Vitamins

[~jK~]

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Edited June 25, 2010 by ~jK~

[Gerard]

Practice more and you'll need less external stuff. Many ascetics in Asia are bigus or eat one meal a day, as the Buddha prescribed. However this is impractical for a lay person as living detached from the world helps keeping the meridians fully open and as a result the energy exchange with the Universe and the natural environment is optimal. Besided the more you build up your Qi the less food you need, and therefore any kind of supplements.

 

I eat only two meals a day, work full time and train Bagua 6 days a week. No need for vitamins. Drink green tea (leaves) every day as well. But this works for me and not necessarily for others. Just play a bit and see how things go.

[DaoChild]

I have recently had a very good friend that thought she was going blind - the Chinese doctor cured her condition through giving her vitamins.

 

If you think it cannot happen to you - read on.

Simply put - Vegetables, grains and fruits do not have an organism for the manufacture of vitamins - or minerals.

Modern day fertilizers do not supply them either.

 

The farming techniques of today deplete the soil in the first few years of use.

If the soil does not supply these essentials - we do not get them.

 

This is a small introductory excerpt from the webpage - which has much more information in well prepared tables: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/FOODNUT/09312.html designed to mainly give an introduction to the necessity of vitamins.

 

 

Source:

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/FOODNUT/09312.html

Water-Soluble Vitamins

by J. Anderson and L. Young1 (Revised 8/08)

Quick Facts...

B-complex vitamins and vitamin C are water-soluble vitamins that are not stored in the body and must be replaced each day.

These vitamins are easily destroyed or washed out during food storage and preparation.

The B-complex group is found in a variety of foods: cereal grains, meat, poultry, eggs, fish, milk, legumes and fresh vegetables.

Citrus fruits are good sources of vitamin C.

Use of megadoses of vitamins is not recommended.

Vitamins are essential nutrients found in foods. The requirements are small but they perform specific and vital functions essential for maintaining health.

 

The two types of vitamins are classified by the materials in which they will dissolve. Fat-soluble vitamins -- vitamins A, D, E and K -- dissolve in fat before they are absorbed in the blood stream to carry out their functions. Excesses of these vitamins are stored in the liver. Because they are stored, they are not needed every day in the diet.

 

By contrast, water-soluble vitamins dissolve in water and are not stored; they are eliminated in urine. We need a continuous supply of them in our diets. The water-soluble vitamins are the B-complex group and vitamin C.

 

Water-soluble vitamins are easily destroyed or washed out during food storage or preparation. Proper storage and preparation of food can minimize vitamin loss. To reduce vitamin loss, refrigerate fresh produce, keep milk and grains away from strong light, and use the cooking water from vegetables to prepare soups. (See Table 1.)

 

Vitamin B-Complex

Eight of the water-soluble vitamins are known as the B-complex group: thiamin (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), niacin, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin B12, biotin and pantothenic acid. These vitamins are widely distributed in foods. (See Table 2.) Their influence is felt in many parts of the body. They function as coenzymes that help the body obtain energy from food. They also are important for normal appetite, good vision, healthy skin, healthy nervous system and red blood cell formation.

 

Beriberi, pellagra and pernicious anemia are three well-known B-vitamin deficiencies. These diseases are not a problem in the United States, but occasionally they occur when people omit certain foods or overeat certain foods at the expense of others. Alcoholics are especially prone to thiamin deficiency because alcohol replaces food.Vegans will need a B12 supplement.

 

When grains and grain products are refined, essential nutrients lost during processing are put back into these foods through a process called enrichment. Among the nutrients added during the enrichment process are thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, folate and iron. Some examples of enriched grain products are white rice, many breakfast cereals, white flour, breads, and pasta.

 

For some populations, rice is the main dietary staple. When "polishing" rice (removing its outer layers) became popular, thiamin deficiency, or beriberi, increased significantly.

 

In the early 1900s, the most widespread vitamin deficiency disease in the United States was pellagra, or niacin deficiency. At that time, pellagra caused thousands of deaths and many cases of mental and physical illness among the poor in the Southeast. The enrichment of flour, rice, and wheat products helped to eliminate the deficiency problems found in people who depended on these food items for most of their daily calories.

 

Table 3 summarizes the new standards for nutrient recommendations: The Dietary Reference Intake (DRI). The recommendations meet the average daily nutritional needs of all healthy people. To ensure the needs of all in the population, the DRI usually exceeds the requirements for most people. They do not cover requirements for illness and special health disorders.

 

 

Not quite sure where you're getting the information.

 

Plants can't manufacture vitamins and minerals? (If this is what you were saying) you know this is simply untrue.

 

Fertilizers don't supply nutrients? That's the POINT of industrial fertilizers.. they provide farmers with "the big 3" nutrients -- N,P,K and the ratios between those. You are right in saying that modern farming techniques deplete land of nutrients rapidly, and that the overall nutrient levels in lands that have been farmed are quite low compared to more virgin soils.

 

I'm personally anti-vitamin supplements. I don't believe that reductionist science can take one nutrient, supplement a diet, and expect to find the same benefits that you'd get from eating the whole food.

[soaring crane]

You are right in saying that modern farming techniques deplete land of nutrients rapidly,

 

Actually, those methods aren't so modern anymore, are they? People are getting intelligent again, they're rotating crops in ways that specifically regenerate the soil from year to year. At least they are here in Germany and other areas in Europe.

[Marblehead]

Well, I just restocked my vitamin collection today. But, darn it, I didn't see this thread and forgot my B-Complex.

 

I'll get them the next time I go shopping.

 

Peace & Love!

[~jK~]

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Edited June 25, 2010 by ~jK~

[~jK~]

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Edited June 25, 2010 by ~jK~

[Dainin]

Just like the pharmaceutical industry, what it says on the supplement bottle isn't always what's in the bottle. There is substantial variation between the actual contents of what is supposed to be the same amount of the same nutrient, depending on the company...and in some cases extra added toxins. One company that actually measures this is ConsumerLab.com They offer an annual subscription to their reports for $30 (US)(I have no affiliation with them). I agree with those who have stated that whole natural foods should be our primary source of nutrition. Supplements should be just what their name implies.

[Marblehead]

Eating a normal, well-balanced diet will not lead to toxicity in otherwise healthy individuals. However, taking vitamin supplements that contain mega doses of vitamins A, D, E and K may lead to toxicity. Remember, the body only needs small amounts of any vitamin.

 

Yeah, I don't eat properly so I must therefore rely on suppliments. I am very satisfied with the assortment of suppliments I am currently taking. And yes, they have helped me greatly.

 

Peace & Love!

[Mal]

Currently I seem to feel good on these

Cheap enough, easy to get and has a pile of strange stuff in it

[~jK~]

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Edited June 25, 2010 by ~jK~

[Apech]

My mom was given Vit D for back pain (by a normal doctor) - anyone know what that's about?

[~jK~]

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Edited June 25, 2010 by ~jK~

[Marblehead]

Currently I seem to feel good on these

 

Yeah, although I don't buy that particular item most of what I buy is from Nature's Way.

 

Peace & Love!

[Marblehead]

My mom was given Vit D for back pain (by a normal doctor) - anyone know what that's about?

 

Don't know but just this morning I was talking with someone who said their doctor told them to start taking Vit. D.

 

I do know that you can OD on Vit D if you take more than prescrived.

 

Peace & Love!

[Marblehead]

One point that I try to keep clear of though is Iron content. It seems that men don't process the Iron out of the body...

 

I would agree. It is rare that I see a suggestion that a man take an iron suppliment.

 

Peace & Love!

[Apech]

I would agree. It is rare that I see a suggestion that a man take an iron suppliment.

 

Peace & Love!

 

Hi,

 

Found this now ... I'm a bit amazed by the connection:

 

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112633.php

[Marblehead]

Hi,

 

Found this now ... I'm a bit amazed by the connection:

 

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112633.php

 

 

Thanks for that. Now I understand. And I can give support to my friend.

 

Peace & Love!

[~jK~]

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Edited June 25, 2010 by ~jK~

[z00se]

I read that the RDI (recommended dietry intake) amounts of vitamins and minerals are nothing to go by. The vitamin C RDI was set as the minimum amount needed before you got scurvy. The rdi's are nothing to go by if you want optimal health.

[~jK~]

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Edited June 25, 2010 by ~jK~

[Marblehead]

Speaking of Iron - most of our water comes with tremendous amounts of Iron, Copper, Zinc and - in some cases Lead from old pipes.

 

Yeah. My house was built in 1963. The foundation is slab and the iron pipes are under the slab so the can never be replaced. I use a filter for my dringing water.

 

Peace & Love!

[Marblehead]

I read that the RDI (recommended dietry intake) amounts of vitamins and minerals are nothing to go by. The vitamin C RDI was set as the minimum amount needed before you got scurvy. The rdi's are nothing to go by if you want optimal health.

 

Yes. This is an important point, I think.

 

I don't take extra C other than what is in the multiple vitamin cap I take (150% RDI) so that I can use it to ward off colds whenever I get an indication I might be getting a cold. Haven't had a cold for over ten years doing it this way.

 

Peace & Love!

[~jK~]

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Edited June 25, 2010 by ~jK~

[Marblehead]

Filters are good but only catch the particulates to a specific size - dependent on the filter - there is also the disolved portion as well as other combinations:

 

 

Yeah, but considering some of the places I have drank water from during my life I feel good with what I am doing.

 

No, I didn't drink the tap water when I was in Mexico.

 

Peace & Love!