Wednesday, October 14, 2009

How to Find the Perfect Vitamin Supplement For Your Unique Body

Consumers are being bombarded with advertising, medical studies and word-of-mouth wisdom about vitamins and mineral supplements. Almost every week a new scientific study proclaims the virtues of vitamin this or that.

RDAs are "Grossly Oversimplified" For Vitamins and Supplements

RDA's (Recommended Daily Allowance) are also used to set standards in many programs. But many nutritional scientists consider them to be out of sync with the needs of many Americans. The RDA takes the stand of the mythical "average" that was created from a lot of scientific and mathematical "averages" computed from a group of people somewhere on the planet. Averages have become grossly oversimplified, where fixed but arbitrary set points have been established for a variety of factors.

So, many consumers today take vitamins and minerals in amounts that far exceed the recommended doses to prevent chronic illnesses, like heart disease, and they rarely have reliable sources for direction.

Can You Really Get The Nutrition You Need Without Taking A Vitamin or Supplement?

The fact is food alone cannot supply some nutrients in amounts sufficient to prevent disease. For example, vitamin E at levels considerably higher than the current RDA has been linked by a number of researchers with the prevention of heart disease and improved immune function.

Calcium-fortified orange juice, Vitamin-enhanced waters, Fortified cereals and energy bars. Everywhere you turn, new products are showing up on supermarket shelves touting added vitamins and minerals.

If you already take a multi-vitamin and mineral tablet, add a calcium or vitamin E supplement on top of that, and eat a few fortified food products along with a fairly healthy diet, you are now out of balance with too many vitamins and minerals.

Is More Really Better When It Comes To Taking Vitamins and Supplements?

Americans tend to think that more is better, or that if it's natural, it can't harm you, and that is particularly true when it comes to vitamins and minerals. But that's not always the case. Some people habitually overdo it with vitamins and minerals and suffer the consequences.

Serious Consequences For Over Doing Vitamins and Supplements

Here are a few examples. Most people think if they take too many water soluble vitamins (like B vitamins and vitamin C) they will just get washed out in the urine, this is true, but it can put extra stress on the kidneys and liver. A more serious problem with water soluble vitamin B6, is that, over time, it can cause nerve damage if taken in excessive amounts.

Vitamin C is another that people tend to take in large quantities, mainly in the form of supplements, and often in an attempt to stave off colds and illness. But at 2,000 milligrams or greater, it can cause digestive upset, and people don't typically associate stomach upset with the fact that they are taking vitamin C. Vitamin C enhances iron absorption and research has shown excess amounts may increase the risk of liver cancer and heart disease in people with iron overload.

Here Comes The Vitamin Deficiency

By continuing to follow established dietary patterns, an individual or an entire family soon develops long term deficiencies and excesses. Most people repeat basically the same diet over months and years, often extending to generations.

The balanced diet one size fits all is a myth. There is only biochemical individual balanced diets. So we are back to genetics. Our genes determine the chromosomes, and the latter are responsible for the presence and efficiency of the body's enzyme systems. If the enzymes do not function, one will develop a diagnosable disease, usually one that is lurking in the family background. If we could discover the weak enzyme then we could be more specific in the application of the appropriate vitamin or mineral to make that enzyme function more efficiently.

An Easy CURE to the Vitamin and Supplement Debate: It's Based On Person's Smell & Taste

The olfactory or smelling sense helps to indicate deficiencies or excesses. John L. Kitkoski spent considerable time and effort to find the key to a spectrum for dietary supplementation selection system and a methodology following human olfactory (smell). When you open a bottle of smell sensitive dietary supplement, what you smell is what is on the label. What you smell is what you get. Many people like the smell of a particular vitamin or mineral and yet they have no symptoms suggesting a deficiency. It suggests, however, that some problem is on its way.

As biochemical individuals there is no "one symptom means one deficiency" method. Illness is not a particular vitamin or mineral deficiency but a complex relationship between ratios.

The Perfect Vitamin and Supplement Program On Earth!

Life Balances is the only self directed health program in America today. The program was built around the biochemical individual.

Many people are concerned about the source of their vitamins. There are really a few things that the best vitamin supplement has. The first is that the vitamin supplement is volatile, which means its made so that it is broken down correctly in the body. The second is that the vitamin supplement is smell sensitive. Unfortunately, no other vitamin supplement on the market is smell sensitive.

Life Balances patented smell sensitive vitamins (available at HealthtoHeart.com) ensure that each person can correctly guide themselves through their nutritional needs by smell and that each vitamin is volatile, so it is correctly absorbed. They have the two most important vitamin benefits of any vitamin supplement on the market.

Once you discover them, you'll never have to guess which vitamins and supplements you need.

All Types of Vitamins

Vitamins (combination of two words: Vital Amines) are the complex organic substance essential in small quantities to the metabolism (nutrition) in most animals. These are found in minute quantities in food, in some cases are produced by the body, and are also produced synthetically. The human body needs them to work properly, so that we can grow and develop just like we should. Their deficiency results in many serious disorders.

Vitamins are divided into two major groups: the 'fat-soluble vitamins' designated as vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K, and the 'water-soluble vitamins' which include vitamin C and the group of molecules referred to as the vitamin B complex. Each of them has its own special role in the development of human body.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A, a fat-soluble vitamin, plays a really big part in eyesight and helps us to see in dim light and also at night. Vitamin A is also involved in the formation and maintenance of healthy skin, hair, and mucous membranes. In addition, it is necessary for proper bone growth, tooth development, reproduction and for the development of epithelial cells (that line any opening to the body e.g.; nose, throat, lungs, mouth, stomach, intestines and urinary tract). Vitamin A can be found in eggs, milk, carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, fish oil, liver (pork, lamb, chicken, turkey or beef), butter, broccoli, apricots, nectarines, cantaloupe, and orange or yellow vegetables or fruits. The deficiency of vitamin A can cause two major disorders like: night blindness and drying of skin.

Vitamin B

Vitamin B itself is a complex of different vitamins like: B1, B2, B6, B12, niacin, folic acid, biotin and pantothenic acid. These B vitamins are very important in metabolic activity and in facilitating the red blood cell (which carry oxygen throughout your body). They also help your body make protein and energy.

The sources of vitamin B are leafy green vegetables seafood, beans, peas, citrus fruits, whole grains (such as wheat and oats), poultry, meats, eggs and dairy products (like milk and yogurt). Some bacteria in our large intestine also prepare some type of B-vitamins. The deficiency of vitamin B can cause the disease "Beri Beri", cracked lips, weak muscles, malformation of red blood cells, affects normal growth and disturbs the nervous system.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C or ascorbic acid is a water-soluble, antioxidant vitamin that is vital to the production of collagen, a protein that gives structure to bones, cartilage, muscle, and blood vessels. It is important for keeping body tissues, such as gums and muscles in good shape and it helps in quick healing of wounds. In addition, it helps protecting the fat-soluble vitamins A and E as well as fatty acids from oxidation.

The vitamin C can be found in citrus fruits (like lemon & orange), cantaloupe, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage and in other fresh fruits and vegetables. The deficiency of vitamin C affects the healthy skin; poor wound healing and can lead to a disease called "Scurvy" which causes bleeding in gums, easy bruising, bumps of coiled hair on the arms and legs, pain in the joints, muscle wasting, and many other problems.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that regulates the formation of bone and the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the intestine. It helps to control the movement of calcium between bone and blood, and vice versa. It is this vitamin you need for strong bones and teeth. In addition it helps your body absorb the amount of calcium it needs.

Vitamin D can be found in fish liver oil, egg yolks, milk and other dairy products fortified with vitamin D. It is also produced in our body in the presence of ultra violet light and sunlight.

The deficiency of vitamin D can cause weak bones and bowed legs (in children). And its excess can cause loss of appetite, weight loss, nausea, headache, depression and deposits of calcium in the kidneys.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E, a fat-soluble vitamin, is essential for the inhibition of oxidation in body tissues, formation of red blood cells, and also prevents breakdown of body tissues. It maintains the body tissues and protects the lungs from becoming damaged by polluted air. This vitamin can be found in whole grains (such as wheat and oat), wheat germ, leafy green vegetables, sardines, egg yolks, nuts, bread, cereals and seeds. The deficiency of this vitamin can cause many diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer's disease.