mr hlth

Vitamin C is another one of the essential vitamins you should consider adding to the list of vitamin supplements.

I believe that vitamin C is so important to our overall health that if I only took two vitamin supplements, vitamin C would be one of them – the other one would be vitamin D which was covered in a previous post.  I suspect that many people will read this post looking for and answer to the questions:  “will vitamin C help prevent a cold?”  and   “will vitamin C help get rid of a cold?”

The role of vitamin C in terms of a healthy body extends far beyond just fighting colds and influenza.   Vitamin C has an impact on several important aspects of your body.

It plays an important role in the formation and integrity of your collagen and tissues.  It is a powerful antioxidant and plays a role in minimizing damage from free radicals and toxins as well as bacteria and virii.

I think that vitamin C plays such an important role in these areas and others, that many conditions can be prevented or helped by having an optimum intake of vitamin C.  Remember that you want to optimize your nutrient intake.   Many people feel all they need to do is get the RDA (recommended daily allowance) of a vitamin or mineral to be healthy.  The RDA is simply the amount that is recommended – usually the amount required to avoid the worst symptoms of deficiency diseases.  In the case of vitamin C,  the RDA recommended amount is the level required in order to prevent the worst symptoms of scurvy.

You can get vitamin C from many fruits and vegetables.  Citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruits, lemons) are well know for their vitamin C content, but contain far less than what I feel is an optimum amount without eating mounds of fruit and veggies.

How much?  You should work with a nutritionist and your family doctor when ramping up your vitamin C intake – I recommend that people target 1-2 grams of vitamin C daily to help optimize their health.  This amount can fluctuate somewhat during times of stress or when feeling a cold or flu coming on.  Linus Pauling, the scientist know for promoting vitamin C as the cure for the common cold took several grams daily, finally settling on a daily intake of somewhere near 18 grams (18000 milligrams).   You’ll know if you take too much or if you increase your intake too quickly, as too much vitamin C can cause loose stools or mild diarrhea.

 

Want to know more?  Leave a question or comment below – I’d love to hear from you!

 

 

If you are wondering which vitamins to start with as you to add vitamin supplements to your healthy lifestyle – this post is for you.  I will highlight some of the important reasons you should take vitamin D supplements.  If you are still wondering whether or not you should be taking vitamin supplements, make sure you read the previous post about whether vitamins are worth it or just a waste.

Most people have heard of vitamin D – or the sunshine vitamin as it is sometimes called.  Although vitamin D is technically not really a vitamin, (it is actually a steroid hormone precursor that affects many of the systems in your body) it is still referred to as a vitamin for historical reasons.  Because of the wide ranging effects of vitamin D,  it should be high on the list of vitamins that you want to optimize in your diet and lifestyle.  You can do this through supplements (vitamin D3 pills or capsules) and sunlight exposure.  The best way to know what your blood or serum levels of vitamin D are is through a blood test you can request from your doctor (e.g. as part of a routine physical), or even with a blood test you can do at home.

Once you know what your blood levels of vitamin D are, you can make your plan for optimizing your vitamin D levels.  If you take vitamin D supplements, make sure it is vitamin D3 – the form your body can best utilize.  Since vitamin D is one of the vitamins that your body can synthesize itself given direct sunlight exposure, you can also target some daily direct sun exposure – just be careful to not burn.  One of the most interesting things about vitamin D is that your body can synthesize it in your skin from the sun.  As a part of this marvelous design your body will self regulate and will not produce too much vitamin D.

There are some very import short term and long-term benefits to optimizing your vitamin D levels that should catch everyone’s attention.  In terms of a short term benefit, many studies released over the last several years have consistently indicated that optimum vitamin D levels can help protect against respiratory infections, and can help lessen not only the chances of getting the cold or flu, but also shorten the length and severity of the cold and flu. Even though one study released in October 2012 contradicted this, it is important to note that study co-author Carlos A. Camargo Jr., MD pointed out that “It’s very important, however, to keep in mind that this group had relatively normal levels to start with, and so this might not apply to people with lower levels, with actually a vitamin D deficiency.”

From a long-term standpoint, vitamin D deficiency has been linked to much more than just rickets.
A quick review of the sources listed below will show that vitamin D deficiency has been linked to the following diseases or conditions:  Asthma, Autoimmune diseases, Bone health, Cancer, Cold, Flu, Kidney disease, Liver disease, Obesity, Oral health, Skin disorders, Thyroid disease.  This list is not all-inclusive, but I feel it does represent the importance of optimizing your vitamin D intake.

If you want to find out more about vitamin D, check out some of the following sites for more information on the benefits of vitamin D, the diseases it can help prevent and treat, and more information in general.

http://www.grc.com/health/vitamin-d.htm
http://www.mercola.com/article/vitamin-d-resources.htm
http://www.sunshinevitamin.org
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org

Use the contact form below for any questions or comments you might have.  I’d love to hear from you.

It depends on what you’re trying to fix!

If you’re trying to cover all your vitamin needs in one pill or reach optimum levels of vitamins and minerals with one vitamin – the answer is probably not.

It’s tempting to think that if you could just find the right vitamin, the right brand, or the right formula that you could cover your entire vitamin needs with one pill.  This would be both convenient, easier to remember and a quick – an easy nutritional grand-slam all at once.  As the old adage goes – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is; and in this case I think that saying applies.

If you want to optimize your nutrition and your vitamin and nutrient levels, without just taking a random shot at it – you will want to take a look at what your typical diet is (I recommend a food log or journal as a good starting place) and see what your diet does a good job of providing, and what nutrients might be lacking.

It would also be a good idea to talk with your family doctor about your plans and see what he would suggest.  I would start by changing doctors if he told me not to be concerned about vitamins and minerals; hopefully he’ll suggest a blood test to look at levels of minerals, vitamin d , b6, b12 and other indicators of your overall health and nutritional level.

In addition to reviewing your diet and looking at finding out where specific indicators are in your blood, you also need to some labels.  If you want to try to do an all-in-one approach, you’ll have to check the labels carefully.  Most likely, you will find that a “one pill to fix it all” approach will still require more than one pill daily.   You may also need to add some additional supplements to reach optimum levels of specific vitamins such as C, D, some of the B vitamins, and certain minerals.

Make sure you read the upcoming posts that will highlight some of a few of the nutrients and give guidelines for healthy supplementation and some of the key vitamins and minerals you should specifically make sure are optimum – and why it’s important to your health.