By Andreas Moritz

Vitamins seem to be so good for everything. The newly born needs them to grow properly; women take them to be happy; men use them to maintain or increase potency; athletes ingest them to stay fit; and older people take them to become younger or to avoid the flu. Even foods are categorized into good and bad, depending on how many or few many vitamins they contain. Ever since vitamins were produced synthetically they were made available in every drugstore or health shop around the world. Now you don’t have to eat all that vitamin-rich food anymore to stay healthy, all you need is to pop in a couple of those essential vitamin pills a day, or so the advertisements tell you. But if you don’t pay heed to this advice, you are told that you may become vitamin deficient and put your health at risk.

And so we act obediently, out of fear of risking our lives. If you feel tired or suffer from lack of concentration (which could be due to lack of sleep or overeating), you may be prescribed vitamin B pills. Then there is vitamin C if you catch a cold (which could result from stress, working too hard or eating too much junk food). Vitamin E, you are told, helps you prevent a heart attack (so you may no longer need to watch out for the true risk factors of heart disease). Accordingly, we spend billions of dollars on vitamin pills each year to fight off every kind of ill from the common cold to cancer.

Nowadays, artificial vitamins are added to almost every processed food – not because they are so good for you, but because foods that are “enriched” sell better. Cereals, bread, milk, yoghurt, boiled sweets, even dog food with added vitamins leave the supermarket shelves much faster than do those without them. Smokers, meat eaters, sugar addicts, or people who drink too much alcohol can now continue enjoying their self-destructing habits without having to fear the dreaded vitamin deficiency, thanks to the blessed food industry. The magic food supplements have become an insurance policy against poor diet, and nobody has to feel guilty anymore over eating junk food. And on top of that, scientific research suggests that taking large doses of supplements may protect you against disease, even though there is no real evidence to support that claim. As seen in the sales figures, the public believes that the more vitamins you take, the healthier you get.

But are vitamins really so good for your health? Despite the massive amounts of vitamins consumed in modern societies, general health is declining everywhere, except in those countries that still rely mostly on fresh farmed foods. Could the mass consumption of vitamins be even co-responsible for this trend?

Sodium and water are essential to maintain sodium levels and hydrate the body, but too much of either can seriously upset the body’s electrolyte balance. Overconsumption of vitamin A, for example, can cause loss of hair, double vision, headaches, and vomiting in women, all indications of vitamin poisoning. If a woman is pregnant, the supplement can even harm her unborn baby. As we will see, vitamins can even endanger a person’s life.

Vitamin Deficiency – Or Something Else?

In the beginning of the 17th century, Japan was afflicted with a disease, called beriberi, which killed many people. By the year 1860, over one third of Japan’s marines had fallen ill with symptoms of weight loss, frequent heart complaints, loss of appetite, irritability, burning sensations in the feet, lack of concentration, and depression. The symptoms quickly disappeared whenever rice, Japan’s most important staple food, was replaced with other foods.

Thirty years later the Dutch physician Christiaan Eijkman conducted an experiment feeding chicken with white rice. The chicken developed symptoms such as loss of weight, weakness, and signs of nerve infection, which Eijkman interpreted as being beriberi. The symptoms disappeared again when the chicken were fed with brown rice. Soon later Eijkman discovered a few, previously unknown substances within the bran of the whole rice; one of them was named B1. This initiated the era of vitamins.

But, as it turned out, beriberi wasn’t caused by vitamin B1 deficiency. People no longer suffered from beriberi once they discontinued eating rice altogether. It should have been noticed from the beginning that, with “no rice – no vitamin B1 – no beriberi,” the disease must have had other causes than vitamin deficiency. Japanese marine soldiers died within three days after consuming white rice, yet it takes much longer than that to get a B1 deficiency. The origin of this mysterious disease was revealed when in 1891 a Japanese researcher discovered that beriberi is caused by the poison citreoviridine. Citreoviridine is produced by mold in white rice that is stored in filthy and humid environments.

Yet until today, the vitamin B1-beriberi-hypothesis is still maintained in medical text books around the world. Although it has never been proved that a B1 deficiency causes such symptoms as fatigue, loss of appetite, exhaustion, depression, irritability, and nerve damage, many patients having these symptoms are told that they have a vitamin-B deficiency. During vitamin B1 trial studies, all the participants complained about the highly monotonous diet they were given; they suffered fatigue and loss of appetite, regardless of whether they received B1 in their diet or not. As soon as they returned to their normal diet, even without B1, the symptoms spontaneously disappeared.

Another B-vitamin is nicotinic acid or also known as niacin. It has become very popular and is now routinely added to many foods. Niacin is supposed to safeguard us against diarrhea, dementia, and the skin disease pellagra. Pellagra is more widespread among people who eat maize, though not everyone who eats maize gets pellagra. Pellagra was found to be caused by food poisoning through spoiled maize. The poison involved has been identified as T2-toxine and is known to disturb niacin metabolism, thus producing pellagra. Besides the great importance given to taking extra niacin today this substance is not really a vitamin at all since it can be produced by the body itself.

Nobody Knows How Much You Need

Governments and international organizations such as the WHO frequently release figures that propose a Daily Ratio of Allowance (DRA) for every vitamin that you supposedly need to stay healthy. The nutritional experts in different countries however, have different opinions about how much of each vitamin your body must have. An American, for example, is supposed to take at least 60mg of vitamin C, whereas a British citizen is considered better off taking only 30mg. A Frenchman can only remain healthy if he consumes 80mg of this vitamin whereas Italians are told they need 45mg. These figures are “adjusted” every few years, although our bodies’ basic nutritional requirements have not changed over the past several thousand years.

Nobody really knows how many vitamins are good for us because the requirements, constitutions, and absorption rates for vitamins differ from person to person. Vitamins need to be digested before they can be made available to the cells and tissues. Once a person’s the digestive ability (AGNI) has diminished due to congestion of liver bile ducts with intrahepatic stones (see my book The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Cleanse), for example, foods and even vitamins can no longer be digested properly.

When scientists calculate our vitamin requirements, they usually add a 50 percent “safety factor” to the original figures to make certain that we eat enough of them. And because vitamin extraction from food during the digestive process is so much less than 100 percent, these figures are increased one more time. The official methods of analyzing the amount of vitamins we require are inadequate because we simply do not know how much of each vitamin the human physiology needs. The thin, hyper-metabolic Vata body type, for example, may have a far greater need for vitamin B-6 than the heavier-set, hypo-metabolic Kapha type who can never really run out of it.

It is also not known how much of each vitamin is contained in a banana, an apple or a junk of cauliflower. Vitamin contents fluctuate greatly with the size of the fruits, their maturity, the condition of the soil, country of origin, time of harvesting, and the use of pesticides. How many of the vitamins contained in these foods actually end up being utilized by the body depends on the digestive capacity and body-type. All this makes official nutritional figures highly unreliable and speculative.

The vitamin theories originate in the assumption that the human physiology has stores for vitamins that always must be full up in order to saturate the tissues of the body. This assumption, however, has never been proven by scientific research. While calculating human vitamin requirements, nutritional science assumes that the body’s metabolic processes take place at a top speed, which would require plenty of vitamins. Our bodies, however, are not machines that run at top capacity day and night. Most of us are not marathon runners, and even they don’t run for 24 hour's day after day, month after month, and year after year.

It is very questionable whether the saturation of our body tissues with vitamins is even desirable. We need a certain amount of fatty tissue in our body, but this does not mean we should all be excessively filled with fat. Oxygen, too, is considered vital for all our body’s functioning, yet if its concentration in the air is consistently too high it can cause serious bodily harm. Why should vitamins be an exception? And anyway, vitamin deficiency is…

Rarely Caused by Lack of Vitamins

In the majority of cases, a vitamin deficiency does not occur because of insufficient vitamin intake in the diet. A vitamin deficiency is rather caused by a congested capillary network that is unable to diffuse sufficient amounts of the vitamins into the intercellular fluids. This can have a number of reasons, overeating protein foods being one of the major ones.

A diet rich in protein foods, such as meat, fish, pork, cheese, milk, etc., will eventually block the basal membrane (BM) of the small and large blood vessels in the body (see The Key to Health and Rejuvenation, chapter 9 on heart disease). Stress, over-stimulation, and dehydration can have a similar effect. The subsequent thickening of the BM and connective tissues makes it increasingly difficult for the basic nutrients, including vitamins, to reach the cells. If trans-fatty acids are consumed, as contained in most processed and refined fats, oils and fast foods, cell membranes become thick and congested, thereby preventing nutrients from reaching the cell interior. All this greatly increases the amount of metabolic waste and toxins in the body, overtaxes the liver, and causes the growth of gallstones. The gallstones inhibit the flow of bile, which subdues AGNI, the digestive power and increasingly hinders the assimilation of nutrients, including fats. When fats are no longer properly digested, the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K, which are normally stored in the liver, become deficient. This problem becomes exacerbated by eating low fat foods (see The Key to Health and Rejuvenation, chapter 14).

If vitamin A becomes deficient, for example, the epithelial cells, which form an essential part of all the organs, blood vessels, lymph vessels, etc., in the body, become damaged. This can literally cause any kind of disease. Vitamin A is also necessary to maintain the cornea of the eye, allow for eyesight in dim light, and reduce the severity of microbial infection. Vitamin A is only absorbed from the small intestines properly when fat absorption is normal. Fat absorption cannot be normal as long as gallstones obstruct the bile flow in the liver and gallbladder. It is, therefore, very sensible to remove the gallstones and cleanse the digestive system so that the vitamins contained in food you eat can actually reach the cells in your body.

Taking extra vitamins can be harmful if the body is unable to make use of them and is given the additional burden of having to break them down or try eliminating them from the system. Because vitamins are strong acids, an overload can lead to vitamin poisoning (vitaminosis) and thus damage the kidneys, and actually cause the same symptoms that accompany a vitamin deficiency. Instead of filling the body up with large doses of vitamins it cannot even process properly, it would be more healthful and efficient to cleanse the body from accumulated toxins, stored proteins in the blood vessel walls, and impeding gallstones from the liver. Although taking mega doses of vitamins may temporarily increase the pressure of diffusion of these nutrients for a short time and quickly relieve symptoms, the “benefits” are often short-lived. If digestive functions are impaired, taking extra vitamins may actually endanger your health.

Contrary to popular belief, vitamins do not have isolated functions, but are work as a “team” in the body. If taken in supplemental form, versus from food, may be counter productive as excess of one vitamin can have a suppressing effect on another. When isolated and extracted from foods, vitamins arouse your nervous system should you take them. Feeling stimulated, and therefore energized, you naturally assume these vitamins must be doing you good. But stimulants never give you extra energy, they force the body to spend and give up energy.

The best source of healthy vitamins is fresh fruit, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, etc. Fruits and vegetables also contain important health-essential nutrients known as phytochemicals –nature’s food coloring agents. They are what gives them their color. To obtain vitamin D, the best and cheapest source is sunlight. B12 is produced from microbes living in your mouth and gut.

By Ashi Jas


Vitamin D or calciferol, is a fat-soluble vitamin. It is mostly made in the human body after exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun. The liver and kidney help convert vitamin D to its active hormone form.

Benefits of Vitamin D?

« Vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium, helping to form and maintain strong bones. Vitamin D deficiency can make bones thin, brittle, soft and easily prone to fractures. Without sufficient vitamin D, our body cannot absorb calcium, rendering calcium supplements useless.

« Vitamin D acts like a hormone, thus regulating 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 helps bone mineralization along with a number of other vitamins, minerals, and hormones of the body.

« Vitamin D prevents osteoporosis, depression, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and even helps control diabetes and obesity.

What are the sources of Vitamin D?

Food sources –

Only a few foods naturally contain significant amounts of vitamin D. Foods with naturally occurring vitamin D are usually animal derived containing the vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). They include egg yolk, liver, fatty fish and fish oils. Smaller amounts are also present in dark leafy vegetables.

Fortified foods are the major dietary sources of vitamin D. Although milk, soya milk is fortified with vitamin D, dairy products made from milk such as curd, cheese, yogurt are usually not fortified.

It is important for individuals with limited sun exposure to include rich sources of vitamin D in their diet.

Exposure to sunlight –

Exposure to sunlight is an important source of vitamin D as ultraviolet (UV) rays from sunlight trigger vitamin D synthesis in the skin.
It is nearly impossible to get adequate amounts of vitamin D from diet. Sunlight exposure is the only reliable way to generate vitamin D in the body.

What can Vitamin D deficiency lead to?

« Vitamin D deficiency leads to rickets in children which results in skeletal deformities. In adults, vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteomalacia, which results in muscular weakness in addition to weak bones.

« Osteoporosis is commonly caused by a lack of vitamin D, which resists calcium absorption.

« Insufficient vitamin D leads to prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer.

« Vitamin D deficiency may also make a person prone to Type 2 diabetes and impair insulin production. Infants who receive vitamin D supplementation have around 80% reduced risk of developing type 1 diabetes over the next twenty years.

« Vitamin D deficiency causes schizophrenia.

How much vitamin D is required?

The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine considers an intake of 1,000 IU for infants up to 12 months of age and 2,000 IU for children, adults, pregnant, and lactating women to be the tolerable upper intake level.

Daily intake above this level increases the risk of toxicity and is not advised.

Who all are at risk of Vitamin D deficiency?

« Older people as the ability of the skin to convert vitamin D to its active hormonal form decreases
with age. The kidneys, which help convert vitamin D, do not work quite well when people age.

« People who do not get adequate exposure to sunlight, such as women who cover their body outside for religious or cultural reasons or individuals working in occupations that prevent exposure to sunlight.

« People with dark skin synthesize less vitamin D on exposure to sunlight than those with light skin.

« Obesity increases the risk of vitamin D deficiency. Once vitamin D is synthesized in the skin, it is deposited in the body fat, making it less bio-available to overweight and obese people..

« Individuals who have reduced ability to absorb dietary fat as Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. This may be due to conditions such as pancreatic enzyme deficiency, Crohn's disease, bowel disease.

« Exclusively breast-fed infants because human milk may not contain adequate vitamin D.

Is too much of vitamin D risky?

Intake of too much vitamin D can cause toxicity leading to nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, constipation, weakness, and weight loss. It can also raise levels of calcium, causing mental status changes.

Calcinosis, the deposition of calcium and phosphate in soft tissues such as kidneys, lungs, blood vessels and heart can be caused by vitamin D toxicity. The kidneys may be permanently damaged and start malfunctioning.

A word of caution:

Even weak sunscreens (SPF of 8) block the body's ability to generate vitamin D by 95%. This is how sunscreen products actually cause disease by creating a critical vitamin deficiency in the body. Chronic Vitamin D deficiency cannot be reversed overnight: it takes months of vitamin D supplementation and sunlight exposure to rebuild the body's bones and nervous system.

By Teck Cheong Yeap


Vitamins are essential in healthy living. A well-balanced and well-rounded diet is important in providing your body with all of the vitamins and minerals that it needs to perform its various functions. There are also several different types of vitamins that we need to ensure that the various parts and functions of the body work properly. The majority of these different vitamins are available in our diets, but depending on how you eat and how well balanced your diet is, it is not uncommon to find that a person is suffering from various vitamin deficiencies.

However, it is nearly impossible for people to receive all of the necessary vitamins and minerals through their diet alone. Many people will supplement themselves with a daily multivitamin supplement, but depending on your lifestyle and diet, you may still need additional assistance in meeting your vitamin and mineral requirements.

Each vitamin has associated deficiencies and symptoms associated with those deficiencies. To assist people in ensuring that they get as many vitamins and minerals out of their diet as much as possible, the government has several different types of foods fortified with additional vitamins and minerals. For instance, to ensure that women of childbearing age receive as much folic acid as they can, the FDA requires that manufacturers fortify all flour-based foods such as breads and bagels. Milk has been fortified with vitamin D since the 1930s. This was started to help people avoid rickets in children, which is a disease caused by vitamin D deficiency.

There is a wide variety of fortified foods available as well. For instance, you're in the grocery store and you find orange juice that is fortified with calcium. These types of foods promise people that they are receiving the necessary vitamins and minerals that they need, but how much do they really help us?

When shopping for fortified foods it is important to realize that if you are already meeting your daily-recommended intake of vitamins and minerals, additional vitamins in your food is not necessarily going to assist you. In fact, it can even work against you. When you exceed your tolerable intake of certain vitamins, you can begin to have side effects. More than 2,000 milligrams of Vitamin C can give you diarrhea and upset stomach. Another example is that you can take plant sterols to lower cholesterol, but you only need two grams of this substance a day for this effect. One thing that people need to realize is that just because you can take in more, it isn't necessarily better. At the same time, the heat generated from the processing of fortified foods actually destroys many of these vitamins' components so you may not be receiving the many benefits that you think you are derived from these fortified foods, as many of the active components are destroyed in processing and cooking.

By Gabe Mirkin, M.D.


For many years we have been advised to wear sunscreen to help prevent
skin cancer, but what happens if you don’t get any sun at all? Scientists don’t know exactly how much sunlight you need for good health, but one report from Turkey showed that women who wear veils have lower blood levels of vitamin D and therefore are at increased risk for suffering osteoporosis (Journal of Women’s Health & Gender-Based Medicine, Volume 10, 2001).

Food sources of vitamin D include egg yolks, liver, and fish oils from sardines, herring, salmon and other fatty fish. The vast majority of people in all cultures do not eat enough of these foods to meet their requirements for vitamin D, so they have to depend on sunlight. You get enough vitamin D to meet your requirements by exposing a few inches of skin to sunlight for less than one half hour a day. Veiled women rarely expose any part of their bodies to sunlight, so they have low blood levels of vitamin D that increase their risk for osteoporosis.

Fortified milk is not a particularly good source of vitamin D because the calcium uses up vitamin D, so you may need more than you get in the milk to compensate.

By James Houston


Many, if not most, Americans do not get enough vitamin D. We all know that vitamin D helps your body build strong bones. However, if you don't get enough vitamin D your body will actually destroy your bones in search of calcium! Without vitamin D your body is unable to absorb calcium from food or supplements.

Vitamin D's most important role is to signal the intestines to absorb calcium into the bloodstream. Without sufficient vitamin D, your body will break down bone to get the calcium it needs no matter how much calcium you consume through food and supplements. Vitamin D is also relatively scarce in normal diets.

The recommended daily amount of Vitamin D for people between the ages of 50 and 71 is 400 international units (IU). To meet this recommendation a person would have to consume 5 ounces of salmon, 7 ounces of halibut, 30 ounces of cod, a 6 ounce can of tuna or 4 cups of milk. Very few people include that much fish or milk in their daily diet. For that matter, milk does not normally contain vitamin D. Nearly all of the milk consumed in the U.S. today is fortified with vitamin D.

By the way, the practice of fortifying milk began in the 1930s to combat rickets, a disease that leads to soft, weak bones caused by vitamin D deficiency. Therefore, don't make the mistake of assuming that all dairy products are automatically vitamin D fortified. In fact, dairy products such as cheese, yogurt, and ice cream, are not typically fortified with vitamin D and contain only small amounts.

Casual exposure to sunlight will provide you with most of your vitamin D requirement. Sunlight contains two forms of radiant energy that your body needs to generate vitamin D, which is why it's known as the sunshine vitamin. If you were to sit outside on a sunny day in the middle of summer at the equator wearing only a swimsuit, your body would create a whopping 20,000 IU of vitamin D per hour.

Depending on the season and where you live, even if you don't sunbathe or spend a great deal of time in the sun, you can generate a fair amount of vitamin D just by walking outside for short periods of time throughout the day. Also, your age, skin color and use of sunscreen will influence your production of vitamin D.

Recent studies have revealed evidence that health benefits from vitamin D extend far beyond its reputation for building healthy bones. Over the past decade, studies suggest that adequate amounts of vitamin D may lessen the risk of several types of cancer including colon, prostate, and breast cancer. It may also play a role in preventing high blood pressure, multiple sclerosis, and schizophrenia. A 2007 meta-analysis of 18 random controlled tests showed that vitamin D supplementation may even help you live longer.

By Ian Wallace


Almost from birth we begin adding vitamins to our diet. Why? If we eat well, do we not get every conceivable vitamin our bodies might need? Therein lies the kicker. First, vitamins are biochemicals or organic compounds, such as vitamins A through E; these substances are needed in very small amounts. However, an organic compound is a vitamin if, and only if, our bodies cannot make it. Rather, we must either get those compounds from the foods we eat, or buy them as vitamin supplements.

Different kinds of animals can make different kinds of organic compounds. Therefore, a vitamin for us might not be a vitamin for our pet dog or cat because they can make that substance and we cannot.

If we need that substance to carry out normal metabolism, but cannot make it ourselves, then where do we get it? Under natural conditions we would get it from one or another of the many foods we eat, but today most likely we would buy it from our local pharmacy or grocery, even when some of the vitamins we need are in our diet. In either case, that substance is a vitamin, but if we buy it in the form of a pill, it becomes a food supplement or dietary supplement. That is how most of us get those essential organic compounds we cannot make ourselves; that is how we get our vitamins.

The Common Vitamins: The most common vitamins provided by diet supplements are: Vitamin A, Vitamin B1 (Thiamin), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid), Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine), Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid), Vitamin B12, Biotin, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Folic Acid, and Vitamin K. There are others, but these are the thirteen that you will find in a bottle of multivitamins.

The Roles of Vitamins in Our Bodies: Vitamins serve different functions in our bodies. For example, Vitamin D is a hormone that plays an important role in bone formation and growth. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that slows down the aging process in cells. Biotin plays a role in making fatty acids, which are key components of every cell in our bodies. Vitamin A regulates chemical signals that pass from one cell to another when new tissues are growing and forming organ systems.

Vitamins in the Vitamin B Complex are all precursors for molecules called enzyme cofactors. That is, most enzymes are proteins, but in order to do their various jobs they need additional molecular parts; these are called cofactors.

Natural Sources of Vitamins: Vitamin A comes in two different forms called retinoids (found in our retinas) and carotenoids (powerful antioxidants), but is destroyed by exposure to sunlight. The most important source of retinoids is liver from a variety of animals including beef, pork, chickens, and fish. Kale, spinach, and collard greens are also good sources of retinoids.

The best sources of carotenoids are the yellow, orange, and red vegetables and fruits, such as carrots, peppers, squash, melons, apricots, mangos, and papayas, but shellfish are also a source of cartenoids.

Good sources of foods rich in Thiamin (Vitamin B1) include: yeast, oatmeal, flax, brown rice, whole grain wheat and rye, asparagus, kale, cauliflower, potatoes, oranges, pork, liver, and eggs. Thiamin is essential to having a healthy brain.

The following foods are rich in Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) which plays a key role in the metabolism of carbohydrates and proteins and the transfer of energy: milk, cheese, leafy green vegetables, liver, kidneys, legumes (especially soybeans), and almonds.

Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) is found in high concentrations in whole-grained cereals, legumes, eggs, and meat. This compound is essential to the metabolism and synthesis (manufacture) of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, which are themselves basic building blocks of human bodies.

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) is found in meat and meat products, whole grain foods, vegetables, and nuts. However, vitamin B6 is easily destroyed by drying, and in the processing of food. Therefore, it should be obtained either as a vitamin supplement or as fresh food. This compound plays a key role in amino acid metabolism and in the release of sugars (glucose) for conversion to energy (we burn glucose to power our bodies).

Excellent sources of Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid or Folate) include a variety of leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, turnip greens, as well as dried beans and peas. Liver, liver products, and baker's yeast also contain high concentrations of folate. Among other critical body functions, Folic Acid is essential to the formation of healthy red blood cells.

The ultimate source of Vitamin B12, which is essential for normal brain function, is from bacteria that live in the hind and mid-guts of animals that are ruminants. We also get Vitamin B12 indirectly from liver, milk, and eggs. The most reliable secondary source is from vitamin supplements.

Biotin is found at low levels in a variety of foods including almonds, eggs, onions, cabbage, cucumber, cauliflower, goat's milk, cow's milk, raspberries, strawberries, halibut, oats, and walnuts, but the most reliable sources are Swiss chard, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, and carrots. Biotin plays a key role in making cell walls.

Many different citrus fruits are good sources of Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), but the best are a few exotic plants. The highest concentration of ascorbate per gram of plant tissue is found in the Kakadu plum of Australia. It is 100 times that found in a lime or grapefruit. The fruit of American roses (rose hips) is in third place at 20 milligrams/gram of plant tissue. From there the concentration plummets in other commonly used fruits to around 1 mg ascorbate/1 gram of plant tissue. Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant, but a deficiency of Vitamin C causes scurvy in humans.

Other than the Vitamin D we produce ourselves when our skin is exposed to sunlight, the next best natural sources are fish oils from cod liver, salmon, sardines, and tuna. Vitamin D is essential to the formation of strong bones.

Vitamin E is a generic name for eight related organic compounds called tocopherols, which are all powerful antioxidants. The best sources are spinach, wheat germ, milk, asparagus, and the oils of avocados, almonds, and hazelnuts.

Vitamin K is naturally produced by bacteria (Escherichia coli) that live in our large intestines. These are "good" E. coli, and their Vitamin K production is absorbed by our bodies. There are other food sources that can supplement this natural production, however. These include: spinach, Swiss chard, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, avocados and kiwifruit. Vitamin K plays a key role during the clotting of blood following a wound to the skin.

In summary, vitamins are essential for a healthy and fit body, and most of them can be obtained from the diversity of foods that are normally in our diets. We do not produce them ourselves, and if we do not get them from the foods we eats, then our diets should be supplemented by nutritional products that are readily available in today's marketplace.

By R. Edward Jones


The benefits of Vitamin D are not much talked about in the press. That could be why most folks are unaware of the major benefits of Vitamin D. But please don't think that Vitamin D is not for you.

Vitamin D is another one of those fat soluble vitamins. Fat soluble means that Vitamin D (along with Vitamin A and E) are stored by your body.

Vitamin D is the only vitamin that your body can manufacture. Your body needs exposure to sunlight (without sunscreen) for this to occur.

Your body can also get benefits of Vitamin D from food sources or from supplements. Food sources of Vitamin D include cod liver oil, fatty fish like sardines, tuna or salmon, milk that is Vitamin D fortified and eggs.

However, most folks do not get the required amount of Vitamin D from their diet or exposure to sunlight.

Can't I Get the Benefits of Vitamin D from My Diet Alone

An article in the READER'S DIGEST titled "The Healing Vitamin" states that "Even with a healthy diet, you may be D-ficient (get it? D-ficient?)." The article argues that Vitamin D is not found in many foods and the foods that it is found in, people don't eat enough of.

In addition, folks are using sunscreen to keep the sun from damaging their skin. And even sunscreen with an 8 SPF cuts the UV rays necessary to make your Vitamin D to almost nothing.

An article in the JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION titled "Vitamins for Chronic Disease Prevention in Adults" points out the benefits of Vitamin D. It states that "low levels of vitamin D contribute to osteopenia (comes before osteoporosis) and fractures."

This same article goes on to state that "most people do not consume an optimal amount of all vitamins by diet alone" and "pending strong evidence of effectiveness from randomized trials, it appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements."

Benefits of Vitamin D in Preventing Osteoporosis

Another article appearing in the JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION titled "Osteoporosis, Prevention, Diagnosis and Therapy" tells us that "adequate calcium and vitamin D intake is crucial to develop optimal peak bone mass and to preserve bone mass throughout life."

The major benefits of Vitamin D is in enabling your body to use calcium and phosphorous. Without Vitamin D, your body cannot process the calcium in your diet and starts taking it from your bones.

In adults, this results in the bone disease called osteoporosis. In children, a severe Vitamin D deficiency causes what's called rickets.

Rickets is a softening of bones in children and is rare in the industrialized nations though.

An article in the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE titled "What Was Wrong With Tiny Tim" amusingly argues that Tiny Tim of the Charles Dickens’s "A Christmas Carol" fame is thought to have suffered from Rickets.

That's Not Very Funny

Although Rickets is rare in the industrialized world, osteoporosis is not. In the U.S. it is estimated that 10 million folks have osteoporosis. 18 million more have low bone mass making it highly likely that they too will eventually have this crippling disease.

Osteoporosis is a major health concern and major source of suffering for us older folks. It is estimated that one in two women and one out of every eight men over 50 years of age will have a fracture related to osteoporosis.

300,000 fractures of the hip, 700,000 fractures of the vertebrae, 250,000 fractures of the wrist and over 300,000 other fractures happen every year related to this disease.

Again, the major benefits of Vitamin D is that it enables your small intestine to absorb calcium from the foods you eat. Calcium is required by your muscles and nerves as well as for bone formation.

When your muscles and nerves are not getting enough calcium because of low Vitamin D levels, your body robs it from your bones.

Your bones then become porous and brittle. This does not happen overnight but over the course of your lifetime. That is why prevention of osteoporosis should begin at childhood. And making sure you get the benefits of Vitamin D along with an adequate supply of calcium is one way to do so.

Benefits of Vitamin D in Slowing Progression of Osteoarthritis

Another Osteo you say? Sorry! This time it's osteoarthritis (OA). This disease is a gradual deterioration of the cartilage in the joints. It is the most common form of arthritis.

Another of the benefits of Vitamin D is that it has been shown to lessen the severity of the pain and disability of this disease. The Arthritis Foundation has also reported on the link between low levels of Vitamin D and the increased progression of osteoarthritis of the knees.

Also, in an article in the JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION titled "Steps Toward Understanding, Alleviating Osteoarthritis Will Help Aging Population," we are advised that "preliminary results appear particularly strong for vitamin D."

Are There Other Benefits of Vitamin D? What About Vitamin D and Cancer?

More research is needed but preliminary studies have shown benefits of Vitamin D in areas such as high blood pressure, cancer of the colon as well as breast cancer and diabetes.

Can I Get My Benefits of Vitamin D Without Taking Too Much?

Dr Reinhold Vieth, Dept. of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto argues that the Recommended Dietary Allowance (birth to 50 years - 200 IU, 50+ years - 400 IU) may keep you from getting osteomalacia. But he feels more is needed to keep you from getting osteoporosis and secondary hyperparathyroidism.

In an article published in THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NUTRITION, titled "Vitamin D supplementation, 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, and safety," he argues that our ancestors were "naked apes in tropical Africa (his words)." And as such they enjoyed full body exposure to the sun on a daily basis. This, he stated, could give them the equivalent of 10,000 IU every day (and possibly a severe sunburn - my words).

A Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) has been set by The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine. This is the level of Vitamin D that they suggest you do not exceed. The UL for infants 0 to 12 months old is 1000 IU. The UL for both children as well as adults is 2000 IU.

Studies done since 1997 suggest that the current UL is conservative and that Vitamin D is safe below levels up to as high as 10,000 IU.

Since multivitamins supply Vitamin D in doses of 400 to 800 IU as do the single supplements, you should feel more than safe getting your benefits of Vitamin D.

By Frank Will


Magnesium deficiency is not as big of a problem as some of the other nutrient deficiencies, but it is still a major problem if not treated. Magnesium plays important roles in the body, and liquid vitamins and minerals can play a vital role with this nutrient because of the superior absorption ratio compared to tablets or capsules.

The major role of magnesium in the body is in its structure. The adult human body contains about 25 grams of magnesium.

Over 60% of all magnesium in the body is found in the skeleton, about 27% in muscle, 6% to 7% is found in cells, and less than 1% is found outside of cells.

Magnesium is involved in more than 300 essential metabolic reactions such as energy production, synthesis of essential molecules, structural roles, cell signaling, and cell migration. The metabolism of carbohydrates and fats to produce energy requires numerous magnesium dependent chemical reactions and it is also is required for a number of steps during nucleic acid (DNA and RNA) and protein synthesis.

Glutathione, an important antioxidant, requires magnesium for its synthesis.

So what exactly is Glutathione?

Glutathione is an extremely interesting and a very small molecule produced by the body and it is found in virtually every cell in the body. There is speculation that this antioxidant helps repair the body from everyday stress, pollution, poor diet and nutrition, aging, as well as trauma.

Magnesium also plays a structural role in bone, cell membranes, and chromosomes, and is required for the active transport of ions, like potassium and calcium across cell membranes. Through its role in ion transport systems, magnesium affects the conduction of nerve impulses, muscle contraction, and normal heart rhythm.

Calcium and magnesium levels in the fluid surrounding cells affect the migration of different cell types. Such effects on cell migration may be important in wound healing, but it may also be associated with aging and trauma, but the research is still out on the overall Glutathione effects enhanced by magnesium.

However, a deficiency of this nutrient may impair the process of wound healing and impact the effectiveness of Glutathione.

Interactions do occur with other minerals and vitamins, as high doses of zinc in supplementation form apparently interferes with the absorption of magnesium, and large increases in the intake of dietary fiber have been found to decrease magnesium utilization in some studies. Dietary protein may also affect magnesium absorption, which may also cause magnesium deficiency. The active form of vitamin D, calcitroil, may slightly increase intestinal absorption of magnesium.

The even distributions that liquid vitamins and minerals provide will assist in these magnesium functions, as magnesium absorption does not seem to be calcitroil dependent as is the absorption of calcium and phosphate.

A deficiency of this nutrient in healthy individuals who are consuming a balanced diet is quite rare because magnesium is abundant in both plant and animal foods and because the kidneys are able to limit urinary extraction of magnesium when intake is low.

However, there are conditions that increase the risk of magnesium deficiency such as gastrointestinal disorders that include chronic diarrhea, Chrohn's disease, and renal disorders such as diabetes mellitus that may result in urinary loss of magnesium.

Chronic alcoholism, because of poor dietary intake, may also increase urinary loss of magnesium and may result in a deficiency of this nutrient. Age also seems to have an affect on magnesium excretion.

Because magnesium is part chlorophyll, the green leafy pigments in plants are rich in magnesium. Unrefined grains and nuts also have high content.

Good food sources of magnesium include 100% bran cereal, oat bran, shredded wheat, brown rice, almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, lima beans, spinach (frozen), Swiss chard (chopped), okra (frozen), molasses (blackstrap), bananas, and 1% milk.

Magnesium supplements are available as magnesium oxide, magnesium gluconate, magnesium chloride, and magnesium citrate salts, as well as amino acids chelates, including magnesium aspartate.

Magnesium hydroxide is used as an ingredient in several antacids, and has proven to be extremely effective over along period of time. There are several very good brands of liquid vitamins and supplements in today's markets that can assist with the distribution of this nutrient.

I am an avid lover of pets and my wife and I have had several pets throughout our years. We are especially fond of dogs, and we have a 12 year old Dalmatian (our 3rd) and a "mutt" that we rescued when someone threw him away to die in a vacant field.

He found us, nearly starved to death, and weighed about 2 pounds. After severe bouts of mange and severe dehydration, and over 1,000.00 in veterinarian bills, we saved the little guys life, and he is one of the best, if not the best, dogs we have ever had and today is a muscular, fit, and firm 70 pound best friend.

After finishing my MBA, which at middle age was not easy, I decided to keep the research work ethics that I acquired, and devote about two hours each night in understanding the health benefits of supplementation for both humans and pets and how they might strengthen our, as well as our pets, immune system in a pre-emptive approach to health rather than a reactionary approach.

Both of my daughters are avid cat lovers, and asked me to help them with health concerns and challenges with their cats.

I am not a veterinarian nor claim to be, just a lover of pets that loves to research and pass on some knowledge that might be helpful, or at least stimulating to the thought process.

Several of the articles that I have written can be found on my website;

Liquid Vitamins & Minerals for Humans & Pets http://www.liquid-vitamins-minerals-humans-pets.com/

Up to 80% of women who took prenatal supplements were deficient in one important nutrient.

Curious? Read on to find out the details...

A study by the University of Pittsburgh reported in the Journal of Nutrition that prenatal multivitamin supplements do not prevent a Vitamin D deficiency!

Maybe you are saying, "I've heard of foliate and pregnancy, but not Vitamin D". Well, let me fill you in on the importance of Vitamin D for you and your baby.

What Vitamin D does for your baby...

proper tooth formation

insulin production

increased mineral absorption

fetal organ and brain development

In addition, babies born with a Vitamin D deficiency have been associated with having an increase of asthma, impaired growth, skeletal problems, Type 1 diabetes and schizophrenia.

What Vitamin D does for you...

protection against depression

insulin production

increased mineral absorption

improved bone health

prevention of blood pressure during pregnancy (preeclampsia)

prevention of colon and breast cancer

Are you ready to up your intake of Vitamin D?

During my 15 years as a Registered Dietician, I have counseled many pregnant women who were shocked to find out they were deficient in Vitamin D, even though they were taking relatively large amounts of prenatal supplements.

This may come as a surprise, but the best sources are grass-fed dairy and eggs, grass-fed meats, lard, butterfat, shellfish, Salmon, marine oil, and liver/organ meat.

You can also supplement with Vitamin D, but you need to be careful of the supplement company and also have proper gut function to enable you to fully absorb it.

By Barbara Hillary, PhD


Vitamin D plays a major role in the metabolism of calcium and phosphorus. Therefore, it's essential for normal growth and development in children, and bone and teeth maintenance in adults. A deficiency of vitamin D may result in rickets for children, and osteomalacia for adults. Both conditions lead to the softening and deformity of bones.

Many Americans are not meeting the recommended daily intake of vitamin D. Populations who are at especially high risk for low vitamin D levels are teenage girls, women, and older adults. Also, individuals with lactose intolerance who do not consume lactose-free milk fortified with vitamin D, or do not take a supplement, are at high risk for vitamin D deficiency.

Emerging research suggested that vitamin D might play a crucial role in prevention of serious health problems. According to scientists, vitamin D deficiency is linked to chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Research showed that women taking calcium and vitamin D supplements had fewer breast, colon, lung, leukemia, and uterine cancers than women taking calcium supplements only. Inadequate intake of vitamin D is also associated with weak muscles and increased risk for hip fractures among older adults.

Unfortunately, there are very few foods that contain vitamin D naturally. Those that do are liver, fish liver oils, and eggs. But more and more foods are being fortified with vitamin D--the best source being fortified milk.

Vitamin D is one of few vitamins that are produced by the human body. Its synthesis is triggered by sun exposure. Most likely, exposing uncovered skin to sunlight three times a week should be sufficient. However, keep in mind that high altitude and dark skin tone do not allow for optimal exposure.

Dr. Hillary is a pediatric nurse practitioner with a doctoral degree in health promotion and risk reduction. She works as a pediatric clinician and writes for Plugged in Parents. Plugged In Parents provides up-to-date info on pediatric health, safety and nutrition along with movie reviews, recipes, tech-savvy tips, and a parent's only forum. You can also contact Dr. Hillary for personal questions related to health and nutrition.

Please visit http://www.pluggedinparents.com