Vitamins an Introduction

VITAMINS AN INTRODUCTION

There are many pros and cons to taking food supplements. There is only one way to see if they work for you. Try them for a few months, see if you notice the difference.

A short note on exercise, were talking weightlifting and if you can combine it with 30 or so minutes of cardio exercise so much the better.
It takes less than 30 to 60 minutes, two to five times a week to drastically change your body, increase your endurance, strength and vitality! All that for less than 1 to 3 hours. (Routines vary greatly, find one that suits you and your time schedule).
The body must have exercise or else it WILL deteriorate. If you exercise 2 to 5 times a week you will get better with each passing year. There are people who have exercised their entire lifetimes who at the age of 50 or 60 are in better shape than some people who are in their early twenties!
For all the benefits received isn’t it worth 30 to 60 minutes, 3 to 5 times a week?
You will obtain the exact ‘results’ in direct relationship to the effort you put into your diet and exercise!
One of the biggest excuses for not exercises is this: ‘I don’t have the time!’ Anybody can find the time for exercising, because it only takes a minimum of 30 minutes 2 to 3 times a week.
Decide which days you want to exercise and try to stick to that schedule, you can even if to busy during the week days exercise on just Saturday and Sunday. Exercise anytime it is convenient for you! Do it in the morning, before work, at noon or at night, it doesn’t matter. But what does matter is that you stick to the time you have decided on. Naturally there will be times you have to alter your schedule, but generally try to workout at the same time.
ADJUST YOURSELF MENTALLY FOR EXERCISING. This is the big secret in accomplishing anything worthwhile. Give yourself the right positive-mental attitude and you’ll love exercising. Think positive about it and you’ll look forward to each workout.
Each time you have an exercise session try to better yourself, try to do the exercise with perfect form. Do a extra repetition, but above all, better yourself with each training session.
DIET AND EXERCISE, A COMBINATION TO USE CORRECTLY. Make a decision, get a plan, take action and keep it up. Educate yourself, research, study and practice what works for you. Listen to the people who are getting the results you want.
WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT, YOU WILL BRING ABOUT. Dare to care about your own health, it’s all up to you, your choices. One thing leads to another.
TRAIN WITHIN YOUR LIMITS. Make sure whatever exercises you chose are well within your abilities. Too many people become impatient and try to reach their goals too quickly. The result is they strain themselves, causing extreme muscular soreness. Don’t quit if your muscles become a little sore, that will last only a few days! When beginning weightlifting, each exercise ought to be done easily and without any strain. As your strength increases so will your capacity to handle an increased amount of strain, and soon the exercises will become quite easy for you to do, and for your body to handle.
Simply do your best, soon your strength will pick up and you’ll find the exercises easy. Your training ought always be progressive, always try to do a little more. Concentrate fully on each exercise! This is a big secret in obtaining good results. Think about whatever muscle group you are exercising. Work for good form in all the exercises…concentrate on form.
IMPORTANT…Before starting any exercising or dieting, consult your Doctor. Show him or her the exercises you want to do…discuss what you are going to try and be sure to get a complete physical.

FOOD SUPPLEMENTS: Due to the processing and altering of our food that started about 150 years ago we started down the road to poor health. For these and other reasons we will read about it may be wise to add vitamin and mineral supplementation to your diet.
What are vitamin and mineral supplements all about. Well, every supplement recommended here is a completely natural food derivative; there is nothing chemical or artificial about any of them. In this article we’ll explain the properties and benefits of each of these extremely valuable nutrients.

DESSICATED LIVER: To save all you liver-haters the “torture” of actually having to eat the stuff, somebody was nice enough to have discovered the benefits of drying fresh liver at a low temperature in a vacuum chamber…preserving all the vital nutrients, and making it into a pill form. Dessicated liver is available in either powder or tablet form; you’ll probably prefer the tablets, however (you don’t even taste them), because the powder must be sprinkled over other foods or mixed in liquids. Dessicated liver is quite popular with vegetarians who like to make sure their non-meat diets can provide them with adequate nutrients.
But whether you eat fresh liver or use the convenient tablets, liver of every type is a fantastic source of complete protein, Vitamins A, C, and D and all the B vitamins (it contains twenty to fifty times as much Vitamin B12 as the muscle meats). Liver is extremely rich in essential minerals, too---calcium, phosphorous, lots of iron, copper (which helps conserve iron), and iodine. Liver is second to none when it comes to getting you going, speeding up your metabolism, and giving you only essential nutrients, and none of the unnecessary lumps and bulges left by other foods. (Another unexpected but pleasant benefit is its ability to reduce your appetite!)
Dessicated Liver may be consider an “anti-fatigue” nutrient. In a diet it can be fully utilized to produce energy and build a strong and healthy body.
Recommended Dosage: 5 – 500mg tablets with breakfast, and 5 – 500mg tablets with lunch or supper, or 3 – 800mg tablets 2 times a day.

KELP: Cut out all the sweet stuff and add kelp to your diet. What seaweed! Don’t worry, it’s nowhere near as bad as it sounds! The kelp, like the liver, has been dried and compressed into tablets, preserving the nutrients and giving it more appeal as far as consumption goes.
Why should seaweed be valuable to you as a food? The answer can be found in the mineral-rich garden which kelp grows in. Every nutrient necessary for sustaining life in its many forms is at hand in the sea, and that is why kelp is an ideal mineral supplement.
Although kelp is a great source of many vital minerals, it is especially noted for its over-abundance of iodine. And, while the body needs only a minute supply of iodine from day to day, it is an essential part of our diet. A body deprived of iodine will die---it is necessary for the proper functioning of the thyroid gland (which controls your weight), and most of the iodine in your body is concentrated there. Iodine stimulates the thyroid gland which, in turn, causes your metabolism to operate at maximum efficiency (in other words, iodine helps burn fat)!
And we can’t ignore the other beneficial properties of kelp. Analyses indicate that it contains up to twenty-one amino acids (the building blocks of proteins), twelve vitamins, and sixty minerals, all naturally balanced. And, since it’s only an organic sea vegetable and not a drug, supplementing your diet with kelp will not interfere with any doctor-prescribed thyroid medication. The properties of kelp help keep your blood tissues from becoming either too acid or too alkaline, and a fractured bone will actually heal faster when kelp is added to the diet! Just think what it will be able to do for you while you’re healthy!
A deficiency of iodine causes a condition known as goiter (a swelling of the thyroid gland in your neck). And, it until table salt was iodized, grossly enlarged necks were quite common. It’s not much of a problem today, though, because most people manage to consume a sufficient amount of iodine daily. Individuals on salt-free diets, however, should consult with a physician about obtaining another source of iodine---kelp, as well as iodized salt, should be avoided.
Recommended Dosage: 5 – 500mg tablets with breakfast, and 5 – 500mg tablets with lunch or supper, or 4 – 650mg tablets 2 times a day.

LECITHIN: Just a few years ago, cholesterol deposits in artery walls were found to be responsible for serious heart problems. The discovery gave everyone quite a scare, and since then it’s been estimated that nearly a quarter of the families in America have altered their eating habits to include less fatty foods and thus lower their cholesterol intake. It’s too bad that the authorities didn’t give the public the whole story.
A person on a diet high in animal fat (butter, cream, egg yolk, etc.) takes in about 800 milligrams of cholesterol a day. The normal human liver, however, produces 3000 milligrams on its own every day. So cutting your cholesterol intake isn’t really the complete answer---the body will continue to produce it. As a matter of fact, cutting out cholesterol would do you more harm than good, because cholesterol is necessary to form the raw material from which Vitamin D, the sex and adrenal hormones, and bile salts are made. And there is a substantial amount of cholesterol concentrated in the brain and nerve tissues, in the heart, kidneys, endocrine glands, skin, hair, spinal column and digestive juices---enough to indicate that it serves some important functions.
But to be able to perform these functions, cholesterol must be broken up into particles tiny enough to be absorbed into the tissues where it is needed. Otherwise, the large chunks will become “stuck” in the walls of the arteries, and build up, causing blood flow to become slow, erratic, or even halted.
That’s where lecithin comes into the picture. Fatty foods containing cholesterol have their own built-in “safety factor”---and that is lecithin. The number one important fact about lecithin is that it incorporates an emulsifying principle known to have a great ability to break up fats and reduce them into those very necessary small particles.
Lecithin allows the important fats to be absorbed into the vital areas of the body where they are most needed. It should be easy for you to understand, now, that fatty foods do serve a purpose, and that eliminating them from your diet deprives your body of necessary cholesterol, Vitamin A, and that essential agent to metabolism, lecithin.
Lecithin itself is a member of the fat family---a “cousin” to cholesterol. It is most readily found in natural foods: egg yolks, butter, vegetable oils (corn, safflower, and soybean) which have not been refined or hydrogenated, liver, wheat germ, beef, nuts, and seeds (barley, corn, melon, pumpkin, and sunflower). It can also be obtained as a food supplement in oil, granule, or capsule form (we recommend the capsules).
Lecithin, like cholesterol, can also be manufactured by the body---in the intestinal wall and in the liver---provided the right conditions exist. And it is to important to the body, that a low-fat diet (intended to cut cholesterol intake) may even be dangerous to your health---by limiting your fats and oils, you may cause your body to slowly “starve” by denying it the proper elements necessary to maintain good health.
Lecithin is found in every cell of the human body, and it forms an important part of the tissue in the brain and nerves. It is vital to the proper functioning of all glands, including the sex glands, and it is a natural diuretic (a substance which increases the flow of urine; unnatural diuretics---water pills---have a tendency to wash away the body’s potassium salts with the urine, and potassium is the very thing that prevents water retention in the first place). Lecithin helps relieve stress and helps quiet nerves. It also helps fill out the skin and makes it soft, and has been shown to be effective, in some cases, against skin problems such as acne, eczema and psoriasis. Lecithin helps to digest, absorb and carry in the bloodstream the fat-soluble Vitamins A, D, E and K, as well as cholesterol, which we previously mentioned.
Two of the hardest B vitamins to get---cholin and inositol---have their best source in lecithin. They are the magic partners responsible for cholesterol break-up and, as a part of lecithin, they may serve the most important functions.
The trick involved in getting cholin and inositol to actually help you lose weight is to take supplementary lecithin---more lecithin than what you are receiving in your fats and oils. That way, your lecithin supply will out-balance your cholesterol, and help to break up any unnecessary fatty deposits in your body. Supplement your diet with lecithin capsules to help metabolize fats.
Recommended Dosage: 3 – 1000 to 1200mg capsules, with breakfast, lunch and supper.

CALCIUM: Calcium is the key mineral. It is the most abundant mineral in the human body (it comprises more than 2% of your total weight)---your bones and teeth are more than two-thirds mineral content, and the dominant mineral is calcium. Calcium fortifies your bones and teeth, and gives them solidity---necessary for a long and healthy life. And, although 99% of the body’s calcium is stored in the bones and teeth, a very important one percent makes the rounds throughout the soft tissues and body fluids, controlling the contraction and relaxation of the heart muscles, helping blood to clot when tissues have been damaged, regulating the passage of fluid through cell and tissue walls, forming and rebuilding tissues, and stimulating the enzyme action necessary for efficient body metabolism. Every muscle relies on calcium for its power, and calcium induces sound sleep as well!
Calcium is usually found in close association with other elements in the body. Vitamin D (obtained from liver and exposure to the sun) is directly involved in the utilization and assimilation of calcium (Vitamins A and B are involved to a lesser extent); phosphorous and iron must also be present in sufficient amounts in order for calcium to be absorbed into the system.
Eggs, fish, meat and poultry are the best natural sources of calcium other than milk (try Soy milk). The best supplementary sources are tablets of either calcium gluconate or calcium lactate. Growing children, pregnant or nursing women, and elderly people naturally have a greater need for calcium.
Recommended Dosage: 1 – 500mg tablet with breakfast, lunch and supper.

Multi-vitamin: with Vitamin A, selenium, folic acid and iron in it’s makeup. The benefits of Vitamin A are not only normal vision, but resistance to infections, proper development of bones and tooth enamel, good appetite, normal digestion, reproduction, lactation, and the formation of oxygen-carrying red and infection-fighting white blood corpuscles all rely on a diet adequate in Vitamin A. This vitamin also helps to lower the cholesterol level in the blood, and has been found to reduce by 60% the incidence of coronary heart disease, and to reduce by 90% the severity of coronary attacks.
But where there are needs and benefits, there can also be dangers. Insufficient Vitamin A may show up early in the form of skin problems (scales, acne, possibly impetigo, boils and carbuncles), dry hair that lacks sheen and luster, dandruff and fragile nails. A more severe deficiency will result in varying degrees of night blindness and visual sensitivity to bright lights.
Vitamin A is also essential in the manufacture of the protective mucous lining in the nose, throat, sinuses, middle ears, gall bladder and urinary bladder. This mucous lining prevents bacteria and toxic substances from gaining entrance to the cells. But if Vitamin A is denied, the lining can no longer be an efficient guard. Thus, the body becomes susceptible to infections in these areas---kidney and bladder stones, as well as loss of taste, are possible consequences.
What does this important nutrient look like? From what can it be obtained? Vitamin A is one of the “fat-soluble” group of vitamins (the others being Vitamins D, E and K), “fat-soluble” meaning that it can stored in the body until it is needed. Vitamin A is colorless when found in human and animal livers (where it is stored), but when found in plants, it is yellowish in color, and is known as “carotene”. The processes of the liver then convert the carotene into usable Vitamin A.
If you obtained your Vitamin A from yellow and green vegetables in the form of carotene, you would have to eat twice as much carotene as you would Vitamin A from animal fats (butter, eggs, cream), liver and kidney, in order to end up with equal amounts of Vitamin A.
Since Vitamin A is not stored in the muscles, muscle meats such as steaks, chops and roasts are not sources of Vitamin A. And, of the Vitamin A-rich organ meats, beef and mutton liver have more of the vitamin than calf and lamb liver, because the older animal has had a longer time to store up more Vitamin A.
Now, remember earlier when we mentioned the interdependency of vitamins and minerals? Well, Vitamin A is a good example to show you exactly what we mean: Both Vitamin A and carotene must combine with bile salts and fat before they can be absorbed through the walls of the small intestine into the blood (here is another instance where a fat-free diet can do more harm than good). If the diet is low in fat, little or no bile reaches the intestines, and 90% of both the carotene and the Vitamin A may be lost through elimination.
If there is an inadequacy of Vitamin E in the diet, Vitamin A will be immediately destroyed upon reaching the blood, and any Vitamin E present will be quickly used up---Vitamin A needs Vitamin E to “shield” it from the oxygen in the blood, or else Vitamin A loses its potency and is rendered useless. (Doctors have prescribed Vitamin A to help ease acne problems in adolescents, but unless there is sufficient Vitamin E present, not only will the A-Vitamin be destroyed, but a Vitamin E deficiency will show up. The more Vitamin E in the diet, the less Vitamin A needed, and the more Vitamin A stored. And this stored Vitamin A can be called upon whenever your needs are inadequate.)
Another essential vitamin---cholin (one of the B vitamins)---must be present in sufficient supply in order for Vitamin A to be stored in the liver.
Vitamin deficiencies can be easily and unknowingly created. For example, there are many B vitamins and they all work closely together as a team known as B-complex. If you should happen to supplement your diet with only one or several, but not all, of the B vitamins, you would “create” a deficiency of the other B vitamins. You’ve already read how a lack of Vitamins E and B can cause a Vitamin A deficiency, as well as A causing and E deficiency by quickly using up the little Vitamin E you may have stored.
The ingestion of mineral oil can also cause a serious vitamin deficiency, not only of A, but of all the fat-soluble vitamins: D,E and K as well. Some people use mineral oil for frying, for salad dressing, or take it orally as a laxative. But mineral oil cannot be digested and therefore is not a food. Unfortunately, some 60% of it manages to get into the bloodstream and then circulates throughout the body, absorbing Vitamins A, E and K, and holding them, powerless, until the oil, along with the vitamins, is finally eliminated from the body.
Eating rancid fats will also cause vitamin deficiencies, especially in Vitamins A,E and K, and several B vitamins. And, although you may think you have never eaten or served rancid foods, you’re quite probably wrong. Any fat products---ham, sausage, bacon, mayonnaise, butter, packaged piecrust and cake mixes, potato and corn chips, popcorn, salted nuts, ground nuts and similar foods---stored too long at home or in the market, are often slightly rancid. And what about that container of grease drippings Mother used keep from week to week, and use for frying? You don’t do that like she used to, do you?
The amount of Vitamin A needed by healthy persons varies greatly with each individual. More Vitamin A is required in proportion to body weight, so naturally, adults need more than children. Men usually require more than women, and elderly people, who utilize their food less efficiently, need more of most vitamins than do younger adults.
Your occupation, your hobbies, and where you live all determine how much Vitamin A you need above the adult minimum daily requirement of 5,000 units. Work that requires heavy reading, or contact with bright lights, or hobbies and sports which take you out in the into the sun or on the water will demand a lot from your eyes, and thus more Vitamin A is needed. Likewise, if you spend a good part of your summer on a white, sunny beach, and some of your winter in a snowy, northern clime, supplement Vitamin A (taken with E of course) will help your eyes recover from the constant glaring reflections of the sun.
But just as too little Vitamin A is harmful, there is a danger of overdoing it. Amounts of Vitamin A greater that 50,000 units daily can be toxic if continued for days in succession with no let up (you’ll know if you’re getting too much Vitamin A if you start experiencing headaches, blurred vision, itching skin, thinning hair, sore lips.
Recommended Dosage: 1 – Multi-vitamin daily.

IRON: Your Multi-vitamin ought to contain iron. The national average shows the blood’s hemoglobin content to be about 15 to 30% below normal. Hemoglobin is the important element in blood which carries oxygen in the red blood cells to all of the other cells in the body, and then removes the carbon dioxide from those cells, transporting it to the lungs to be expelled. Iron is essential to the formation of this hemoglobin, and an iron deficiency results in a condition known as anemia (recognizable by nearly constant fatigue, pale skin, low resistance to infections, and in severe cases, mental disorders and heart failure). It has been found that more women than men develop anemia, and that 90% of American women are suffering from some degree of iron deficiency.
You’d think that, with iron being the fourth most abundant element in our environment, our bodies would be over-abundant in it---having rich, red blood to quickly, effortlessly and efficiently transport oxygen, vitamins, and minerals to all parts of our bodies, and just as easily remove the wastes. Americans should be a healthy people, but we haven’t done a very good job of eating the proper foods!
Iron is present in most natural foods, its richest sources being the organ meats (liver, kidney), beef, pork, lamb, egg yolk, clams, oysters, turkey, wheat germ, peanuts, soybeans and barley.
In several respects, iron is the most significant member of the mineral family, not only because it prevents anemia, but because of its energy-building properties. It has an important role in the body’s metabolism.
Recommended Dosage: Twelve milligrams of iron daily is the recommended minimum for men, while women should get at least fifteen milligrams---more if they are pregnant, nursing, or experiencing heavy menstrual flow.

VITAMIN C: Vitamin C is one of the “water soluble” vitamins---the body needs it constantly, but, since it can’t be stored in or produced by the body, it must be obtained daily from fresh fruits, vegetables, juices and/or supplements.
Vitamin C seems to have a hand in all the body’s life processes---your heart beat, your respiration, and the structure, strength and defense of all your body cells. Vitamin C is necessary for good bone formation (bones and teeth will not hold minerals---especially calcium and phosphorous---if Vitamin C is deficient); brittle bones and unhealthy teeth and gums are prevented by adequate Vitamin C, and when bones fractures do occur, Vitamin C assists in the mending and strong reconstruction of the break. The efficient absorption and utilization of iron, as well, is dependent upon the presence of adequate Vitamin C, and it is also responsible for regulating the cholesterol in the bloodstream, and figures prominently in the lowering of high blood pressure.
And, while acting as a mild diuretic and helping to maintain your eyesight, Vitamin C works as a detoxificant in your body---that is, it renders harmless nearly every bothersome or dangerous element that manages to invade your system: chemical additives, dyes, fertilizers, drugs, and allergens (dust and pollen) to name a few. Vitamin C will even detoxify harmful acetone bodies---the residue left behind in the tissues when your blood sugar falls below normal and the fats in your body are incompletely burned (acetone bodies are a major cause of fatigue).
In order to conduct these foreign and “home grown” toxins safely out of your body, Vitamin C “links up” with the offenders, and escorts them away to be eliminated. However, while serving the body in this manner, the Vitamin C is also lost, and must be replaced right away. That’s why physicians prescribe massive doses of this vitamin when infections set in---enough Vitamin C will then be on hand to help the body shake off the ailment, while plenty is left over to perform the essential daily services.
Despite the special need for a constant supply of Vitamin C, surveys show that approximately ¾ of our population do not get the recommended minimum daily allowance of 75 to 100 milligrams (one glass of fresh orange juice supplies 130 milligrams). The first signs of Vitamin C deficiency, other than fatigue, are a tendency to bruise easily, and sore, bleeding gums. But before you get to that stage, increase your supply.
It was mentioned earlier that Vitamin C can be found in all fresh, natural foods, and/or supplements. You can’t overdo Vitamin C because excesses are passed off in your urine. However, if you take an excessive amount over a period of a few days and experience diarrhea, simply cut back the amount taken. Recommended Dosage: 1 – 500mg tablet with breakfast, lunch and supper.

VITAMIN E: Before millers began refining all the nutrients out of whole grain flour, it’s estimated that the average daily intake of Vitamin E was most nearly 150 units a day (the recommended minimum daily amount is 140 to 210 units). Vitamin E is one of the “fat-soluble” group, so it can be stored in the body.
If adequately supplied, the pituitary or master gland, will contain 200 times more Vitamin E than any other part of the body. A Vitamin E deficiency will decrease the production of all the pituitary hormones, including the growth hormone and the hormone necessary to stimulate the thyroid and sex glands. (The fact is, the presence of Vitamin E prevents these hormones from being destroyed by oxygen---it does not stimulate the production of these hormones.)
One of the vital functions of Vitamin E is to prevent unsaturated fatty acids and fat-like substances (in your body as well as in the foods you eat) from combining with oxygen and being destroyed; these fatty acids and fat-like substances include Vitamin A, carotene, Vitamin D, and Vitamin K, as well as the previously mentioned hormones. In addition, essential fatty acids are now known to form, not only part of the internal structure and walls of every cell in the body, but also the connective tissue between all cells, and when Vitamin E is deficient, these cells and tissues break down. Viruses, bacteria, and allergens are thus allowed free access into the tissues. In blood vessels, this condition can cause clots to form, often resulting in varicose veins, phlebitis, strokes and heart attacks. A sufficient supply of Vitamin E not only keeps the walls of vessels and arteries strong, but serves as an anti-coagulant, dilating the vessels to assist in circulation.
Unfortunately, in preventing the destruction of other vitamins and essential fatty acids by oxygen, Vitamin E is itself used up. It acts as a “self-sacrifice,” so to speak, drawing the oxygen away from other potential “victims.” So, your Vitamin E supply should be constantly replenished.
But, just as Vitamin E is destroyed by oxygen in your body, it is just as readily in foods when they are exposed to air, heat, and cold, as well as when they are kept in extended storage. For example, frying in oil destroys approximately 98% of any Vitamin E present in a food, and not a single milligram of Vitamin E remains in refined oils, flour, and packaged cereal grains---once so rich in this vitamin. Lately, nuts, fresh wheat germ, cold-pressed oils, and stone-ground whole-grain breads and cereals are almost our only good, natural sources other than what can be found in fatty meats.
The minimum daily requirement of Vitamin E varies greatly from person to person---some individuals need as much as four times the Vitamin E as others, the need being increased by stress, oil consumption, extended deficiency of this vitamin, rapid growth (as is experienced by adolescents as they mature), menopause, and the taking of sex hormones.
Any excess of Vitamin E is stored in the pituitary, adrenal and sex glands, but it can be quickly used up, especially if you contract a virus or infection. Amounts of Vitamin E between 600 and 1600 units of Vitamin E should be taken after a meal containing fat, and ten hours before or after iron is taken. (A condition known as Vitamin E anemia exists which is difficult to distinguish from iron-deficiency anemia. Often, a physician will prescribe iron for this Vitamin E deficiency without first testing for lack of Vitamin E. And, unfortunately, most iron supplements, if not all, destroy Vitamin E---so allow plenty of time between your iron and Vitamin E supplements.)
Recommended Dosage: 400 to 1600 units daily.
(NOTE: Persons who have high blood pressure or hearts damaged from chronic rheumatic fever should check first with a physician before taking Vitamin E supplements.)


WHEAT GERM OIL: for vitality and energy.