vitamins deficiency symptoms

Energy of Vitamin B complex

Why we need Vitamins B

B vitamins are used to convert amino acids for energy production and healthy nerve conduction and thus muscle action. The vitamin B complex is vital for the synthesis of fatty acids. B vitamins are indispensable for the synthesis of fats used in the myelin sheaths of nerve cells. The B vitamins help us make cholesterol and also help us control cholesterol.

They are needed for the synthesis of many important neurotransmitters, such as acetylcholine, serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.
It is well known fact that B vitamins help to cope with stress and depression.

Functions of Vitamins B group

Thiamin (Vitamin B1)

You need thiamin to regulate nerve growth, mental functions, and memory. It helps all your body’s cells, but especially nerves, working right. Thiamin is important for memory. You also need it to convert food to energy.

Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)

It helps release energy, aids in growth and development. Riboflavin needed for normal red blood cells and hormones. A deficiency of riboflavin will reduce the efficiency of glutathione, an important antioxidant.

Niacin (Vitamin B3)

Vitamin B3 needed for over 50 processes in our body. It releases energy, makes hormones, removes toxins, helps keep cholesterol normal. When a severe deficiency of niacin occurs, the deficiency disease is called pellagra.

Pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5)

This vitamin works closely with several of the other B’s in the breakdown of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates into energy. You also need it to make Vitamin D, some hormones, and red blood cells. Pantothenic acid is found in many common foods and mostly you have adequate amount vitamin B5 from average diets.

Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6)

Vitamin B6 is unusual as a B vitamin in that it is so extensively stored in muscle tissue. It main function is building amino acids and fatty acids. It helps prevent heart disease.
Vitamin B6 deficiency causes depression.

Biotin (Vitamin B7)

Biotin is needed for a lot of body processes that break down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates into fuel you can use.
Biotin is sometimes called Vitamin H.   It is made by the bacteria living in healthy large intestines. The wall of the large intestine has a specialized process for the uptake of biotin. This may be one reason why biotin deficiency is so rare.

Folic acid or Folate (Vitamin B9)

Folic acid was isolated from spinach. It prevents birth defects and heart disease. Vitamin B9 may also play a role in cancer prevention. Vitamin B9 deficiency signs include anemia and deterioration of the gastrointestinal tract.

Cobalamin (Vitamin B12)

Cobalamin needs to process the carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in food into energy. It also forms the protective covering of nerve cells. Vitamin B12 is one of the nutrients required for the synthesis of hemoglobin. It also helps prevent heart disease.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

November 24, 2009 | Filed Under Cardiovascular system, Vitamin B, Vitamins benefit, Vitamins deficiency and diseases | Leave a Comment 

How protect yourself from osteoporosis and heart disease besides taking estrogen

Some 20 million American women are affected by osteoporosis.
Certainly for osteoporosis there are natural things that a woman can do that are somewhat helpful. Exercise, eat a decent diet, get enough calcium—but at the next level, which is taking medication, a woman’s options include alendronate, calcitonin and raloxifene or tamoxifen.
Ask your doctor if you should have a bone density scan, which is an x-ray of your bones that can detect bone loss. Your doctor may recommend hormone therapy or other drugs, diet changes or exercise to increase the mass and strength of your bones.

For cardiovascular disease, it’s the same thing: a low-fat diet, antioxidant vitamins, exercises, not smoking—all the things we know and read about. None of them is as good as estrogen for either osteoporosis or cardiovascular disease, but there certainly is some benefit. It’s better than doing nothing.

In the antioxidant area, folate is at least as strong as estrogen for fighting cardiovascular disease, as is vitamin E. For a smoker, quitting smoking will actually have as big an impact as taking estrogen.

So in fact there are a number of comparable strategies, and those with equal benefits and low risks should come to the top of the list of strategies. To me, that’s where some of these options clearly dominate the choice of estrogen for preventing heart disease.


October 9, 2009 | Filed Under Cardiovascular system, Osteoporosis | 1 Comment 

Benefits of foods high in fiber

Many people in our days suffer from extra weight and diseases of digestive system. Most often these problems lie in the totally natural fibrous foods. Foods high in fiber have many advantages. Many diseases just start from the irregularity with the digestive system of persons. To normalize of digestive system functionality use high fiber foods. Foods high in fiber have the natural ability to dissolve water in them on their way in the digestive tract, this helps in the smooth excretion process with softer and bulkier stools. The second main advantage of using the high fiber food is that it helps a person to loose his weight. Many people take numerous supplements and take any possible measures to loose their weight but that goes in vain. A person can naturally loose weight without any side effects by adding fiber foods into their daily diet. It is also believed that foods high in fiber help in control of the diabetes. A person who takes fiber food in his diet feels more active and efficient in his daily life as fiber food, unlike sugar gives more energy to body.

Types of foods high in fiber for different lifestyles

Some people do not know about the advantages that foods high in fiber offer, the ones who do, certainly add them in their daily eating. There are different types of foods high in fiber available in the market according to the different lifestyles. For example, a person with office job who has to sit all day long needs low fiber meal while a person with busy schedule and tough and tiring job will need a high fiber food. People who are always on the go also has the choice because there are fibrous drinks, vitamins and gums available to fulfill their daily need of fiber.

Fiber content of some foods

(g/100 g of edible portion)

Food description

Dietary fiber

Water

Conversion information

Fruits

Bananas

2.4

74.3

1 medium = 118 g

Apples

2.7

83.9

1 medium = 138 g

Oranges

2.4

86.8

1 medium = 140 g

Orange juice

-

88.4

8 ounces = 248 g

Grapes

1.0

80.6

1grape = 5 g

Plums, dried

7.1

32.4

1 dried plum = 8.4 g

Vegetables

Tomatoes

1.1 9

3.8

1 medium = 123 g

Broccoli, cooked

2.9

90.7

1 spear = 37 g

Corn, cooked

2.4

76.7

1/2 cup = 82 g

Snap beans, cooked

2.8

89.9

1 cup = 124 g

Lettuce, romaine

1.7

94.9

1/2 cup = 28 g

Potatoes, baked

without skin

1.5

75.4

1/2 cup = 61 g

Potatoes, French-fried, oven-baked

3.2

57.1

10 pieces = 50 g

Peas, cooked

5.5

77.9

1 cup = 160 g

Cereals and Grains

Bread, whole wheat

4.3

37.1

1 slice = 25 g

Bread, white

2.3

36.7

1 slice = 25 g

Bread, rye

5.8

37.3

1 slice = 32 g

Rice, white, cooked

0.4

68.4

1 cup = 158 g

Rice, brown, cooked

1.8

73.1

1 cup = 195 g

Oatmeal, cooked

2.3

77.0

Bran flakes

14.1

2.5

1 cup = 49 g

Corn flakes

2.8

3.2

1 cup = 28 g

Dry Beans and Nuts

Kidney beans, canned

3.5

77.9

Garbanzo beans, canned

4.4

69.7

1 cup = 240 g

Almonds, dry-roasted

11.8

2.6

1 cup = 138 g

Walnuts, English

6.7

4.1

1 cup chopped = 120 g

Peanuts, dry-roasted

8.0

1.5

1 cup = 146 g

SOURCE: Data obtained from the USDA Nutrient Database,

Penn Bot General Directory

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

June 7, 2009 | Filed Under Cardiovascular system, Fiber, Healthy diet, Metabolism, Weight management | Leave a Comment 

Vitamin K benefits

Reviva's Vitamin K Cream 1.5oz
It is very difficult to underestimate benefits of Vitamin K for our health.
Your need Vitamin K to help your bones grab onto calcium, put it in the right place, and hold onto it once it’s there.
If you don’t have enough Vitamin K, you won’t be able to form new bone very well. In the long run, a shortage of Vitamin K can lead to osteoporosis, or bones that are brittle and break easily.
Once osteoporosis starts, researchers think that extra Vitamin K benefits slow down the process. This is still being studied, though, so don’t start taking supplements just yet.
Your blood normally has a number of different clotting factors—substances that help it form clots to stop bleeding from cuts, bruises, and other injuries. You need Vitamin K to help your liver make prothrombin (factor II), the most important of the clotting factors. Some of the other factors, including factors VII, IX, and X, are also made in your liver and also depend on Vitamin K.

Without clotting factors, your blood clots very slowly or not at all, so even a small cut can bleed for a long time and even a minor bang can cause a big bruise.
Some researches demonstrated that Vitamin K kills cancer cells.
But so far, only in the test tube.
Vitamin K seems to slow down or kill tumor cells in the lab just as well as powerful drugs.
Some studies are looking at combining Vitamin K with standard anticancer drugs benefit them works better. We don’t know how well this works yet.


May 3, 2009 | Filed Under Cancer, Cardiovascular system, Osteoporosis, Vitamin K, Vitamins benefit | Leave a Comment 

« Previous Page

  • Vitamins for hair growth

  • Minerals benefits

    Subscribe to RSS headline updates from:
    Powered by FeedBurner

  • Vitamins deficiency symptoms

    Subscribe to RSS headline updates from:
    Powered by FeedBurner