Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.
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 After four months the Birmingham nutritionists saw a reduction of such cancer-like changes in the lungs of smokers who received these two b vitamins. This provided evidence that such precancerous changes "may be reduced by supplementation with folate and vitamin B12."
However, writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the scientists cautioned that "the results should not be construed as pointing to a potential way of preventing lung cancer in individuals who continue to smoke or as supporting self-medication with large doses of folate or B12 by smokers" (6). |
Elson M. Haas, M.D.
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 When given with b vitamins, manganese may alleviate fatigue or weakness by enhancing nerve impulses. Research has found most tumors and cancer cells to be very low in this mineral, which suggests a possibility that manganese may have a role in preventing cancer cell production and protecting against cancer growth.
Deficiency and toxicity: From a nutritional point of view, manganese may be one of the least toxic minerals. There is no known natural toxicity from manganese in food or from taking reasonable amounts in supplements. |
Committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer, Assembly of Life Sciences National Research Council
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 The complex interrelationships between the b vitamins and other dietary components have been thoroughly examined in studies of diets deficient in lipotropes (e.g., methionine, choline, and folate) and high in fat content (Rogers and Newberne, 1980). Although the major lipotropes are choline and methionine, folate (and to some extent vitamin B]^) can also exert lipotropic action. Modulation of carcinogenesis by other vitamins, such as inositol and vitamin B^, may contribute to the overall lipotropic activity of these diets. |
Earl Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D.
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 Severe vitamin deficiencies will result in serious illnesses, such as rickets (lack of b vitamins) or scurvy (lack of vitamin C.) Even a modest deficiency in certain vitamins, however, can have a profound effect on health. Vitamins help our bodies operate at peak efficiency and, if we are short of key vitamins, over time, we will feel the negative effects.
There are two kinds of vitamins: water soluble and fat soluble. Water-soluble vitamins are not stored in the body and excess amounts are washed out in urine. On the other hand, fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,E, and K) are stored in the liver. |
| B is for brain power—A shortage of b vitamins, notably B12, can cause Alzheimer-type symptoms. B12 deficiency is quite common among the elderly, and anyone showing signs of senile dementia should take 1000 mg. of B12 sublingually (dissolved under the tongue) daily. In some cases, B12 injections may be necessary. I have seen people perk up considerably with this treatment, and the confusion and memory loss quickly disappears.
Earl's Rx
Here are some super supplements for your brain.
Antioxidants: There are numerous antioxidant formulas on the market. |
| Anemia could also be the result of a defiency in key b vitamins,
'notably folic acid and vitamin B12, which are essential for the production of red-blood cells which carry the hemoglobin. A diet deficient in either of these vitamins could result in too few red-blood cells. Clearly, the right combination of diet and supplements can help to prevent anemia.
Vitamins
B12—Several studies have shown that many people over fifty are deficient in this vitamin. A deficiency in B12 will cause classic symptoms of anemia, such as excessive fatigue, mental confusion, and difficulty concentrating. |
| I also recommend taking extra b vitamins, which are nature's own stress busters.
Clean up your act!—No matter how spic and span you think your house is, it still harbors millions of dust mites, which can trigger an allergic reaction. So can animal dander. Dust mites collect in bedding, carpets, drapes, feather pillows, and blinds. Replace dust catching drapes and blinds with shades, get rid of rugs or at least replace them with those that have a flat nap, and try using nonchemical household cleaning products. I recommend using an air purifier in your home and office. |
| Combined with other b vitamins, it is also a wonderful stress reliever.
Herbs
Gingko biloba—A time-honored herbal remedy may be effective in treating a problem of modern women. A recent double-blind study to determine ginkgo biloba's effectiveness in treating PMS studied 165 women between the ages of eighteen and forty-five who suffered from such symptoms as bloating and breast tenderness before the onset of menstruation. The women were either given a placebo or treated with ginkgo extract from day sixteen of one menstrual period to day five of the next. |
Committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer, Assembly of Life Sciences National Research Council
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| In contrast, less attention has been paid to the b vitamins and others such as vitamin K. Chapter 9 contains more detailed information on the evidence summarized below.
Vitamin A. A growing accumulation of epidemiological evidence indicates that there is an inverse relationship between the risk of cancer and the consumption of foods that contain vitamin A (e.g., liver) or its precursors (e.g., the carotenoids in green and yellow vegetables). Most of the data do not show whether the effects are due to carotenoids, to vitamin A itself, or to some other constituent of these foods. |
| No specific information has been produced by epidemiological studies, and there have been only a few inadequate laboratory investigations to determine whether there is a relationship between various b vitamins and the occurrence of cancer. Therefore, no conclusion can be drawn.
Minerals
Of the many minerals present in the diet of humans, the committee reviewed the evidence for nine that have been suspected of playing a role in carcinogenesis. The assessment was severely limited by a paucity of relevant studies on all but two minerals—selenium and iron. |
| The evidence concerning vitamins A, C, E, and selected b vitamins is discussed below.
VITAMIN A
Of the entire collection of chemically diverse substances classified as vitamins, those subsumed under the general term "vitamin A" are of the greatest current interest in terms of their possible association with the process of carcinogenesis. The only well-understood function of vitamin A is its role in the visual cycle. The involvement of this vitamin in cell differentiation, although less well documented, provides a rational basis for examining its relationship to cancer. |
Textbook of Natural Medicine 2nd Edition Volume 2Michael T. Murray, ND
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| Finally, the best sources of the b vitamins are yeast, whole grains, and liver. The best source of selenium is Brazil nuts, especially those that are unshelled. Organically grown foods should be recommended due to their higher levels of trace minerals.
Supplements
• Zinc: 25 mg/day
• Copper: 5 mg/day
• Selenium: 200 meg/day.
Thyroid hormones
Treatment should begin at levels ranging from 0.5 to 2 thyroid units (see above) daily based upon the patient's size and serum hormone levels. |
Committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer, Assembly of Life Sciences National Research Council
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| B vitamins was low, the incidence of tumors in mice was decreased.
Enzymatic activation or deactivation of procarcinogens involves competing pathways. These metabolic pathways can be modulated by dietary constituents such as vitamins and other nutrients, which in turn modulate carcinogenesis. For example, Kensler et al. (1941) demonstrated that riboflavin provided partial protection against hepatic cancer caused by orally administered dimethylaminoazobenzene in rats by enhancing the detoxification of that carcinogen by a flavin-dependent enzyme system (Miller and Miller, 1953; Miller et^al. |
Textbook of Natural Medicine 2nd Edition Volume 2Michael T. Murray, ND
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| There may be a correlation. The b vitamins riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), and pyridoxine (B6), and vitamin C are also necessary for normal thyroid hormone manufacture.
The trace minerals zinc, copper, and selenium are the required cofactors for iodothyronine iodinase, the enzyme which converts T4 to the far more active T3. There are several different forms of this enzyme, each requiring a different trace mineral. |
Sheldon Saul Hendler
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 Inhibits cataracts—It has been suggested that a number of b vitamins may help protect the lenses of the eyes from the clouding effects of cataracts. Research remains very preliminary and, though some positive data may turn up, this claim remains unproved at this time.
Related to Negative Claims:
1) Toxic in high doses and may cause serious nerve damage— Researchers have reported nerve damage in seven patients who had been taking 2 grams or more of B6 daily. Four of the seven patients had been taking these doses for only two to four months. |
| In fact, of all the b vitamins, B6 is most crucial for a healthy immune system.
II. CLAIMS
Positive:
1) Boosts immunity; 2) protects against cancer; 3) relieves the symptoms of premenstrual tension and cures some forms of infertility;
4) has anti-convulsant effects and protects against nervous disorders;
5) helps control diabetes; 6) protects against metabolic imbalances caused by oral contraceptives; 7) prevents skin diseases; 8) inhibits cataracts. |
| C) Take With: It is important to take b vitamins in a well-balanced combination, rather than individually. (See Part Three)
D ) Cautionary Note: Discontinue if any signs of toxicity occur, such as nausea, headaches, cramps, diarrhea, feeling of faintness, accelerated or irregular heartbeat. Toxicity is highly unlikely if intake is limited to the above-recommended dose. Those with peptic ulcer disease, liver disease, gouty arthritis or significant heart-rhythm disturbances should only take supplementary niacin under a doctor's supervision.
Vitamin B6
I. |
| Pellagra was the first form of "mental illness" to be directly linked to a physical cause: lack of b vitamins in general and especially lack of niacin. Since then a few researchers have persistently claimed that some forms of schizophrenia can also be treated successfully with nicotinic acid. There is, as yet, no adequate substantiation of these claims.
4) May be of benefit in diabetes—This is a relatively new claim. |
| When there is a deficiency of riboflavin there is usually a lack of the other b vitamins, too.
II. CLAIMS Positive:
1) Protects exercisers from antioxidant damage and boosts athletic performance; 2) protects against cancer; 3) protects against anemia.
Negative:
1) Toxic in high doses.
III. |
| The b vitamins essential for humans are: B1( or thiamin; B2, or riboflavin; niacin, which includes both nicotinic acid and nicotinamide; B6, which encompasses pyridoxine, pyridoxal and pyri-doxamine; B12, or cobalamin; folic acid; pantothenic acid; and biotin.
The chemical structures of all of the vitamins essential to humans are now known, and whether one consumes a natural or synthetic version of a vitamin, the active principle is identical. |
James A. Duke, Ph.D.
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 Scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill have found that in male rats, a deficiency of dietary choline, one of the b vitamins, is associated with infertility. I hesitate to make too much of a single study done with animals. But reproductive systems in mammals are more similar than different, and getting a little extra choline probably can't hurt.
In my database, fruits of the bottle gourd, a white-flowered vine suggestive of gourds, are highest in choline at 1.6 percent on a dry-weight basis. |
National Women's Health Network
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 Consider the b vitamins Homocysteine, a derivative of the amino acid methionine found mainly in animal products, accumulates in the blood and has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease79' 80' 81 and stroke.82 Getting rid of it requires vitamin B12, B6, and folic acid. People deficient in any of these have higher homocysteine concentrations. Folic acid clearly lowers homocysteine in the blood.83 Although folic acid is found in fresh fruits and vegetables, few people in this country eat enough of this food group. |
Sheldon Saul Hendler and David Rorvik
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 Dried brewer's yeast is a rich source of several nutrients, including the b vitamins thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pyridox-ine, pantothenic acid, folate, vitamin B12 and biotin, and such trace minerals as chromium and selenium. It also contains beta-glucans (see Yeast Beta-Glucan), ribonucleic acid or RNA (see Nucleic Acids/Nucleotides), para-amino-benzoic acid and myo-inositol. A substance isolated from brewer's yeast called skin respiratory factor or SRF has found application in some cosmetic and wound-healing products, as well as in some hemorrhoidal preparations. |
Committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer, Assembly of Life Sciences National Research Council
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| The effects on carcinogenesis by the b vitamins cannot be ascribed solely to effects modulating the stages of initiation or promotion
(Pitot and Sirica, 1980). These vitamins may also modulate other processes such as immunosurveillance, which may affect the ultimate outcome of carcinogenesis. |
Gary Null
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 But unless you are looking for empty calories, there is little reason to buy it, since most of the minerals, b vitamins, and important trace minerals have been removed. The pure white color certainly doesn't signal innocence—white bread has been refined, denatured, and processed to death. Dead food cannot keep us alive and well, whether it is refined wheat flour in bread, white rice, processed breakfast cereal, or refined sugar.
This does not mean you must avoid bread and starches. It is thanks to such energy foods that 80 percent of the population of less affluent countries survives. |
Earl Mindell
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 There are billions of friendly bacteria in our bodies, and they do some wonderful things, such as aid in digestion, improve immune function, help keep hormone levels normal, protect against overgrowth infection from fungi and yeasts (which may be absorbed into the bloodstream and contribute to other serious diseases), manufacture some b vitamins, and more.
Unfortunately, antibiotics can't distinguish between good and bad bacteria. Overuse can lead to an increase in drug-resistant strains and, therefore, make you more susceptible to illness. |
| Vitamin A, for instance, works best with the minerals calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc. The b vitamins are also potentiated by these minerals, along with cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, potassium, and sodium. For vitamin C, the five minerals found to promote the most effectiveness are calcium, cobalt, copper, iron, and sodium; for vitamin D, they are calcium, copper, magnesium, selenium, and sodium; and for vitamin E, they are calcium, iron, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium, and zinc. |
| For example, the standard of enrichment for white flour is to replace the twenty-two natural nutrients that are removed with three b vitamins, vitamin D, calcium, and iron salts. Now really, for the staff of life, that seems a pretty flimsy stick.
I think you can see why my feeling about taking supplements is clear.
6. What Are Nutrients?
They're more than vitamins, though people often think they are the same thing. |
| Personal Advice:
Take inositol with choline and your other b vitamins.
If you are a heavy coffee drinker, you probably need supplemental inositol.
If you take lecithin, I advise a supplement of chelated calcium to keep your phosphorus and calcium in balance, as both inositol and choline seem to raise phosphorus levels.
A good way to maximize the effectiveness of your vitamin E is to take enough inositol and choline.
41. PABA (Para-Aminobenzoic Acid)
Facts:
Water soluble, one of the newer members of the B-complex family.
Usually measured in milligrams (mg.). |
Dr. Mary Dan Eades
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| Recommendation: Take 50 to 100 mg of B-complex daily to provide sufficient supplementation with all the b vitamins.
• Deficiency of vitamin B12 occurs more often in people suffering depression than it does in "normal" (i.e., not depressed) people. Recommendation: Take sublingual (dissolves under your tongue) vitamin B12 in a dose of 500 micrograms weekly for 4 to 6 weeks, then monthly if you respond with a lightening of your mood. Take a 50 mg tablet of B-complex daily along with your vitamin B12.
• One of the earliest detectable symptoms of deficiency of vitamin C is depression. |
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