Vitamins and Disease

Is there a connection between the illnesses we suffer and the vitamins
we require? You will probably be surprised at the difference an
adequate supply of the right href=http://www.123-nutrition.com/sitemap_1.html>vitamins can make to
your health.


There are two main ways that vitamins can help in the fight against
disease. One is through the health benefits derived from the particular
vitamin and the other is the prevention of the deficiency and the
associated characteristics. Take Vitamin A for example. Vitamin A can
be thought of as the sight vitamin as low levels can lead to vision
problems and night blindness. It can also help speed recovery from laser
eye surgery. It also is helpful for a properly functioning immune system
and can help maintain the intergrity of the skin and mucous membranes
that keep out bacteria and infection.

Everyone knows that the human body requires calcium. Our teeth and
bones are built from calcium. We need to take in adequate amounts of
calcium on a daily basis as our bodies do not and cannot make calcuim. If
we dont have enough our body will start to break down bone to get it.
We lose calcium every day through shed skin, nails, hair, sweat, urine
and faeces.

Our bones are constantly being remodeled as old bone is broken down
and new bone is made in its place. After the age of approximately 35
more bone is lost than is made and after menopause there is a real risk of
osteoporosis.

Folic acid has been at the forefront for many years now as women of
child bearing age are advised to ensure they are receiving sufficient
quantities to help prevent birth defects such as Spina Bifida and
anencephaly. Folic acid is not always easy to get from food so take a
supplement is an ideal way to ensure levels are enough.

An exciting discovery about Folic Acid and two of the B vitamins is that
they may be of help in the fight against some types of cancer. The
research is still in the early stages but at all cost folic acid is a very good
way to minimize your homocysteine levels which is a by product of
protein breakdown and causes cholesterol in the arteries.

Vitamin B6 and B12 along with Folic Acid play key roles in the recycling
of homocysteine into methionine which is one of about 20 building block
that your body uses to build new proteins. Should this recycling
breakdown and the levels of homocysteine increase you put yourself at
risk of heart disease.

It has been observed that people with high levels of Folic Acid either their
diet or by taking supplements show a lower risk of colon cancer and
breast cancer. This could be due to the role played by folates in the
building of DNA.

The cells of our bodies are constantly under fire from things called
free-radicals. These come as the by-products of the body turning food
into energy, the air we breathe, the food we eat and as contamination
from toxins. We do have defenses against these free radicals called
antioxidants. Plant based foods such as fruit and vegetables are
abundant in the free-radical fighting antioxidants. The most common are
vitamin C, vitamin E and betacarotene. Food also gives us the minerals
which are needed by the enzymes that destroy free-radicals such as
manganese and selenium.

On the whole a good liquid multivitamin and mineral supplement could help
in the fight against many diseases and illnesses. After all we should all
have the chance to be able to feel our best.