Vitamin sources and what they do

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Vitamins are essential for the body to be able to put the nutrients in food to use.

Because vitamins are not produced by the body, we have to get them through the food that we also eat!

Our bodies only need a certain amount of vitamins, which can be provided by eating reasonable amounts of foods that contain those vitamins.

This certainly makes more sense to me than eating all kinds of refined, vitamin-depleted foods and then guzzling vitamin supplement pills to make up for it.

The amounts of vitamins found in foods in their fresh, natural state are enough to supply our bodies nicely, provided we are not eating foods which, in the digestion process, deplete vitamins from our bodies, including anti-calorie foods such as white sugar, or living in environments which deplete our bodies of vitamins. Under these circumstances, vitamin supplements may be necessary.

If there is a bad vitamin deficiency from prolonged depletion, vitamins may also be necessary. But that is vitamin therapy, and information that will be provided here is an attempt to introduce your vitamins as nutrients and not meant to be taken as medical advice. For that, you should go to an expert in the field.

Vitamins are like vital links in the chain of biochemical actions and reactions taking place in the process of digestion, which makes nutrients available from the food we eat for the body’s growth, regeneration, repair, and energy.

There are innumerable numbers of these chains of biochemical reactions throughout the body: some for using fat, others for using carbohydrates, others for protein digestion, etc.

If a link or many links of the vitamin chain are missing, the bringing together of one element with another for the desired reaction doesn’t happen, and thus cells can literally starve to death in the presence of plentiful nutrients, all for lack of a vitamin.

There are certain vitamins, which need to be replaced on a more regular basis than others because they are water-soluble, whereas the others are fat-soluble.

Most vitamins, C and the B’s, are soluble in water and are carried through the bloodstream, which is primarily made of water.

As the vitamins pass through the body via the bloodstream, they only get absorbed by cells wherever they are needed, and the unneeded vitamins are flushed out in urine.

Because these water-soluble vitamins do not get stored in the body, they need to be supplied on a regular basis.

There are other vitamins, which are fat-soluble and collect in the fatty tissues of the body.

These vitamins become soluble and are carried throughout the system in any fats or oils contained in the food, which is eaten.

Because they do not pass out of the body like the water-soluble vitamins, but are stored in fatty tissues in the body, there is a possibility of building up toxic levels of fat-soluble vitamins in the body. This is why vitamins A, D, E and K are all fat-soluble and recommend it to be taken under an expert’s guidance.

A vitamin deficiency shows itself relatively quickly through quite a wide range of physical malfunctions.

Because vitamins often work with other vitamins, it may sometimes be hard to determine what is a vitamin deficiency and which vitamin is deficient without the help of an expert.

It would be simpler to be sure to include varying foods in your diet, which contain the different vitamins and avoid a shortage in the first place.

One hint in preparing your good foods high in vitamins: avoid over-cooking them, as this will destroy a lot of vitamins.

Hopefully, the following vitamin information will be beneficial:

VITAMIN A
(Carotene, provitamin A, retinol)
Fat-soluble

Necessary for: Health of the tissues which make up a protective covering on the outside and inside of the body, meaning the skin and the mucous membranes which line the digestive, respiratory and eliminating systems. It is therefore essential for healthy skin and healthy organs that are protected by the mucous membranes, which act to prevent infection of these organs. Also essential in giving eyes the ability to adapt to bright and dim light. For growing children, vitamin A is needed for proper formation of tooth enamel, bones, and other growth processes.

Good sources: Any and all green, leafy vegetables and yellow-orange fruits and vegetables, like winter squashes, yams, sweet potatoes, mangoes, papayas, cantaloupe, apricots, nectarines, carrots, kale, turnip greens, spinach, broccoli, etc. The darker the green or yellow-orange the better, since the darker color marks the presence of more vitamin A.

Deficiency symptoms: Night blindness and in more radical cases, drying up of mucus membranes where the eyes are usually the first to be affected, which results in permanent blindness, which leaves organs usually protected by the mucous membranes wide open to infection. Also worth mentioning is the other end of the spectrum: too much vitamin A. This is a danger to be watched for by those taking vitamin A supplements. Because vitamin A stores in the fat cells and excesses don’t just pass through the urinary tract, taking supplements can easily lead to a toxic buildup, which is indicated by headaches, blurry vision, loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhea, loss of hair and/or loss of menstrual period.

VITAMIN B1
(Thiamine)
Water-soluble

Necessary for: Releasing energy from carbohydrates (sugars and starches), proteins, and fats. Keeps the brain and nervous system functioning normally. Helps maintain stamina and endurance of body and mind. Helps to keep digestive tract functioning and also to maintain a healthy appetite.

Good Sources: Nutritional yeast, all unrefined whole grains, sunflower and sesame seeds, legumes, oranges, avocados

Deficiency symptoms: Fatigue, depression, inability to concentrate. If unattended, will increase to muscle cramps, loss of appetite, loss of weight; and extreme deficiency develops into beriberi.

VITAMIN B2
(Thiamine)
Water-soluble

Necessary for: Utilization of food energy, protein, fats, along with other B vitamins. Carries hydrogen through the system and helps the body use oxygen to get energy from food. Important for healthy skin tissue and eyes.

Good sources: Milk and milk products, nutritional yeast, collard greens and other green leafies, broccoli, millet, wheat germ.

Deficiency symptoms: Soreness and cracking at the corners of the mouth, or a scaly, oily rash on the face; swollen membranes in the mouth with a purplish tint on the tongue. Eyes may appear bloodshot, water constantly and feel irritated all the time.

VITAMIN B3
(Niacin)
Water-soluble

Necessary for: Utilization of carbohydrates, protein, and fat, along with other B vitamins. Keeps nervous tissues, skin tissues, and digestive tract healthy.

Good sources: Soybeans and tofu, collard greens, rice polish, dry legumes, nutritional yeast.

Deficiency symptoms: Insomnia, headaches, irritability, digestive disturbances, and a reddish, sore, swollen tongue. Extreme deficiency results in pellagra.

VITAMIN B6
(Pyridoxine)
Water-soluble

Necessary for: Metabolism of proteins, so the amount of B6 required by the body depends a lot on the amount of protein consumed. Vitamin B6 is also needed for the absorption for amino acids and the transportation of them to different parts of the body. Plays an important role in releasing energy to the cells in the body; therefore has a direct and important role in the production of red blood cells and the proper functioning of nervous tissue.

Good sources: Whole grains, wheat germ, peanuts, corn, soybeans, and other legumes, blackstrap molasses, nutritional yeast, sunflower seeds, raisins, avocados, bananas, spinach, kale, and other green vegetables.

Deficiency symptoms: Convulsive seizures, greasy rash around the eyes, cracks at the corners of the mouth, irritation of sweat glands, nervous disorders, sore and rough tongue. Prolonged deficiency could lead to dizziness, nausea, vomiting, anemia, and kidney stones. Oral steroid contraceptives and alcoholism are two practices that drain so much B6 from the body that it is impossible to try replacing the vitamin through diet.

VITAMIN B12
(Cobalamin)
Water-Soluble

Necessary for: Formation and functioning of all body cells, because it is needed for the metabolism of all the major nutrients, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, and also for the metabolism of nucleic acids. Especially important for red blood cell formation in the prevention of pernicious anemia.

Good sources: Organic sulfur crystals, soy milk, Rice milk, seaweed, dairy products, miso, other naturally fermented foods, and some types of nutritional yeast.

Deficiency symptoms: Sore tongue, back pain, indigestion, weakness, constipation or diarrhea, loss of weight, and prickly sensation in the arms and legs are early warning symptoms that damage to the central nervous system is beginning. Prolonged deficiency results in mental defects, damage to the central nervous system, delusions, psychosis, and eventual death.

VITAMIN C
(Ascorbic acid)
Water-soluble

Necessary for: Formation of collagen in connective tissues, which cements body’s cells together and helps in the repair and healing processes; metabolism of proteins and many amino acids; proper functioning of adrenal glands; important for absorption of iron from the intestine and storage of it in the liver. Also helpful in combating infections since vitamin C in the tissues is depleted when infections occur.

Good sources: Citrus fruits, strawberries, tomatoes, cantaloupe, sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, green and sweet red peppers, Brussels sprouts, leafy greens, other fresh fruits and vegetables.

Deficiency symptoms: Bleeding gums, delayed healing of burns and wounds, joint pains, lack of energy and endurance, and in prolonged deficiency, hemorrhaging of the small blood vessels underneath the skin causing many small red spots to appear on the skin.

VITAMIN D
Fat-soluble

Necessary for: Enabling the intestines to absorb calcium and phosphorus into the system; therefore vitamin D is connected with good bone and cartilage formation. Because young children’s bones are growing so quickly, vitamin D is especially necessary in preventing rickets, a disease in which the bones become soft due to their inability to absorb the calcium and phosphorus.

Good sources: Sunshine on the skin, alfalfa sprouts, milk and butter. Vitamin D is called the “sunshine vitamin” because it is naturally formed by sunlight on the oily substance in the skin. The skin has a controlling mechanism which prevents too much of the vitamin from being formed; and in colder climates where there is little sunshine, the capacity of the skin to form vitamin D is high.

Deficiency symptoms: Rickets in children, characterized by bowed legs due to the soft bones bending under the weight of the body; bead-like protrusions on the ribs. Osteomalacia in adults (loss of calcium from the bones), symptomized by pain and tenderness in the bones and pressure in the pelvis and lower back and legs; slow healing of fractures.

VITAMIN E
(Alpha-, beta-, gamma-, delta-tocopherol)
(Fat-soluble)

Necessary for: Preventing oxidation and consequent destruction of vitamin A and red blood cell membranes, and keeps the polyunsaturated fats in the body from going rancid and decomposing. Most research and speculation has gone on about vitamin E but its function in the body is still not clear, although the vitamin has had much PR in false claims given to it.

Good sources: Oils and the germs of grains, such as wheat germ oil and wheat germ; sunflower, walnut, and other oils; green leafy vegetables, alfalfa sprouts; legumes, nuts (especially almonds, walnuts, filberts, and sunflower seeds), wild blackberries.

Deficiency symptoms: So far the only deficiency symptoms connected with a lack of vitamin E in humans is anemia caused by the rupture of red blood cells. In animals, a lack of vitamin D has been observed to cause paralysis, muscle degeneration, degeneration of sexual organs, and stability. Vitamin E it’s a fat-soluble vitamin, which is stored in fatty tissues of the body.

VITAMIN K
Fat-soluble

Necessary for: Normal clotting of blood.

Good sources: Leafy green vegetables, soybeans and soybean oil, alfalfa sprouts.

Deficiency symptoms: Because this vitamin is partly synthesized by the body, deficiencies are said to be rare except occasionally in newborn infants or people with abnormal medical problems. In these cases, blood clotting is slowed or may not form, endangering a person’s life.

The following four vitamins are part of the B. vitamin group:

BIOTIN
Water-soluble

Necessary for: Work involved in the metabolism of fat and protein; also required for releasing energy from glucose sugar and for the synthesis of certain amino and other acids.

Good sources: Nutritional yeast, cauliflower, nuts, legumes. Also made by bacteria in the intestine and absorbed by the body.

Deficiency symptoms: Eczema of face and body, hair loss, and paralysis. Because biotin is made in the body, deficiencies are said to be rare. The only possibility of deficiency comes if someone eats raw egg whites, which contain a substance that prevents biotin from getting into the bloodstream.

CHOLINE
(Water-soluble)

Necessary for: Transport and metabolism of fats in the body.

Good sources: Lecithin (if not organic there’s a strong likelihood of its being a GMO), yeast, whole grains, legumes, wheat germ, vegetables.

Deficiency symptoms: Very little is known about this vitamin, but deficiency is said to be unlikely because the body is able to make it with the help of two other B vitamins and an amino acid.

FOLACIN
(Folic Acid)
Water-soluble

Necessary for: Blood cell formation; the metabolism of proteins and nucleic acids (substances formed by each cell for transfer of hereditary characteristics from one generation of cells to another as the body grows).

Good sources: Leafy green vegetables and other vegetables such as potatoes, beets, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and broccoli; legumes, whole grains, nutritional yeast, and fruits, especially oranges, cantaloupe, avocados, strawberries, and bananas.

Deficiency symptoms: Smooth red tongue, gastrointestinal disturbances, diarrhea, reduction in the number and enlargement of the red blood cells, known as macrocytic anemia.

PANTOTHENIC ACID
Water-soluble

Necessary for: Metabolism of carbohydrates, as well as fats and proteins; involved in the synthesis of cholesterol, steroid hormones and hemoglobin, which is the iron-containing substance in the red blood cells. Found in every cell of living tissues.

Good sources: Nutritional yeast, peanuts, whole grains, potatoes, tomatoes, peas, broccoli, soybeans and other legumes, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, yellow corn.

Deficiency symptoms: Unobserved in humans and is said to be unlikely to occur except possibly in connection with other nutritional deficiencies. Bacteria in the intestines make an unknown quantity, so nutrition scientists have been unable to determine how much our bodies need.

NOTE:

Where reference is made to milk products, we are not talking about the bovine growth hormone, pesticide and antibiotic, homogenized and pasteurized cooked to 200 -500 degrees crap loaded with pus that has absolutely no nutritional value.

Aloha!

Sources:
www.nutritional-supplements-information.com
www.emedicinehealth.com
www.nutrition.gov

Hesh Goldstein
When I was a kid, if I were told that I'd be writing a book about diet and nutrition when I was older, let alone having been doing a health related radio show for over 36 years, I would've thought that whoever told me that was out of their mind. Living in Newark, New Jersey, my parents and I consumed anything and everything that had a face or a mother except for dead, rotting, pig bodies, although we did eat bacon (as if all the other decomposing flesh bodies were somehow miraculously clean). Going through high school and college it was no different. In fact, my dietary change did not come until I was in my 30's.

Just to put things in perspective, after I graduated from Weequahic High School and before going to Seton Hall University, I had a part-time job working for a butcher. I was the delivery guy and occasionally had to go to the slaughterhouse to pick up products for the store. Needless to say, I had no consciousness nor awareness, as change never came then despite the horrors I witnessed on an almost daily basis.

After graduating with a degree in accounting from Seton Hall, I eventually got married and moved to a town called Livingston. Livingston was basically a yuppie community where everyone was judged by the neighborhood they lived in and their income. To say it was a "plastic" community would be an understatement.

Livingston and the shallowness finally got to me. I told my wife I was fed up and wanted to move. She made it clear she had to be near her friends and New York City. I finally got my act together and split for Colorado.

I was living with a lady in Aspen at the end of 1974, when one day she said, " let's become vegetarians". I have no idea what possessed me to say it, but I said, "okay"! At that point I went to the freezer and took out about $100 worth of frozen, dead body parts and gave them to a welfare mother who lived behind us. Well, everything was great for about a week or so, and then the chick split with another guy.

So here I was, a vegetarian for a couple weeks, not really knowing what to do, how to cook, or basically how to prepare anything. For about a month, I was getting by on carrot sticks, celery sticks, and yogurt. Fortunately, when I went vegan in 1990, it was a simple and natural progression. Anyway, as I walked around Aspen town, I noticed a little vegetarian restaurant called, "The Little Kitchen".

Let me back up just a little bit. It was April of 1975, the snow was melting and the runoff of Ajax Mountain filled the streets full of knee-deep mud. Now, Aspen was great to ski in, but was a bummer to walk in when the snow was melting.

I was ready to call it quits and I needed a warmer place. I'll elaborate on that in a minute.

But right now, back to "The Little Kitchen". Knowing that I was going to leave Aspen and basically a new vegetarian, I needed help. So, I cruised into the restaurant and told them my plight and asked them if they would teach me how to cook. I told them in return I would wash dishes and empty their trash. They then asked me what I did for a living and I told them I was an accountant.

The owner said to me, "Let's make a deal. You do our tax return and we'll feed you as well". So for the next couple of weeks I was doing their tax return, washing their dishes, emptying the trash, and learning as much as I could.

But, like I said, the mud was getting to me. So I picked up a travel book written by a guy named Foder. The name of the book was, "Hawaii". Looking through the book I noticed that in Lahaina, on Maui, there was a little vegetarian restaurant called," Mr. Natural's". I decided right then and there that I would go to Lahaina and work at "Mr. Natural's." To make a long story short, that's exactly what happened.

So, I'm working at "Mr. Natural's" and learning everything I can about my new dietary lifestyle - it was great. Every afternoon we would close for lunch at about 1 PM and go to the Sheraton Hotel in Ka'anapali and play volleyball, while somebody stayed behind to prepare dinner.

Since I was the new guy, and didn't really know how to cook, I never thought that I would be asked to stay behind to cook dinner. Well, one afternoon, that's exactly what happened; it was my turn. That posed a problem for me because I was at the point where I finally knew how to boil water.

I was desperate, clueless and basically up the creek without a paddle. Fortunately, there was a friend of mine sitting in the gazebo at the restaurant and I asked him if he knew how to cook. He said the only thing he knew how to cook was enchiladas. He said that his enchiladas were bean-less and dairy-less. I told him that I had no idea what an enchilada was or what he was talking about, but I needed him to show me because it was my turn to do the evening meal.

Well, the guys came back from playing volleyball and I'm asked what was for dinner. I told them enchiladas; the owner wasn't thrilled. I told him that mine were bean-less and dairy-less. When he tried the enchilada he said it was incredible. Being the humble guy that I was, I smiled and said, "You expected anything less"? It apparently was so good that it was the only item on the menu that we served twice a week. In fact, after about a week, we were selling five dozen every night we had them on the menu and people would walk around Lahaina broadcasting, 'enchilada's at "Natural's" tonight'. I never had to cook anything else.

A year later the restaurant closed, and somehow I gravitated to a little health food store in Wailuku. I never told anyone I was an accountant and basically relegated myself to being the truck driver. The guys who were running the health food store had friends in similar businesses and farms on many of the islands. I told them that if they could organize and form one company they could probably lock in the State. That's when they found out I was an accountant and "Down to Earth" was born. "Down to Earth" became the largest natural food store chain in the islands, and I was their Chief Financial Officer and co-manager of their biggest store for 13 years.

In 1981, I started to do a weekly radio show to try and expose people to a vegetarian diet and get them away from killing innocent creatures. I still do that show today. I pay for my own airtime and have no sponsors to not compromise my honesty. One bit of a hassle was the fact that I was forced to get a Masters Degree in Nutrition to shut up all the MD's that would call in asking for my credentials.

My doing this radio show enabled me, through endless research, to see the corruption that existed within the big food industries, the big pharmaceutical companies, the biotech industries and the government agencies. This information, unconscionable as it is, enabled me to realize how broken our health system is. This will be covered more in depth in the Introduction and throughout the book and when you finish the book you will see this clearly and it will hopefully inspire you to make changes.

I left Down to Earth in 1989, got nationally certified as a sports injury massage therapist and started traveling the world with a bunch of guys that were making a martial arts movie. After doing that for about four years I finally made it back to Honolulu and got a job as a massage therapist at the Honolulu Club, one of Hawaii's premier fitness clubs. It was there I met the love of my life who I have been with since 1998. She made me an offer I couldn't refuse. She said," If you want to be with me you've got to stop working on naked women". So, I went back into accounting and was the Chief Financial Officer of a large construction company for many years.

Going back to my Newark days when I was an infant, I had no idea what a "chicken" or "egg" or "fish" or "pig" or "cow" was. My dietary blueprint was thrust upon me by my parents as theirs was thrust upon them by their parents. It was by the grace of God that I was able to put things in their proper perspective and improve my health and elevate my consciousness.

The road that I started walking down in 1975 has finally led me to the point of writing my book, “A Sane Diet For An Insane World”. Hopefully, the information contained herein will be enlightening, motivating, and inspiring to encourage you to make different choices. Doing what we do out of conditioning is not always the best course to follow. I am hoping that by the grace of the many friends and personalities I have encountered along my path, you will have a better perspective of what road is the best road for you to travel on, not only for your health but your consciousness as well.

Last but not least: after being vaccinated as a kid I developed asthma, which plagued me all of my life. In 2007 I got exposed to the organic sulfur crystals, which got rid of my asthma in 3 days and has not come back in over 10 years. That, being the tip of the iceberg, has helped people reverse stage 4 cancers, autism, joint pain, blood pressure problems, migraine headaches, erectile dysfunction, gingivitis, and more. Also, because of the detoxification effects by the release of oxygen that permeates and heals all the cells in the body, it removes parasites, radiation, fluoride, free radicals, and all the other crap that is thrust upon us in the environment by Big Business.

For more, please view www.healthtalkhawaii.com and www.asanediet.com.

Namaste!