exacerbated by eating low fat foods (see The Key to Health and Rejuvenation, chapter 14).

If vitamin A becomes deficient, for example, the epithelial cells, which form an essential part of all the organs, blood vessels, lymph vessels, etc., in the body, become damaged. This can literally cause any kind of disease. Vitamin A is also necessary to maintain the cornea of the eye, allow for eyesight in dim light, and reduce the severity of microbial infection. Vitamin A is only absorbed from the small intestines properly when fat absorption is normal. Fat absorption cannot be normal as long as gallstones obstruct the bile flow in the liver and gallbladder. It is, therefore, very sensible to remove the gallstones and cleanse the digestive system so that the vitamins contained in food you eat can actually reach the cells in your body.

Taking extra vitamins can be harmful if the body is unable to make use of them and is given the additional burden of having to break them down or try eliminating them from the system. Because vitamins are strong acids, an overload can lead to vitamin poisoning (vitaminosis) and thus damage the kidneys, and actually cause the same symptoms that accompany a vitamin deficiency. Instead of filling the body up with large doses of vitamins it cannot even process properly, it would be more healthful and efficient to cleanse the body from accumulated toxins, stored proteins in the blood vessel walls, and impeding gallstones from the liver. Although taking mega doses of vitamins may temporarily increase the pressure of diffusion of these nutrients for a short time and quickly relieve symptoms, the “benefits” are often short-lived. If digestive functions are impaired, taking extra vitamins may actually endanger your health.

Team work

Contrary to popular belief, vitamins do not have isolated functions, but are work as a “team” in the body. If taken in supplemental form, versus from food, may be counter productive as excess of one vitamin can have a suppressing effect on another. When isolated and extracted from foods, vitamins arouse your nervous system should you take them. Feeling stimulated, and therefore energized, you naturally assume these vitamins must be doing you good. But stimulants never give you extra energy, they force the body to spend and give up energy.

The best source of healthy vitamins is fresh fruit, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, etc. Fruits and vegetables also contain important health-essential nutrients known as phytochemicals -nature’s food coloring agents. They are what gives them their color. To obtain vitamin D, the best and cheapest source is sunlight. B12 is produced from microbes living in your mouth and gut.

[This is an excerpt from the book ‘Timeless Secrets of Health & Rejuvenation’ by Andreas Moritz]

Andreas Moritz is a writer and practitioner in the field of Integrative Medicine. He is the author of 13 books on various subjects pertaining to holistic health, including The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Flush, Timeless Secrets of Health and Rejuvenation and Cancer Is Not a Disease. His most recent book is titled ‘Vaccine-Nation: Poisoning the Population, One Shot at a Time.

Moritz is also the creator of Ener-Chi Art ( http://www.ener-chi.com ) and Sacred Santémony.

Much of his life’s work has been dedicated to understanding and treating the root causes of illness, and helping the body, mind, spirit and heart to heal naturally.

Connect with Andreas at: http://www.facebook.com/enerchi.wellness

Copyright © 2011 by Andreas Moritz

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More Vitamins Articles

Vitamins : Is Vitamin E Beneficial Or Harmful? Cutting Through The Clutter Of Different Scientific Opinions

Numerous reports have recently appeared in both the lay and medical press questioning the value of vitamin E supplementation and suggesting that there are risks associated with its use even at doses previously thought to have been “safe”. What do we do with the hundreds of studies and extensive clinical research that has been published in the medical literature suggesting benefit in cardiovascular disease, alzheimers, diabetes and other degenerative diseases? A search of the National Library of Medicine yields over 25,000 citations, many funded or sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other prestigious medical and scientific organizations.
This month, the authors of an article in Health News (Health News. 2005 Apr;11(4):12-3) headlined this statement: “High doses of vitamin E may increase risk of death. Talk to your doctor before taking supplements containing more than 200 IUs.” Discussing these questions with your doctor is very important. The purpose of this article is to provide you with a tool, a resource that you can print out and discuss with your physician.
Negative Clinical Studies:
Increased cancer recurrence in patients with head and neck cancer:
Bairati and co-workers (J Natl Cancer Inst. 2005 Apr 6;97(7):481-8.) found in a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized chemoprevention trial among 540 patients with head and neck cancer treated by radiation therapy that supplementation with alpha-tocopherol (400 IU/day) produced unexpected adverse effects on the occurrence of second primary cancers and on cancer-free survival.
No increase in cancer risk, but increased risk of Heart Failure in patients with established vascular disease or diabetes:
The HOPE Trial Investigators (JAMA. 2005 Mar 16;293(11):1338-47) evaluated whether long-term supplementation with vitamin E (Daily dose of natural source of 400 IU of vitamin E or matching placebo) decreases the risk of cancer, cancer death, and major cardiovascular events. The Hope vitamin E trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled international trial of patients at least 55 years old with vascular disease or diabetes mellitus (9541 patients, in 174 centers) with a median duration of follow-up of 7.0 years.
The investigators examined cancer incidence, cancer deaths, and major cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction, stroke, and cardiovascular death), heart failure, unstable angina, and need for cardiac revascularization.
Among all HOPE patients, there were no significant differences in the primary analysis: for cancer incidence, 11.6% in the vitamin E group vs 12.3% in the placebo group developed cancer (a non-significant reduction for vitamin E); for cancer deaths, 3.3% in the vitamin E group vs 3.7% in placebo (also not significant) and for major cardiovascular events, 21.5% vs 20.6%, respectively (not significant). Of concern, was that patients in the vitamin E group had a significantly higher risk of heart failure and hospitalization for heart failure. The authors concluded that in patients with vascular disease or diabetes mellitus, long-term vitamin E supplementation does not prevent cancer or major cardiovascular events and may increase the risk for heart failure.
Increased all-cause mortality:
A meta-analysis of randomized, 19 controlled clinical trials (135,967 participants) evaluating the dose-response relationship between vitamin E supplementation and total mortality (Ann Intern Med. 2005 Jan 4;142(1):37-46. Epub 2004 Nov 10.)
Published by Miller and associates at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, found High-dosage (greater than or equal to 400 IU/d) vitamin E supplements may increase all-cause mortality by 5% and should be avoided.
Neutral Clinical Studies:
Risk of Coronary heart disease (CHD) in Smokers not effected:
The effect of vitamin E on coronary heart disease (CHD) was evaluated in the alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene cancer prevention (ATBC) study (Eur Heart J. 2004 Jul;25(13):1171-8.). 29,133 male smokers, aged 50-69 years were randomized to receive alpha-tocopherol 50 mg, or beta-carotene 20 mg, or both, or placebo daily for 5-8 years. The risk for a first-ever major coronary event was insignificantly reduced by 5% among alpha-tocopherol recipients compared with non-recipients, and the risk for non-fatal MI was insignificantly reduced by 4%. The authors did not advocate the use of vitamin E supplements due to the weak findings.
Cardiovascular mortality and all cause Mortality not effected:
In a meta analysis of eighty-four trials (J Gen Intern Med. 2004 Apr;19(4):380-9.) examining outcomes of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction vitamin E was not found to have neither positive nor adverse effects. Shekelle and colleagues found that the use of vitamin E supplements insignificantly reduced the risk of all cause mortality by 4%, insignificantly reduced cardiovascular mortality by 3% and trended toward but did not achieve a significant reduction in nonfatal myocardial infarction, reducing the latter by 28%.
Positive Clinical Studies:
Reduced Risk of Congestive Heart Failure and Myocardial Infarction
In two large clinical studies conducted by Stampfer et al470 and Rimm et al,471 vitamin E supplements were associated with a reduced risk of congestive heart failure. In an analysis of almost 45,000 men in the Health Professional Follow-up Study database by Ascherio and associates,823 the use of vitamin E, or multi-vitamin supplements, was associated with a significantly decreased risk of myocardial infarction. These results suggest that higher supplemental doses of vitamin E may be beneficial in patients with CAD, especially those on diets high in polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Reduction in Risk for Cardiovascular Disease and Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack):
The Nurses’ Health Study, a study of 121,700 women between the ages of 34 and 59 which was conducted by Manson and co-workers,69,805 used food frequency questionnaires to demonstrate a relationship between dietary intakes of foods rich in vitamin E and beta carotene, and the reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease.

A recent analysis of the same data by Stampfer et al470 revealed that the protective effect of vitamin E was attributable to supplemental vitamin E at pharmacological levels exceeding 100 IU per day. Since dietary intakes of alpha tocopherol in the United States typically range from 4 to 16 IU per day, the former level of intake would be extremely difficult to achieve from diet alone.804 Those women who took 100 mg. vitamin E supplements (in addition to 15mg of beta carotene daily) experienced a 36% reduction in myocardial infarction, and women with the highest dietary vitamin E intake, and who consumed vitamin E supplements daily for two years, had a 41% reduction in risk (multivariant risk 0.59).
The Health Professionals Follow-up Study,471 involving 51,529 male health professionals, demonstrated similar cardiovascular benefits of a diet rich in antioxidants. As in the Nurses’ Health Study, these male participants’ antioxidant vitamin intake was assessed by a dietary questionnaire, and coronary heart disease was assessed by medical record review. After controlling for age and coronary risk factors, higher dietary vitamin E intake levels were associated with a significantly lower risk for CAD. For men consuming more than 60 IU (an amount usually requiring vitamin supplementation), the risk of myocardial infarction or cardiac death was 36% less (multivariant risk 0.64) than in those men consuming 7.5 I.U. per day. CAD risk was lowest for the men with the highest dietary vitamin E intake who additionally took at least 100 IU of vitamin E supplements daily for two years.
Low serum Vitamin E may be a greater risk factor for myocardial infarction than either high blood pressure or elevated serum cholesterol alone, according to research sponsored by the World Health Organization, and reported by Gey et al67 in the Multinational Monitoring Project of Trends and Determinants of Cardiovascular Disease (MONICA) study. In the MONICA study, Gey and co-workers67 compared plasma antioxidant levels among 16 different groups of 100 men each from regions with a six-fold difference in CAD mortality and reported a strong inverse correlation (p=0.002) between plasma vitamin E and mortality from ischemic heart disease which was independent of lipid levels.
This inverse relationship for CAD mortality was strongest for vitamin E. Low serum vitamin E alone was an accurate predictor for fatal myocardial infarction in 60% of cases studied. Death from Acute Myocardial Infarction was accurately predicted in 80% of patients with both low serum vitamin E and elevated serum cholesterol; and fatal outcomes were accurately predicted in 90% of patients with low serum levels of both vitamin E and A in conjunction with high serum cholesterol, and elevated blood pressure. These findings were consistent with earlier scholarship published by Gey.580
Restenosis:
Cavarocchi and associates681 found that pretreatment of coronary bypass patients with 2,000 IU of vitamin E significantly inhibited the generation of destructive oxygen free radicals during surgery, and DeMaio and co-workers583 found that vitamin E supplementation reduced the incidence of restenosis in patients undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA).
Angina:
Rimersma and co-workers469,643 found an inverse relationship between the risk of angina pectoris and vitamin E levels. Individuals with serum vitamin E levels in the lowest quintile (28.2 µM/L). Similarly, Byers870 reported that an increased dietary intake of vitamin E reduced death from myocardial infarction.
CAD:
A prospective study of antioxidant vitamins and the incidence of CAD in women, which was conducted by Manson et al,805 used food frequency questionnaires to estimate dietary intake of vitamin E, and found that the incidence of CAD was lowest among women with the highest intake of alpha tocopherol.
Reduced Risk of Cancer:
An inverse relationship between serum vitamin E levels and cancer has been found in seven epidemiologic studies,580,669,670,679,685,686,687 and vitamin E supplementation has been shown to suppress indexes of lipid peroxidation in the blood of both smokers and non-smokers, without effecting plasma lipoprotein concentrations.899 Because low density lipoprotein is one of the main transports for vitamin E and cholesterol in the blood stream, pharmacologic and certain dietary interventions resulting in reductions in LDL and serum cholesterol may reduce serum vitamin E in individuals whose diets are not supplemented.488,490 Hypolipidemic drug therapy may act as a vitamin E antagonist and reduce serum vitamin E.844
ALS:
Regular use of vitamin E supplements was associated with up to a 62% lower risk of dying of ALS in a study of 957,740 individuals 30 years of age or older participating in the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention Study II. (Ann Neurol. 2005 Jan;57(1):104-10.)
The Balanced Approach:
Perhaps a reasonable approach would be a three-tiered effort:

To moderately increase vitamin E levels with healthy dietary sources of the vitamin (which may allow for an equivalent level of 15-45 IUs per day from optimizing diet)
The addition of MODERATE levels of supplementation with NATURAL (d-isomer) mixed tocopherols (which are closer to the mix seen in diet) and
Use of minimum levels of vitamin E that have shown beneficial effect (100 IU or greater) and not exceeding levels which have been associated with risk (greater than 400 IU) and certainly not greater than 1,600 IUs where increased risk seems to be more clearly defined in some studies.

This is in line with recent recommendations made this month by Hancock and co-workers who analyzed a large database of numerous clinical studies, (Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Apr;81(4):736-45) and writing for the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) in Washington, DC declared:
“… dietary supplements of vitamins E and C are safe for the general population…. Many clinical trials with these vitamins have involved subjects with various diseases, and no consistent pattern of adverse effects has occurred at any intake… Thus, we conclude from clinical trial evidence that vitamin E supplements appear safe for most adults in amounts less than or equal to 1,600 IU ….” Additionally, this is in agreement with recommendations of Denton Harmon, M.D. Ph.D., the father of the Free-Radical Theory of Aging (D. Harmon, J. Gerontol. 11, 298-300 (1956).) who recommends 400 IU of vitamin E daily (Life Extension Magazine, Interview, January 1998).
DISCUSSION: What is Vitamin E?
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant vitamin that is involved in the metabolism of all cells. Vitamin E protects vitamin A and essential fatty acids from oxidation in the body cells and prevents breakdown of body tissues. Vitamin E is widely accepted to be the primary physiological antioxidant in man. 472,488,844,845,846

Vitamin E exists in eight different forms, each with its own biological activity and functional use in the body(Traber MG and Packer L. Vitamin E: Beyond antioxidant function. Am J Clin Nutr 1995;62:1501S-9S). Alpha-tocopherol is the name of the most active form of vitamin E in humans. It is also a powerful biological antioxidant (Traber MG. Vitamin E. In: Shils ME, Olson JA, Shike M, Ross AC, ed. Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. 10th ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1999:347-62). Vitamin E in supplements is usually sold as alpha-tocopheryl acetate, a form that protects its ability to function as an antioxidant. The synthetic form is labeled “D, L” while the natural form is labeled “D”. The synthetic form is only half as active as the natural form (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 2004. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 16-1).

Epidemiology Regarding Vitamin E:
Pacht and colleagues498 found deficient levels of vitamin E in chronic cigarette smokers. Similarly, Riemersma and associates469 found low vitamin E levels among angina patients who were smokers, and Brown et al899 found that smokers sustained an increased free radical load (characterized by increased indices of lipid peroxidation) because of their exposure to large quantities of reactive free radicals in the gas and tar phases of cigarette smoke. The researchers determined that this increased lipid peroxidation was reduced in vitro following vitamin E supplementation. These findings are in accordance with other clinical research which suggests that smoking reduces plasma vitamin E levels, and increases oxidative stress. 590,591

Excessive alcohol consumption may have an adverse effect on serum antioxidant levels which is independent of nutritional status. Excessive consumption of alcohol has been associated with low serum vitamin E levels,499,889 malondialdehyde (MDA) markers of oxidative stress and free radical activity.889 Numerous studies have shown that alcoholics have lower serum beta carotene,901 alpha tocopherol,889 selenium,889 and ascorbic acid889 concentrations than control subjects who drink moderately.

Supporting the hypothesis that heme iron acts as a pro-oxidant in vivo, and validating previous clinical research, Ascherio et al823 found that a high intake of antioxidant vitamin E may prevent the adverse cardiovascular effects of excess heme iron consumption,830,831,832,833 and concluded that oxidative stress resulting from smoking837 and hyperglycemia associated with diabetes834,835,836 may enhance it.

Nutritional recommendations:
According to many nutritionists who have evaluated this data, 150 to 200 IUs a day is probably beneficial and safe for most individuals wanting to supplement their diet. That is more than three times what people can get from a healthy diet (good sources include: nuts, cooking oil, sweet potatoes, mayonnaise, wheat-germ oil, fish, eggs, fortified cereals) and low-dose multivitamins. Almonds may help to increase vitamin E in the blood and reduce lipid levels (J Am Diet Assoc. 2005 Mar;105(3):449-54). Kiwi fruit contain high amounts of vitamin E and may be cardioprotective (Platelets. 2004 Aug;15(5):287-92).

Good Sources of Vitamin E

Food Serving Size Milligrams % RDA

Egg, whole, fresh 1 large 0.88 5.8

Almond oil 1 tablespoon 5.3 35.3

Corn oil 1 tablespoon 1.9 12.6

Corn oil (Mazola) 1 tablespoon 3 5

Cottonseed oil 1 tablespoon 4.8 32

Olive oil 1 tablespoon 1.6 10.6

Palm oil 1 tablespoon 2.6 17.3

Peanut oil 1 tablespoon 1.6 10.6

Safflower oil 1 tablespoon 4.6 30.6

Soybean oil 1 tablespoon 1.5 10

Sunflower oil 1 tablespoon 6.1 40.6

Vegetable-oil spray 2.5 second spray 0.51 3.4

Wheat-germ oil 1 tablespoon 20.3 135.3

Tomato juice 6 fluid ounces 0.4 2.6

Apple with skin 1 medium 0.81 5.4

Mango, raw 1 medium 2.32 15.4

Macaroni pasta, enriched 1 cup 1.03 6.8

Spaghetti pasta, enriched 1 cup 1.03 6.8

Almonds, dried 1 ounce 6.72 44.8

Hazelnuts, dried 1 ounce 6.7 44.6

Peanut butter (Skippy) 1 tablespoon 3 5

Peanuts, dried 1 ounce 2.56 17

Pistachio nuts, dried 1 ounce 1.46 9.7

Walnuts, English 1 ounce 0.73 4.8

Margarine (Mazola) 1 tablespoon 8 53.3

Margarine (Parkay, diet) 1 tablespoon 0.4 2.6

Mayonnaise (Hellmann’s) 1 tablespoon 11 73.3

Miracle Whip (Kraft) 1 tablespoon 0.5 3.3

Avocado, raw 1 medium 2.32 15.4

Asparagus, frozen 4 spears 1.15 7.6

Spinach, raw 1/2 cup 0.53 3.5

Sweet potato 1 medium 5.93 39.5

Tomato, red, raw 1 tomato 0.42 2.8

Turnip greens, raw 1/2 cup chopped 0.63 4.2
Source: Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet
Web MD Interview of Dr. Petrosino Regarding Vitamin E (Sept. 26, 2000)
Vitamin E safety is posted in its entirety (with annotated footnotes) on http://www.nutritionadvisor.com
Other Reviews on nutritional Supplements by Dr. Petrosino

Dr. Petrosino received his Baccalaureate degree from Penn State University in 1975, pursued his Masters degree with honors at Penn State in 1978, and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Doctorate in Nutrition from Lasalle University (Mandeville) in 1995. His doctoral dissertation examined the effects of race and poverty on cardiovascular health. He was an Adjunct Professor of Nutrition at LaSalle University (1995-1999); a member of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Development Committee on Cardiovascular Disease; a Professional Member and Charter Member of the American Heart Association Scientific Council on Epidemiology and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease; a Professional Member and Charter Member of the American Heart Association Scientific Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism; a Professional Member of the American Heart Association Interdisciplinary Working Group on Functional Genomics and Translational Biology; an Allied Health Care Practitioner member of the….

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