Setting up an optimal health plan with vitamin supplements

(Part II of three articles on “Big things come in small packages - vitamins”)

Majoring in Nutrition for my undergraduate course made me quite conscious of its importance in meal planning for the whole family, at home and in school. As I reached my senior years, I realized more the importance of vitamin supplements. So, for the past five years, I have taken eight various vitamins day and night. This article will focus on the essential vitamins for daily intake, which is part of following a personal health plan.

Optimal health usually includes feeling your best, being free of disease, and possessing large stores of personal energy. To some it is being able to meet athletic challenges, such as running marathons, while to others it is performing up to full capacity in any kind of occupation.

Quick guides to the vitamins

There are two types of vitamins, the fat-soluble vitamins and the water- soluble vitamins. The fat-soluble vitamins are stored in human body fat, and are generally not eliminated in the urine as efficiently as are water soluble vitamins. Therefore, these nutrients can generally be stored for longer periods of time.

Water-soluble vitamins are not stored to any great degree. Therefore, you usually need to ingest some of these vitamins everyday. To preserve these vitamins during food preparation, do not overcook vegetables and use as little water as possible during cooking.

Among the fat-soluble vitamins are as follows:

VITAMIN A - helps preserve night vision and maintains the over-all health of the eyes. It maintains the body’s resistance against respiratory infection and is necessary for the health of the immune system. It helps promote bone growth and healthy skin, teeth and hair. RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) for adult men is 1,000 retinol equivalents (RE) or about 3,300 IU, and 800 RE or 2,600 IU for adult women.

The elderly may need extra vitamin A. As you get older, you may be more susceptible to conditions limiting your absorption and metabolic use of vitamin A.

VITAMIN E - acts as an antioxidant that protects cellular structures from being damaged by free radicals and maintains the health of the circulatory system. It helps protect the body against heart disease, cancer, cataract, smokers’ lung weakness and neurological disorders. RDA for adult men is 10 IU and 8 IU for adult women.

BETA-CAROTENE AND OTHER CAROTENES - act as antioxidants and maintain the health of the circulatory system and of the eyes. They boost the immunity by helping immune cells eliminate free radicals. Patients infected with the HIV virus found that the nutrient improved their immune response. They protect the body from infectious diseases, and from the harmful effects of cigarette smoke and other air pollutants. Optimal supplementation is between 15 mg and 50 mg per day.

VITAMIN D - protects against osteoporosis or osteomalacia, which occur when insufficient calcium is deposited in the bones; and against rickets, a condition in growing children, wherein bones are malformed and weak.

Deficiency of vitamin D causes increased risk of bone fractures and malformation. RDA for both adult men and women is 5 micrograms per day.

VITAMIN K - protects against hemorrhaging. The blood cannot clot properly without vitamin K. Deficiency of vitamin K hardly ever occurs, except in newborns and hospital patients who are very ill and malnourished, and in those taking antibiotics and other drugs for a long time. RDA for adult men is 80 micrograms per day and 65 micrograms per day for adult women.

Among the water-soluble vitamins are:

VITAMIN C - used to make collagen, the main structural material of the body. It preserves the health of the gums, teeth, blood vessels, and bones. It acts as an antioxidant (such as vitamin E and beta-carotene) from being broken down by free radicals. It keeps carcinogens from forming in the stomach. It probably boosts immunity. Immune cells often concentrate vitamin C up to a hundred times more densely than is found in the blood. It aids in the absorption of iron when ingested at the same meal with iron rich vegetables, such as raisins, leafy greens, and beans.

It helps protect against heart disease, cancer, common cold, and scurvy caused by severe lack of vitamin C, which is characterized by bleeding gums, extreme fatigue and lethargy, loose teeth, pain in the muscles and joints, and sores that do not heal.

It seems that half of the nutrition experts, dietitians, vitamin companies and health writers argue a lot about the merits of vitamin C. On the top of the list, arguing for the benefits of the nutrient is Dr. Linus Pauling, Nobel Prize winner and designated quarterback of vitamin C controversy. He argues that because humans are one of the few species who cannot synthesize vitamin C, we need relatively large amounts of these nutrients than we can possibly get from even the most balanced diets. Why did this happen? Millions of years ago our ancestors had the natural ability to make Vitamin C internally, in an unpolluted world filled with plants rich in vitamin C. But through a mutation, this ability was lost.

A large-scale study of the dietary habits and vitamin supplements taken by 11,348 people all over the US was followed through for ten years by the School of Public Health at the University of California in Los Angeles. The researchers found out that those who went over their RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) of vitamin C in their diets and supplements had significantly less heart disease and stomach cancer than those who took lesser amounts. The vitamin C’s wellness effects were particularly striking among men. They had a 42 percent lower mortality rate than the men who took the least. RDA for both adult men and women is 60 mg.

VITAMIN B12 - serves for the metabolism of protein. The more protein you eat, the more vitamin B12 your body needs to process the protein. It is needed for the creation of hemoglobin in red blood cells (interacts with folate). Victims of pernicious anemia and anemic pregnant women may need intramuscular injections of vitamin B12. It helps in keeping the nervous system functioning correctly.

Vitamin B12 protects against sprue, the gastrointestinal disease, which causes diarrhea, intestinal lesions, and problems absorbing nutrients from the digestive tract. RDA for both adult men and women is 2 micrograms per day.

CALCIUM - is used to form bones. It is necessary for conduction of nerve impulses. It is required for blood clots to form, and it is involved in the control of muscle contractions.

Deficiency of calcium in children, teens, and young adults will often only make itself evident later in life, and then it is usually a problem for older women who suffer osteoporosis. As more men live longer, osteoporosis is expected also to become more of a problem among men.

Calcium does not prevent or cure osteoporosis. Some experts believe adequate calcium with exercise, can stave off this condition. Extra calcium ingested later in life may help reduce bone loss, but this assertion is contested by some experts. RDA for both adult men and women is 1,200 milligrams per day until age 24,800 milligrams per day for older women.

SELENIUM - is a trace mineral essential to good health, but required only in small amounts. It operates as part of the enzymes that protect against oxidation caused by free radicals that contribute to the development of chronic diseases such as cancer and heart diseases. It interacts with vitamin E as an antioxidant. The content of selenium in food depends on the selenium content of the soil where plants are grown and animals are raised. It may relieve symptoms of arthritis, HIV and AIDS. RDA for adult men is 70 micrograms and 55 micrograms for adult women.

Diet plus vitamins

Certainly, what you eat has a large influence on your health, whether you take vitamins or not. No matter how effective they are, vitamin pills are supplements. They will never substitute for eating the right food and they cannot rectify poor health habits, such as smoking, drinking too much alcohol and overindulging in fatty or sugary foods.

It is also important to keep in mind that it can be dangerous to diagnose your own serious medical problems and try to treat them yourself with diet or vitamins. If you believe you are suffering any kind of serious medical condition, see you doctor. Vitamins and diet are important for preventing disease, but only rarely can they be used to treat illness.

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Ref: The Complete Vitamin Book by Carl Lowe; The Complete Food and Nutrition Guide by American Dietetics Association, 2006

(Next week: Part III - “Don’t let your diet defeat your vitamin program”)