VITAMINS FOR HEALTH

Liquid Vitamins Are Needed In the Common American Diet

Vitamins are necessary for our body to perform many functions in order to maintain proper health. These vitamins are divided into two groups. One group is fat soluble which includes vitamin A, D, E and K where as the other group is water soluble which include Vitamin B and Vitamin C. Vitamins are defined as organic compounds and perform distinct function other then those of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Their deficiency in the body can cause several diseases.

Vitamins are present in our daily diet. The reason for giving good quantity of vitamins daily is that our body cannot develop certain important vitamins required for body functioning. Sometimes due to a disease or a loss of function the body may require more intakes of vitamins. Other then food, vitamins are present in the market as dietary pills in solid form and as liquid vitamins.

Liquid Vitamins

Liquid vitamins contain a unique multivitamins formula with an added benefit that all the content of this multivitamin supplements is suspended in liquid. This new method of liquid vitamin is now becoming very popular.

The liquid vitamins are easier to digest and take instead of swallowing a pill. Since these vitamins are already in a liquid form our stomach doesn't need to digest them first to produce a soluble form. Hence the liquid vitamins are also more readily absorbed in the intestines.

Does Our Body Produce Vitamins?

Our bodies cannot synthesize these complex compounds and even if it does the quantity produced is insufficient for meeting the body requirements. Secondly when we are taking diet, although we are getting vitamins, but very important water soluble vitamins are passed out of our body through urine and we need to get a regular intake. This is a reason why a good excellent liquid vitamin will help in providing the necessary amounts.

Vitamin Deficiencies

Liquid Vitamin contains necessary vitamins and minerals required for our best performance. In case you are deficient in these vitamins you will get sick. In case of vitamin deficiency your body can get attacked by foreign bodies. Many of these vitamins exhibit antioxidant properties which mean that they react with the free radicals and destroy them. If these free radicals increase in number they can be very harmful and can cause many serious diseases such as cancers and heart diseases.

Vitamin C deficiency can cause damage to your skin and reduction in blood vessel flexibility. Several other Vitamins B types are required for reducing the risk of homocysteine. A little quantity of daily liquid vitamin, is therefore, good to help your body maintain the required vitamin levels.

Benefits of Liquid Vitamin

Benefits of Liquid Vitamins contain many minerals and vitamins that they help in providing a healthier lifestyle. Vegans, children and people eating unbalanced diet reap excellent results by using multivitamins in their daily diet. Women who are in their first three months of pregnancy have to take folic acid for better health of their babies. CoQ10 is very helpful in reducing the risk of heart diseases.

Vitamin C and E help in combination to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Vitamin E also helps collagen production, assisting white blood cells to fight off many diseases, healthier skin, formation of bones, teeth, capillaries and helps in protection of cell membranes and early healing of wounds. Many other vitamins and minerals present in liquid vitamins are very beneficial for a healthy life.

Types of Liquid Vitamins

In the market several types of liquid vitamins are present out of which some very good ones are listed below.

Liquid life joint care with collagen and liquid life ultra joint care are liquid vitamins that contains all necessary vitamins and minerals along with necessary elements such as Collagen, Chondroitin, MSM, Glucosamine, that help in joint problems.

Liquid life cherry berry, liquid life mango, liquid life peach supreme and liquid life complete nutrition are liquid vitamins and are a complete multivitamin supplement. 
Liquid life male vitality contains essential vitamins and minerals for proper sexual and physical health of men. A very good supplement liquid vitamin for men's health is liquid life male basic multiple.

Oxy-gen cherry berry is a very good liquid vitamin supplement that contains oxygen and Alovera mix. This supplement is very good for athletes who lack oxygen during hard training or people who due to some disease have lesser oxygen in their blood. Other such supplements include Oxy-gen cranapple, Oxy-gen lemon lime and oxy-gen capsules.

Liquid Multivitamins are Superior

Two types of multivitamin supplements are available in the market. One is the Liquid vitamins and the other is the solid vitamins in the form of pills.

Liquid Vitamins are somewhat superior to the solid vitamins. There are many reasons for it. Many vitamins and minerals are bad in taste. Some studies reveal that the vitamins in solid form get absorbed in the blood up to 40-50 percent whereas if you take liquid vitamin this percentage can increases up to 90 percent. Some studies also suggest that any sort of vitamins that a person takes get absorbed in the first 10 inches of human intestine. And liquidity of the supplement helps it gets absorbed quickly. However the pills also get transformed into a liquid form and due to that reason it also gets absorbed in the blood but the stomach doesn't need to digest the liquid form.

Liquid vitamins have an added advantage over pills and capsules. In pills the vitamins are compression by using additives and molecules to fill in the tablet and in capsules which makes it hard for the stomach to digest it.

For older people and children liquid vitamins is the best option. The reason behind this is that the digestive enzymes of both of these age groups are either weak or immature which makes normal pill form vitamins to digest rather uncomfortably.

A liquid supplement is best for those people who are unable to take pills. For example, people who have problems of gastric bypass cannot swallow pills easily and the liquid vitamins are best option.

Vitamins are organic compounds that are essential for normal metabolic functions. These functions include using proteins to repair injured tissue and converting fats and carbohydrates into energy. They do not supply the body with either energy or calories directly. Because vitamins (with the exception of Vitamin D) can not be synthesized by our body, they must be consumed through diet to prevent vitamin deficiency disorders.

There are a total of 13 vitamins, which are divided into two categories: fat-soluble and water-soluble. Water-soluble vitamins, which include Vitamin C and B-complex group, can not be stored in the body. They constantly need to be replenished since they are quickly eliminated through urine. Fat-soluble, on the other hand, can be stored temporarily in the liver and fatty tissues.

History of Vitamins

Long before discovery of vitamins, many cultures were aware that certain foods had great health benefits on our body. During the times of the ancient Egyptians, they would feed their patients liver to cure night blindness. Recent evidence illustrates that night blindness is caused by Vitamin A deficiency.

From the 18th century, many doctors and scientists made profound discoveries on the nature and benefit of vitamins.

·         In 1747, Scottish naval surgeon Dr. James Lind discovered that a nutrient (now known as Vitamin C) found in citrus foods, helped prevent scurvy

·         In 1905, Dr. William Fletcher discovered that if you removed certain nutrients (now known as vitamins) from food, disease would occur. He made this observation while researching the causes of beriberi in Southeast Asia. Dr. Fletcher concluded that the husk of unpolished rice, contained "special factors" that prevented beriberi

·         In 1912, Polish scientist Casimir Funk, named the nutritional parts of our food, a "vitamine", "vita" meaning life, " amine " a molecule found in thiamine He later concluded that if we were deficient in certain vitamins, associated diseases could occur.

Functions

·         Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps us see in the dark. It is known as retinol because it produces pigments found in the retina of the eye. Vitamin A helps promote the health and growth of all cells and tissues found in our body. It assists in the formation and maintenance of healthy teeth, skin, tissues, and mucous membranes.

·         Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is found in certain foods and can be produced by our body after exposure to UV rays from sunlight. This vitamin aids in the absorption of calcium and phosphorus and helps deposit these minerals in teeth and bones. By promoting calcium absorption, vitamin D helps to form and maintain strong bones. Studies suggest that vitamin D also helps maintain a healthy immune system and helps regulate cell growth and differentiation.

·         Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin and powerful antioxidant that protects cellular tissues from the damaging effects of free-radicals. Free radicals are potentially harmful by-products of energy metabolism, which could contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Research has shown that Vitamin E may help prevent specific cancers such as colon, breast, and prostate. In addition, recent studies have demonstrated that Vitamin E boosts the immune system, improves brain function, and helps in the formation of red blood cells. It has been observed that Vitamin E helps reduce the risk of developing various vision disorders, such as cataracts or macular degeneration.

·          

·         Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin that is commonly known as the "clotting" vitamin. This vitamin's primary responsibility is to regulate normal blood clotting (through the formation of prothrombin). Blood clotting occurs instantaneously when there is an injury or tear to any blood vessel. It regulates this process from helping the body transport calcium. Vitamin K participates in the synthesis of several proteins that are necessary for the functions such as coagulation and anticoagulation. Vitamin K, by preventing the hardening of arteries, can reduce occurrence of heart disease and heart failure.

·         Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that affects the body in many different ways. It is required for the synthesis of collagen, an important protein used to create blood vessels, scar tissue, skin, tendons, and ligaments. Vitamin C is necessary for the repair and maintenance of these parts and helps heal wounds. Vitamin C is actively involved in the formation of norepiephrine, a neurotransmitter that is critical in brain function. Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant, in small amounts in can combat the damage created by free radicals, which are negative by-products of metabolic activity. The accumulation of these free radicals has been associated to the aging process. Studies over time have shown that free radicals contribute to the development of ailments such as heart disease, macular degeneration, and cancer.

·         Thiamin, a water-soluble B-complex vitamin, and helps the body to create energy by breaking down carbohydrates and fats. Thiamine, also known as Vitamin B1 is essential for the normal growth and development, it helps to main proper functioning of the heart, nervous, and digestive systems. Vitamin B1 helps maintain proper functioning digestive, nervous, cardiovascular systems. It can be stored in muscle tissue temporarily; depletion can occur as quickly as within 14 days.

·         Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) is a water soluble vitamin that helps the body produce energy through the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats. It also helps convert tryptophan (an essential amino acid) into niacin (another B vitamin) and activates vitamin B6. Riboflavin also aids the body's antioxidant system to protect against free-radical damage. It is vital for the body's various systems such as nervous, reproductive, and immune system.

·         Niacin is a water-soluble, B-complex vitamin that plays an important role in energy metabolism, by converting carbohydrates and fats. It also helps the body to remove harmful toxins, to produce steroid hormones, and to repair DNA. Vitamin B3 plays an important role in our digestive tract by maintaining smooth muscle tone. Studies have shown that niacin is effective at reducing cholesterol-levels and improving cardiovascular circulation.

·         Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid) is a water-soluble B-complex vitamin. It, like other members of the B-complex family, helps metabolize fats, proteins, and carbohydrates to produce and release energy. It is common known as the "anti-stress vitamin", by supporting the adrenal gland in the release a stress hormone, cortisol. Pantothenic acid, helps the adrenal gland produce other important hormones, which aid the body to fight allergies and regulate metabolism. It is, also, very important in stimulating the immune system to produce more antibodies.

·         Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) is a water-soluble that helps produce proteins, which then create cell bodies. It helps convert tryptophan (an essential amino acid) into Niacin (Vitamin B3) and Serotonin, a biological neurotransmitter. Vitamin B6 helps the immune system by increasing WBC production to fight infection. The body needs Vitamin B6, to produce hemoglobin. Hemoglobin, a major component of red blood cells, bind to oxygen carrying it to all body tissues. It also increases the amount of oxygen carried by hemoglobin. Thus, vitamin B6 deficiency can result in a form of anemia. It also helps maintain blood glucose levels within normal range. When your glucose level is low, your body requires vitamin B6 to convert stored carbohydrates into glucose to maintain normal blood sugar levels. Recent studies have shown that vitamin B6 decreases homocysteine levels, which has been to heart disease.

·         Folate is a water-soluble vitamin that plays an important role in DNA and RNA production, which produce new cell bodies. Folate is required for DNA replication and can prevent change in DNA that may lead to cancer.. It is actively involved in rapid cell division and growth, during times of infancy and pregnancy. With the aid of vitamin B12, folate forms hemoglobin, found in red blood cells allowing effective oxygen transportation to surrounding body tissues. Folate plays a role in reducing homocysteine levels in blood.

·         Vitamin B12 is a water soluble vitamin that is important in the production of red blood cells and healthy nerve cells. It is required in DNA and RNA replication. Vitamin B12, with the help of vitamin B6 and folate, control the body's homocysteine levels. Excess amounts of homocysteine are associated with increased risks of heart disease and stroke. Similar to other water-soluble vitamins, vitamin B12 plays an important role in cell division and growth. It also increases our energy levels by metabolizing fats and carbohydrates. Vitamin B12 enters the body by binding to protein found in food. During digestion, hydrochloric acid releases vitamin B12 from the protein. After being released, vitamin B12 combines with a substance called instrinsic factor(IF). This complex is now capable of being absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract.

·         Biotin is a water-soluble vitamin, generally classified as a B-complex vitamin. Like other B vitamins, it helps body cells to produce energy. It helps metabolize fats, proteins (amino acids) and carbohydrates in food. It is important in cell growth, the production of fatty acids, maintains a steady blood sugar levels, and strengthen hair and nails. It plays a role in the citric acid cycle, a process where biochemical energy in created during aerobic respiration. It also plays a role in the transfer of carbon dioxide found in the body. Preliminary studies show that biotin may help improve sugar control in those with diabetes, particularly Type 2 diabetes.

Vilash Reddy is president of Doc1Vitamins.com [http://www.doc1vitamins.com]. This comprehensive nutritional website features physician developed, highly effective vitamins and nutritional supplements. It also contains a unique , frequently updated nutritional blog [http://www.doc1vitamins.com/blog]

John Cannell, MD, Executive Director of The Vitamin D Council, reports on the Vitamin D Conference in Victoria.

The Vitamin D Conference just finished in Victoria was nothing short of spectacular. On the bus into Victoria, I met a representative from the National Cancer Institute whose job was simple: her bosses at the NIH wanted to know if they should fund the flood of grant requests about vitamin D. Given the quality of the papers presented, I can't imagine her answer was anything but yes.

Dr. Tony Norman and Dr. Roger Bouillon, the conference organizers, had to choose from over 300 submissions from scientists around the world. The venerable Dr. Bouillon did not try to back off his recent widely quoted warning that more than a billion people in the world are vitamin D deficient. Both men did a great job balancing presentations on vitamin D nutrition, vitamin D basic science, and the patentable vitamin D analogs sought by drug companies. Of course, I thought more time should have been devoted to vitamin D nutrition but Dr. Norman pointed out that more time was devoted to vitamin D nutrition than ever before. Like Dr. Norman, I am unable to comment on all the presentations that merited it, or this newsletter would be 50 pages long.

Dr. Barbara Gilchrest, who fired Dr. Michael Holick from one of his professorships several years ago after Holick wrote a book saying God knew what she was doing when she created sunlight, gave the Plenary Lecture. Wisely, Dr. Gilchrest overwhelmed the audience with graphic pictures of invasive skin cancer to support her argument that sunlight is evil. Of course, it's harder to show pictures of invasive colon cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and the 15 other internal cancers caused by sunlight deprivation.

However, Dr. Gilchrest is changing her mind. George Bernard Shaw once said, "Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds, cannot change anything." Dr. Gilchrest is changing her mind - not about the evils of sunlight - about vitamin D. She is in the process of admitting that this miraculous substance has benefits beyond bone.

Two years ago, she dismissed any concerns about vitamin D with a "take a multivitamin if you are concerned." Now she believes the Food and Nutrition Board needs to consider raising both the Adequate Intake recommendations (how much one should take every day) as well as the Upper Level (the amount one can take on your own, without being under a doctor's care, and without fear of toxicity). My compliments to Dr. Gilchrest.

Dr. Heike Bischoff-Ferrari did a wonderful job, not just presenting her data that optimal vitamin D blood levels need to be at least 40 ng/ml, but for presenting Dr. Ed Giovannucci's data (who had to cancel for personal reasons). Dr. Bischoff-Ferrari reminded us that periodontal disease in inversely related to vitamin D blood levels. She also reminded us that there is strong scientific evidence that vitamin D improves neuromuscular performance in older people.

Dr. Bischoff-Ferrari then presented Dr. Giovannucci's data that one reduces your risk of all cancers about 17% for every 10 ng/ml of vitamin D in your blood. For cancer of the digestive system, the risk reduction is 43%. His data indicates all Americans should be taking about 2,000 IU per day and some Americans need even more to minimize cancer risk. No one know where the curve flattens out; that is, no one knows how much further cancer reduction one gets from 20, 30, or 40 ng/ml incremental increases in blood levels.

Dr. Robert Heaney presented by video hookup and made his quiet but powerful case that about 75% of American women are vitamin D deficient (levels less than 35 ng/ml), that about 3,000 units a day are needed to bring 95 % of the population out of the deficient range, and that 10,000 units a day is the safe upper limit. (This does not mean you should take 10,000 units per day, it means scientists should be able to study 10,000 unit daily doses without the bureaucratic difficulty they now encounter).

Dr. Kimball, working with Dr. Reinhold Vieth, presented data that children (age 10 -17) only increased their average blood level by 11 ng/ml when given 14,000 units per week for eight weeks and that such dosing was safe.

Dr. Hollis presented evidence in Victoria that levels of at least 40 ng/ml are required to normalize the enzyme kinetics of vitamin D. [When I say vitamin D blood levels, I'm referring to 25(OH)D levels; Bruce is studying actual vitamin D levels (cholecalciferol) as well as 25(OH)D levels]. Dr. Hollis continues giving pregnant and lactating South Carolina women about 4,000 to 6,000 units a day in an ongoing study. We predict easier pregnancies and less depression in the moms - lower prenatal and perinatal mortality, fewer birth defects, fewer infections, less diabetes, less psychiatric illness, less asthma, stronger bones, and higher IQs in the children.

Dr. Hathcock did a great job reviewing the evidence that doses below 10,000 units per day have never been shown to be toxic and that 10,000, not 2,000, units per day should be the Upper Limit. He, like so many others, urged the Food and Nutrition Board to revise their outdated recommendations. Moreover, I understand from knowledgeable people at the conference that the Food and Nutrition Board is planning to do just that!

Dr. Dixon presented fascinating evidence that high vitamin D blood levels prevent sunburn! Of course, it makes sense. When vitamin D levels are low, the skin stays as white as it can to make as much vitamin D as it can, just in case you ignore Dr. Gilchrest's advice. When vitamin D levels are high, the skin rapidly tans to prevent excessive vitamin D skin production. A number of people have emailed me that observation: now that their levels are high, they tan very quickly. I've noticed the same thing.

Dr. Marie Demay presented her basic science research that vitamin D is involved in hair follicles. I loved her talk although she's a scientist and I'm a psychiatrist so I didn't understand much of what she said. However, I've always thought that vitamin D will really take off once science shows it's involved in any of three things: sex, athletic performance, or hair growth. In Victoria, we saw evidence for neuromuscular (athletic) performance and hair growth.

Dr. Cedric Garland recounted how, 26 years ago, he and his brother Frank first thought about the relationship between vitamin D and colon cancer. The brothers, together with colleague Ed Gorham, were the first to provide epidemiological evidence that vitamin D deficiency is involved in numerous cancers. Their seminal 1980 paper is going to be reprinted, a well-deserved honour. (Int J Epidemiol. 1980 Sep;9(3):227-31).

Dr. Thadhani and his group from Harvard reviewed their recent discovery that calcitriol and similar drugs increase survival in patients with renal failure. He also presented evidence that renal failure patients have profound deficiencies of both calcitriol and vitamin D and their vitamin D deficiency is not corrected by giving calcitriol or its analogs, which is the current practice.

Of course, Dr. Robert Modlin stole the show when he reported on his research just published in Science that vitamin D may be, in effect, a powerful antibiotic. For the first time, the UCLA group showed that when researchers add vitamin D to African American blood, their blood makes more of the natural antibiotics that humans rely on the fight infection. Dr. Adrian Martineau, from the Imperial College in London, followed Modlin and showed vitamin D helped fight tuberculosis, probably from increasing these same natural antibiotics. Science has discovered more than 200 of these naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides; they are especially prevalent in the upper and lower respiratory tract; at least one inactivates the influenza virus. Let's not forget that two other groups have also recently shown the antibiotic potential of vitamin D. (Science. 2006 Mar 24;311(5768):1770-3, J Immunol. 2004 Sep 1;173(5):2909-12, FASEB J. 2005 Jul;19(9):1067-77, J Virol. 1986 Dec;60(3):1068-74).

Dr. Lu presented evidence that the vitamin D content of fish is much less than previously thought, including mackerel. Salmon is OK but the vitamin D almost disappears when the salmon is fried.

Dr. Hardin, from Columbia University, presented evidence that blood levels above 50 ng/ml should help patients with lupus. A group from the University of Manchester presented the mechanism by which vitamin D should reduce arteriosclerosis. A group from the University of Chicago presented evidence that vitamin D should not only prevent colon cancer, but help treat it as well. Dr. Robert Scragg of the University of Auckland presented evidence that ethnic differences in vitamin D levels explain a significant proportion of the reason African Americans are more hypertensive than whites. The group from San Diego presented evidence that vitamin D deficiency is intimately involved in breast, colon, and ovarian cancer.

A group from the University of Manitoba presented evidence that one-month-old infants tolerate 2,000 units of vitamin a day for three months quite well without any evidence of adverse effects. A group from Wake Forest University demonstrated that higher vitamin D levels were associated with better neuromuscular (athletic) performance in older Americans (should help younger Americans too). A group from the University of Amsterdam showed that the increased risk of falling from vitamin D deficiency is much worse in people with a common genetic variation of the vitamin D receptor. Dr. Chen presented evidence that plain old vitamin D should prevent prostate cancer.

Dr. Barsony, of Georgetown University, presented evidence that low blood sodium is a risk factor for vitamin D deficiency and that such deficiencies may not be able to be corrected until the low blood sodium is corrected. Dr. Barsony really thought outside the box to discover this potentially very important clinical finding. Dr. Godar presented evidence that young Americans, not just older Americans, are not getting much vitamin D from sunlight. Dr. Taylor showed evidence that a significant number of young children have a previously undetected form of vitamin D in their blood. (Sunlight triggers the creation of a number of different versions of vitamin D in the skin, that's why it's risky to avoid the sun and only depend on oral vitamin D.) Dr. Patel and a group from the University of Manchester announced evidence that vitamin D deficiency may be involved in inflammatory polyarthritis.

Dr. Grant was involved in six presentations; the most interesting was his replication of a 1937 finding that squamous cell skin cancer reduces one's risk for a number of internal cancers. That's why I used to be so happy when my dermatologist found a squamous cell cancer on my skin. However, now that I maintain my level at about 60 ng/ml, he hasn't been able to find any new ones.

Dr. Bulmer and his group from the Royal Victoria Infirmatory produced evidence that vitamin D may play a role in allowing fertilized ova to implant in the uterus and thus enhance fertility. Dr. Reichrath presented evidence that transplant recipients are at a high risk for vitamin D deficiency and that 50,000 units once a month may be the most practical way of ensuring sufficiency. Dr. Selby from the University of Manchester found the same problem in patients with chronic pancreatitis. A group from the University of Tennessee found the same problem in African Americans with heart failure. A group from Norway confirmed that cancer patients do better if they are diagnosed when vitamin D levels are the highest.

Finally, the Australian group headed by Dr. Darryl Eyles and Dr. John McGrath continue to present their convincing evidence (confirmed at this meeting by Dr. Abreu and a group from France) that profound maternal vitamin D deficiency in mammals causes permanent brain damage in their offspring. The racial implication of their work is overwhelming because most of the women in the USA who are profoundly deficient are African American. Are African Americans more likely to be born brain damaged than whites? Would pennies worth of vitamin D improve the disparate prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal outcome in African Americans? The sad fact is that McGrath's and Eyles' work will continue to be ignored because our society has no way to rationally discuss, assimilate, or act on such racially charged scientific discoveries.

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Kevin Flatt is a Freelance Journalist specialising in Alternative Medicine. He is the publisher of Natural Health Remedies [http://www.kflatthealthnews.com]. If you are searching for information on The Benefits of Vitamin D [http://www.kflatthealthnews.com/2008/01/benefits-of-vitamin-d.html] then this website is for you.