Discount vitamins improved a dog's life. Ginger was a middle-aged German Shepherd and like many of her breed, suffered from a hereditary disease called hip dysplasia. It's a degenerative disease, which just keeps getting worse with age until the poor creature can barely get up or go for a walk. At first her owner thought the veterinarian was crazy when he prescribed a popular combination of supplements, glucosamine and chondroitin, for Ginger. They made a big difference in that dog's life, and the owner discovered that millions of people take the same compounds to treat osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis.

The dizzying array of products on the vitamin shelf can be so much alphabet soup until one sees their beneficial effects firsthand. Think how a human body spends most of its day, collecting, making, and storing a wide variety of vitamins, enzymes, nutrients, and amino acids, all to help the cells function better. Vitamins and minerals are the body's first defense in battling the ravages of hereditary disease and plain old age.

In August of 2006, the Hereditary Disease Foundation held a symposium in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a special focus on one of the world's most devastating illnesses, Huntington's disease. Huntington's is a true genetic condition, caused by an abnormal gene. It affects 50% of those people who have a parent who carries the flawed gene. Huntington's is often used as a model in fighting other neurological illnesses, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Lou Gehrig's diseases. All these conditions produce involuntary movement, emotional disturbance, depression, and dementia. Among the promising therapies discussed at the symposium was the dietary supplement creatine monohydrate. This commonly found substance helps to create ATP, a molecule that releases energy faster in brain cells, almost like a fertilizer for the brain. In Europe, many people with this genetic trait are already taking creatine as part of a vaccination project.

Almost everyone is concerned about having a genetic predisposition toward a serious condition, such as heart disease. Family history may be a strong factor, but people can still prevent or delay the worst symptoms. A promising weapon in the fight against heart disease is CoEnzyme Q-10. This vitamin-like nutrient has a chemical structure similar to vitamins E and K, and it works as they do as an antioxidant and slayer of free radicals in the cells. However, CoQ-10 has a special biochemical reaction, which helps to release energy in certain types of cells, especially heart cells. Think of it as a fertilizer for heart cells. In Japan, millions of people take CoQ-10 preparations for heart disease, high blood pressure, immune system boosts, periodontal disease, peptic ulcers, obesity, and general life extension. Getting enough fiber in a person's diet is also important for heart health, as are the supplements garlic, hawthorn, vitamin E, vitamin C, potassium, and gingko biloba.

After a stay in the hospital, many patients suffer from bladder infections, and most of them quickly learn that the usual antibiotics aren't enough. They hear on the grapevine to take cranberry in some form, and they mistakenly buy cranberry cocktail that has more food coloring than juice. Cranberries and the berry from another plant, saw palmetto, are usually taken in pill form or a tincture for dropping into water. These extracts are easy to find in most places that sell discount vitamins, and they've been used for centuries. Cranberries tend to increase the acidity of the urine while they decrease the alkali, urea, and uric acid levels, so the bladder and urethra become less inviting places for bacteria. Saw palmetto berries have a long history for use as a reproductive aid for females and a prostate remedy for males. As prostate cancer becomes more of a threat for men of a certain age, saw palmetto is becoming a crucial weapon in the fight. Many folks swear by these ancient berries to help ward off kidney and bladder stones, too.

No matter what else a person does, he should make sure to get enough fiber in his diet. Fiber not only helps the heart and circulation, it lowers cholesterol and improves digestion. Yes, many forms of fiber are a bit hard to swallow, but new improved products are arriving every day. Any form of fiber that includes psyllium also helps to control blood glucose, which is important to control diabetes.

No hereditary problem affects more people than diabetes. Everyone wishes there was some way to cure it, but there isn't yet. However, diabetes is a disease that is closely related to diet and everything else people put into their mouths. In that way, it's fortunate there are so many vitamins and supplements that do their part to cope with the disease. Already mentioned are CoEnzyme Q-10, glucosamine, dietary fiber, and vitamins D and E, and here are some others:

* Alpha lipoic acid improves insulin sensitivity.

* Biotin is needed by the body to process glucose.

* Chromium improves glucose tolerance. Brewer's yeast is a good source of chromium and is easy to find.

* Vitamin B1, B6, and B12 help to reduce blood sugar levels and nerve damage caused by diabetes.

* Evening primrose oil can improve nerve function and relieve pain.

* Ginseng is known to help control blood sugar in type-2 diabetes.

* Glucomannan is a fiber from Asia that aids in the absorption of glucose.

* Fish oil, with omega-3 fatty acids, helps glucose tolerance and cholesterol levels.

* Gymnema helps stimulate production of insulin in people with type-2 diabetes.

* L-carnitine reduces cholesterol and triglycerides.

* Zinc can lower blood sugar in type-1 diabetes.

One confusing aspect about buying vitamins is the array of unusual products that sound ridiculous. Antler velvet, for example, harvested from living deer and elk. The Chinese have extolled the virtues of antler velvet for over two thousand years, and they're not crazy. Antler velvet is one of nature's best multiple vitamins, containing over forty compounds, including many important ones already mentioned here. A buyer should never be afraid to read the small print and see exactly what's in that unusual supplement or new multi-vitamin - it may be exactly what they need.

Before a person can read any small print, he's got to have good eyesight, and vision problems are often hereditary, too. Cataracts, retinitis pigmentosa, and macular degeneration are three serious problems that can result in blindness, but they may be prevented by the right regimen of vitamins. Mothers always told their children to eat their carrots to have good vision, and they weren't wrong. Beta-carotene remains one of the best nutrients for eye health, and lutein is another important carotenoid. Vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, selenium, glutathione, and N-acetyl-cysteine, or NAC, are taken by thousands to promote good vision, especially for those who work outside and are exposed constantly to sunlight, a major cause of cataracts.

Unfortunately, some human doctors are not as open-minded about vitamins and health as the Ginger's veterinarian. Asia and Europe are far ahead of the USA in the use of naturally occurring substances as dietary supplements. Congress even tries periodically to ban all vitamins, pointing to the side effects that come from over-dosage. The latest attempt is called the Adverse Event Reporting, or AER, which threatens to remove or restrict many of the nation's health options. When people know how and where to buy discount vitamins, the prescription drug industry feels threatened. It's better they're threatened than the health of the populace. Like Mother always said, everyone needs to take his vitamins.