Supplements shouldn’t be substitutes for a healthy diet

We hear about them all the time, but how many of us really know what we are putting in our bodies?

Vitamins are actually a group of chemicals that the body needs in very small quantities. Their job is not to actually do anything but rather to help other chemicals do their jobs.

The misconceptions of what vitamins should or shouldn’t be expected to do are rampant, and professionals fear their misuse. Experts are especially nervous about the megadoses available on store shelves. Megadoses of some vitamins can actually be poisonous.

What are vitamins?

Picture a machine that needs 1,000 chains to work. A vitamin would be one tiny link that helps the whole machine work better. Scientists lettered and then numbered vitamins for reference because their real names often were long and complicated. For example, vitamin B12 is cyanocobalamin.

When several vitamins are under one letter, that means they’re closely related. Dr. James Shoemaker, a professor and nutritionist with St. Louis University School of Medicine, says vitamins are part of a group of nutrients that the body generally doesn’t make. So you have to eat your vitamins every day.

The human body makes only one vitamin, vitamin D, and that’s with the help of sunlight. But even most of that needs to come from your diet, he says.

Shoemaker says the need to eat vitamins appears to come from the primitive feast-orfamine days of human evolution. The body interprets a lack of vitamins as famine and slows down its metabolism, the chemical processes in your body.

That’s why the American Medical Association recommends vitamin supplements when someone is on a low-calorie or restricted diet. The presence of vitamins helps to keep the metabolism moving.

Endorsements
The AMA endorses a daily multivitamin for every adult. But don’t use it as a substitute for a healthful diet, the AMA warns.

John LaRico, owner of the Golden Grocer, a natural-foods store in St. Louis, endorses vitamins because a healthful diet may be harder to get than you’d think. He believes that foods in conventional grocery stores may be low on nutrients because overcropping has drained the soil of nutrients.

"People just can’t get the nutrients from their food they could 30 or 40 years ago," he says.

Guide to vitamins
This guide to vitamins is compiled from charts courtesy of Medline Plus and Family-Doctor.org. Doses aren’t included because they differ for people older than 50, children and women who are breastfeeding or pregnant.

 

B1: thiamine
Use: Helps use carbohydrates for energy; helps the heart and nervous system function.

Sources: Enriched whole-grain products, lean beef, legumes, liver, nuts, pork.

Deficiency: Beriberi, a condition in which muscles and nerves stop working, ache and swell.

Excess: Rare allergic reactions from megadoses.

B2: riboflavin
Use: Helps process protein, carbohydrates and fats; helps maintain healthy skin, heart and nerve function.

Sources: Cheese, eggs, enriched whole-grain products, lean beef, liver, legumes, milk, nuts, pork.

Deficiency: Fatigue, anemia, sore mouth, skin irritation.

Excess: None reported.

B3: niacin
Use: Helps process protein and fats; helps maintain a healthy nervous system, skin and digestion.

Sources: Beans, enriched whole-grain breads and cereals, liver, peanuts, tuna, turkey, salmon, swordfish, yeast.

Deficiency: Pellagra, dementia, dermatitis.

Excess: Flushing, redness of the skin, upset stomach, liver damage.

B5: pantothenic acid
Use: Helps process nutrients; helps make red blood cells.

Sources: Beans, beef, broccoli, cereals, chicken, eggs, lentils, lobster, milk, organ meats (liver, kidney), peanuts, peas, whole grains, yeast.

Deficiency: Resembles the flu.

Excess: Resembles gastrointestinal problems.

B6: pyridoxamine
Use: Helps the body use protein and fats; supports the nervous and immune systems; helps blood carry oxygen to the body’s tissues; helps break down copper and iron; prevents one type of anemia; helps maintain normal blood sugar levels.

Sources: Bananas, beef, carrots, eggs, fish, fortified cereals, organ meats, peanuts, pork, poultry, yeast.

Deficiency: Skin, mouth, nerve problems.

Excess: Rare nerve damage and rare interactions with other drugs.

B12: cyanocobalamin
Use: Helps the metabolism, healthy nerve cells and red blood cells; needed to make genetic material in cells; prevents one type of anemia.

Sources: Blue cheese, clams, cod, eggs, flounder, fortified cereals, herring, liver, milk, poultry, sardines.

Deficiency: Psychiatric symptoms; movement, muscle and vision problems. Vegetarians are at risk of deficiencies.

Excess: Drug interactions.

C: ascorbic acid
Use: Helps form connective tissues, such as cartilage and tendons; acts as an antioxidant and protects cells from damage from free radicals (byproducts metabolism); good for the immune system.

Sources: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, citrus fruits, green peppers, potatoes, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes.

Deficiency: Scurvy.

Excess: Upset stomach; kidney stones; increased iron absorption.

Folic acid: folate
Use: Helps make and sustain new cells; prevents one type anemia; prevents some birth defects.

Sources: Dark leafy vegetables, dry beans and peas, fortified cereals and grain products, oranges.

Deficiency: Birth defects newborns when a mother is deficient. Doctors stress that you need to discuss folic acid with your physician if you’re pregnant or planning to become pregnant. This vitamin has been shown to help produce healthier children at birth.

Excess: High levels may hide signs of a B12 deficiency that could cause nerve damage, especially in older adults. But that’s easily remedied with diet and supplements.

A: retinol,beta carotene
Use: Needed for vision; maintains skin and mucous membranes; key to immunity, tissue repair, bone growth and the development of embryos; acts as an antioxidant.

Sources: Carrots, dairy products, egg yolks, fish, fish oil, fortified cereals, liver, sweet potatoes, tomatoes.

Deficiency: Eye and skin disorders.

Excess: Liver damage and bone weakness, headaches. A warning: You may be at greater risk of these side effects if you drink high levels of alcohol or if you have liver problems, high cholesterol levels or don’t get enough protein.

D: calciferol
Use: Helps the body absorb calcium and phosphorous; may help prevent fractures from osteoporosis; prevents rickets and diseases that cause weak bones; helps the immune system.

Sources: Eggs from hens that have been fed vitamin D, fortified cereals, fortified milk products, saltwater fish, sunlight in small doses.

Deficiency: Weak bones, rickets.

Excess: Nausea; vomiting; poor appetite; constipation; weakness; weight loss; confusion; heart rhythm problems.

E: tocopherol
Use: Acts as an antioxidant; helps blood flow; helps repair body tissues.

Sources: Beans, broccoli, egg yolks, fish, fortified cereals, fruits, milk, nuts, peas, spinach, vegetable oils, wheat germ.

Deficiency: Rare nerve damage; vision, heart problems.

Excess: It can thin your blood. If you take blood thinners, talk to your doctor before taking supplements. Also, recent studies have associated megadoses of vitamin E, 400 I.U. and higher, with increased risk of death from cardiovascular problems.

By HARRY JACKSON JR.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/4936811.html

Before wasting your money on a pile of bodybuilding supplements you really need to work out what you are hoping to achieve. Don’t lose sight of the fact that sound nutrition forms the basis of any muscle building program and no amount of supplementation with the latest and greatest products will make up for bad eating habits. The bottom line is, bodybuilding supplements should be used IN ADDITION to regular food, not INSTEAD OF it.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s go on to think about what supplements could be of use and this is something that can only be determined by your physical and performance goals. Don’t make the mistake of copying your training partners or believing all the garbage spouted in magazine ads. Decide first what you want to achieve and then choose the supplements that will help you reach your goals.

To help you make an informed choice, the most popular and useful bodybuilding supplements available today are listed below, broadly divided into two goal-related categories.

Determined to build muscle? This cannot be achieved without dedication, sheer hard work and sound nutrition. With a solid foundation in place you can help the process along with supplements like creatine, whey protein, prohormones, testosterone boosters and amino acids.

Need to lose fat? There is no point in building awesome muscles if they’re covered by layers of fat. Once again, the key to success is hard work but you can boost fat loss by using products from supplement categories that include fat burners, stimulant-free products, appetite suppressants and carb blockers.

Many more supplements are available to support your bodybuilding endeavors. These include energy boosters and products aimed at enhancing the condition of your mind and body. As we progress through this series of articles we’ll look at each of these in turn.

By Richard Mitchell at http://bodybuildingadvisor.com

 

Natural healing is so called because the medicines and therapies here do not involve the use of drugs but instead use natural substances to help treat illnesses.  Natural healing is also based on a holistic approach; that is, the healing is aimed towards bringing you the balance between body, mind and spirit.  It is said that illnesses or diseases result whenever there is an imbalance. There are different methods and therapies to help bring about balance.

The first thing that you can do to strengthen your body is make sure that you consume a proper diet.  What you eat can really impact your well-being.  In fact, the more junk food that you eat, the more likely you are to have all kinds of problems like high blood pressure and heart disease.  Toxins in your body also result in the various symptoms that you observe.  To become well, you would need to eliminate these toxins from your body.

Regular exercise is also an important aspect of natural healing.  Exercise helps rid your body of excess calories and it also helps to tone your body’s muscles and heart.  Exercise is also a great way in which to keep your immune system in check.

Herbal remedies play an important role in natural healing.  Herbs are used to help keep treat your body whenever you encounter sickness.  Herbs are used to keep your body strong and the immune system functioning properly.  There are also numerous herbs that help improve your mental alertness and your brain function.

Therapies that help bring about balances in your body include acupuncture, massage therapy, energy healing and applied kinesiology.  As an example, Acupuncture involves the use of inserting stainless steel needles at various special points throughout your body to treat numerous ailments, including arthritis and anxiety.

Then, there are also other therapies that can are beneficial to your body.  For instance, spending regular time in the sauna will help to purge your body of any toxins that may be in it.  Another thing that is used are relaxation techniques such as Yoga or Tai Chi.  This helps the body become attuned with itself.  Through disciplining their body, practitioners hope to be able to increase their general health while adding to their flexibility and strength.

One of the best things about natural healing is that you can easily draw upon many different natural therapies and methods to help your body.  In most circumstances, unless your doctor advises you otherwise, you can use a combination. For instance, you may decide to use massage therapy for relaxation and improving blood circulation, yoga for deep breathing and purging of toxins and herbal remedies to cure your headaches all over the same period.  The different therapies help you with a different aspect of healing and to achieve overall health and wellness.

Evelyn Lim is the writer and publisher of a newsletter at http://www.HerbalRemedyTips.com

 

 

Keeping your body feeling young is the key to longevity. As you begin to age your body will slow and simple processes from before will become harder. No one wants to feel older then they are and that is why anti aging techniques are so popular.

Exercise has been found to not only increase your physique but to strengthen your muscle tissue. In a way exercise is a form of oxygen therapy. Rejuvenation of muscle tissue in older people is no doubt one of the best anti aging techniques and this rejuvenation can be accelerated with nutritional supplements.

The best exercise to do when trying to keep your body feeling young is resistance training. Anti aging can also be achieved through the things that we ingest. Keeping your immune system strong while taking nutritional supplements is one of the better ways to increase longevity. For more ways to anti aging, check out the book "Anti Aging Therapeutics Vol.8". For access to information and products concerning oxygen therapy and anti aging check out this website: www.oxygenmiracles.org.

By way of Health Benefits of Antioxidants