Have you ever thought to yourself, which vitamin is good for which aiment? Well here you go. A complete listing of vitamins, their food source, and their main role.
Vitamin A
For the maintenance of skin, mucous membranes, bones, teeth, and hair; eye sight. Their sources are: green vegetables, melon, squash, tomatoes
Vitamin D
Helps in the absorbption of calcium and phosphorous; needed for bone growth and maintenance Their sources are: fish-liver oils, sprouted seeds, mushrooms, sunflower seeds.
Vitamin E
Helps form red blood cells; prevents oxidation damage. Their sources are: nuts and grains. Green leafy vegetables.Cold pressed olive oil.
Vitamin K
Needed for blood clotting, liver function. Their sources are: Kelp, Alfalfa, soybean oil.
Vitamin B1
Helps release energy from carbohydrates and nervous system function. Their sources are: Brewer's yeast, wheat germ/bran, whole-grain cereals.
Vitamin B2
Helps release energy from foods. Essential for healthy eyes, skin, nails and hair. Their sources are: Whole grains, brewer's yeast, torula yeast, wheat germ, almonds, sunflower seeds,cooked leafy vegetables.
Vitamin B3
Needed for nervous and digestive system functions;essential for protein and carb metabolism. Their sources are: wheat germ, rice bran, nuts, sunflower seeds, brown rice.
Vitamin B6
helps form red blood cells. Important for normal reproductive processes and healthy pregnancies. Their sources are: Brewer's yeast, bananas, avocado, wheat germ/bran, soybeans, blackstrap molasses, cantaloupe.
Vitamin B12
Helps form red blood cells.Prevents anemia Their sources are: sunflower seeds, comfrey leaves, kelp, bananas, peanuts, raw wheat germ.
Folic acid
formation of red blood cells, the healing process and aids in the meatabolism of proteins and contributes to normal growth. Their sources are: Deep green leafy vegetables, lima beans, spinach, nuts, broccoli.
Pantothenic acid
Wards off infections and speeds recovery from illnesses. Their sources are: Royal jelly, whole-grain breads/cereals, green vegetables, peanuts.
Biotin
Prevents hair loss, Involved in metabolism of proteins and fats. Their sources are: Brewer's yeast, soybeans, unpolished rice.
Vitamin C
Necessary for healthy teeth, gums and bones. Essential for proper functioning of adrenal and thyroid glands. Their sources are: All fresh fruits and vegetables, strawberries, apples, cabbage, tomatoes.
Calcium
Needed for bone and tooth formation; Their sources are: Dark leafy vegetables, sesame seeds, oats, navy beans, almonds.
Phosphorous
Works together with calcium and must be balanced to be effective. Needed for building bones and teeth. Their sources are: Whole-grains, seeds, nuts, legumes, dried fruit, corn.
Magnesium
Needed for healthy muscle tone and healthy bones and heart. Their sources are: Nuts, soybeans, green leafy vegetables, figs, apples, lemons, peaches, almonds, salmon.
Potassium
Important in keeping acid-alkaline balance in the blood. Essential for muscle contraction and normal heart beat. Their sources are: Green leafy vegetables, oranges, whole grains.
Sodium
Regulates fluid and acid base balance; sodium is necessary for hydrochloric acid production in the stomach. Their sources are: Kelp, celery, romaine lettuce, watermelon, sea salt.
Sulfur
Vital for healthy skin, hair and nails. Aids in reducing oxidations. Their sources are: Radish, turnip,onions, celery, horseradish, watercress.
Iron
Essential for the formation of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen from the lungs to every cell of the body. Their sources are: Apricots,peaches, bananas, black molasses, prunes, raisins, whole grain cereals, turnip greens, spinach, dry beans.
Zinc
aids in wound healing, growth, tissue repair, and sexual development Their sources are: Wheat bran, pumkin seeds, sunflower seeds, brewer's yeast, onions, oysters, green leafy vegetables.
Iodine
Essential in the formation of thyroxin - the thyroid hormone which regulates much of physical and mental activity. Their sources are: Seaweed, swiss chard, turnip greens, garlic, watercress, pineapple, pears, citrus, seafood and fish liver oils.
Copper
Iron cannot be absrobed without copper.In volved in protein metabolism, in healing processes and in keeping hair's natural color. Their sources are: Same as Iron. Also almonds, peas, beans, green leafy vegetables, whole grain products, prunes, raisins.
Manganese
Importantly involved in the metabolism of carbs, fats and proteins. Their sources are: Spinach, beets, blueberries, oranges, grapefruit, apricots, kelp, green leafy vegetables.
Fluorine
Essential for bone and tooth building. Protects against infections. Their sources are: sunflower seeds, carrots, garlic, almonds.
Who might be a good candidate for vitamin or mineral Supplements
-Pregnant women and nursing mothers
-The chronically ill
-Heavy drinkers
-Cigarette smokers whose vitamin C levels are often low
-Dieters
-The elderly
-Those recovering from infection or surgery
-Vegans (strict vegetarians) who may need vitamin B12
-Women of child-bearing age who may need Iron
The information in this article is for information purposes and should not be used as a substitute for the advice of a licenced physician.
This was a question I had been asking myself for a while. The fact is a large number of vitamin,mineral and antioxidant products just can't give your body what it needs everyday to provide optimal cellular protection from the free radicals and oxidative stress that are the basic cause of almost all of the chronic degenerative diseases that face the western world today.Now I could go into the real nuts and bolts of how and why we are living too short and dying too long in todays toxic society but that will have to be another article.
Essentially there are a lot of half truthes and "BS" when it comes to what a vitamin and mineral product should contain.And as its always prudent to only take advice from world reknowned experts in any field, the Nutritional Supplementation field is no different to any other. So what should a product actually contain ? good question and the answer can be found in " The Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements" Written By Dr Lyle MacWilliam,BSc,MSc,FP and a team of seven expert Bioscientists from around the world.
Lyle was a Canadian Parliamentarian several years ago and became concerned at the flood of these products onto the market place in North America and Canada.So he put together his team with the goal of providing independant,non biased ,Science based answers for the public and health professionals.After reviewing countless hours of data and research they all agreed on an international standard called "The Blended Standard" which is the top 39 minerals,antioxidants and nutrients that your body requires everyday and the dosages required to maintain optimal cellular protection.By the way the dosages to help prevent chronic degenerative disease not just the RDA allowances which are so grossly outdated and were devised back in the 1950's to provide a guideline for things like scurvy and rickets.
They then used this criterion to compare around 500 products off the shelves at random,scoring them all from 0-100% based on a very strict criterion.The results were shocking,I used to think that most nutritional products were of good quality until I read this book.Without going into too much detail (you'll need to get a copy to read yourself) most products scored less than 50% .Thats right, you read that correctly.In fact only about 20 products out of 500 scored higher than 2/3rds (66%).And only 6 made higher than 90%.
Most of the common products available in the drugstore or healthfood shops returned a score of less than 10%.I was outraged,shocked and disgusted that these companies could put such low quality products out into the world.
I quickly learned that the major reason for the difference in quality across the board was caused by many reasons but the major one was manufacturing standard.Almost all of the products are made to Food grade standards and only a few select top quality products were made to Pharmaceutical and Pharmacopaea guidelines or Good manufacturing practices (GMP's).
This he same standard to which all drugs are made to, whereas food grade is what your pizza is made to as an example. So comparing the two standards is like comparing pizza and penecillan in relation to the way they are made.
If you are as health concious as I am, finding and using only the best products available makes sense and has really made a considerable difference to my overall health as well as the health of my family.Because our bodies are constantly creating and replacing billions of cells everyday, if we aren't providing the necessary building blocks to get the job done correctly then over time we are very likely to contract a major illness like cancer which is killing 1 in 3 people in most western countries on current statistics.
Without spelling out to you how this process actually takes place in our bodies, wouldn't you want to do everything you possibly can to not only protect yourself from degenerative diseases,but also protect the ones you love ? Because the stats worldwide are only getting worse as we treat the effects rather than prevent it from happening in the first place.
Both Paramjit Singh & Wealthsuccess are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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