| The myth is that the RDAs are the gold standard of nutrition—get 100 percent of the RDAs for all the vitamins and minerals that have them and you're covered. In fact, current RDAs are extremely controversial. Growing numbers of scientists say they're too low and should be increased, in some cases substantially.
The first RDAs were established in 1943 by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). At the time the RDAs were defined as "the intake of essential nutrients .. . adequate to meet the known needs of practically every healthy person. |
| RDAs, Megadoses and Supplement Safety
Supplement critics have spent a great deal of energy wringing their hands over the alleged toxicity of vitamins and minerals. Let's debunk that myth right away. The American Association of Poison Control Centers reported that in one five-year period, the total number of accidental fatalities from legal, FDA-approved prescription and over-the-counter drugs was 1,132. The total number from supplements during the same five-year period was 0—that's right, zero, nada, zilch. |
| A plant-based diet supports the immune system's fight against not only cancer but all illnesses, because plant foods are high in vitamins and minerals. So do your immune system a favor: Eat less fat and enjoy more fruits and vegetables. The main sources of fat in the American diet are meats, dairy foods and fried foods, which include most junk snacks like potato chips and corn chips. The National Cancer Institute now recommends that Americans "strive for five," that is, five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
Drink water, tea and juices. |
Mark Stengler, N.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
 Make sure to take a high-potency multivitamin that contains other vitamins and minerals needed to absorb and utilize calcium effectively.
Also, use calcium supplements that contain magnesium, as this mineral is very important in helping your body absorb and use as much of the calcium as possible. Magnesium should be taken at half or equal to the amount of calcium each day. If you take a magnesium supplement that's separate from the calcium supplement, you'll find it in many acceptable forms—as magnesium citrate, chelate, or glycinate aspartate, fumarate, malate, and succinate. |
| It is also becoming better understood how certain pharmaceutical medications deplete vitamins and minerals. For example, the birth-control pill and various types of antibiotics deplete vitamins B6 and B12 and folic acid. Cholesterol-lowering drugs such as lovastatin deplete CoQIO.
More people are becoming aware of the new Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) that have been released by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Science. Again, these values offer information on protecting society as a whole against nutritional deficiencies, but still come up short for many people. |
| While the guidelines may be adequate for most people, some require higher daily amounts of certain vitamins and minerals than the amounts designated as "acceptable" in the RDA guidelines.
For example, people who have homocysteinuria (a genetic condition where the amino acid methionine is converted to the potentially toxic compound homocysteine), have a much greater risk of heart disease and stroke. These people need higher amounts of vitamins B6 and Bp and folic acid to prevent the buildup of this toxic metabolite. Following the RDA guidelines will not work for most people with this condition. |
Michael Lerner
See book keywords and concepts |
 Individual micronutrients, including vitamins and minerals, can also be selectively restricted.8
One of the most significant nutritional findings in cancer is the relationship between high caloric intake and the incidence of cancer. This is found in the epidemiological literature on the hormone-related cancers—breast, prostate, colon, and ovarian cancer. In Diet, Nutrition and Cancer, the National Academy of Sciences notes, "Berg (1975) pointed out that the international distribution of hormone-dependent cancers has generated suspicion that these cancers may be related to affluence. |
Mark Stengler, N.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
| For maximum effectiveness, I always recommend taking it with other vitamins and minerals known to play a role in bone metabolism. Calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D are the most important. But there are other important supplements as well, including zinc, silicon, manganese, vitamin C, vitamin B6, boron, vitamin K, vitamin B12, and folic acid. All these can be found in bone-building formulas offered by many companies, so you don't have to purchase them separately.
WHAT ARE THE SIDE EFFECTS?
In general, ipriflavone appears to be very safe. |
Marcia Zimmerman, C.N.
See book keywords and concepts |
 They urged more study of the vitamins and minerals involved in the synthesis of the five neurotransmitters serotonin, the catecholamines, acetylcholine, histamine, and glycine.
One could wish others had listened to them and more time and resources had been allocated to study specific effects and optimum dosages of micronutrients needed by those with AD/HD. It seems apparent that ratios between the minerals might be tailored to suit the individual, based on his or her biochemical data. This is something you should take up with your doctor. |
John Heinerman
See book keywords and concepts |
 This will make a hearty supper dish that I would enjoy for taste alone," he once confessed, "even if it weren't fairly bulging with all those healthful vitamins and minerals. A little apple cider vinegar, he believed, also adds zest to dock greens.
Because dock is a large plant and grows in great patches, one gathering can furnish many meals. Cook dock alone or mix it with other spring greens. It doesn't cook down much, so it's particularly good for canning— just follow standard directions for canning greens. It also freezes well. |
Earl Mindell
See book keywords and concepts |
 Though synthetic vitamins and minerals have produced satisfactory results, the benefits from natural vitamins, on a variety of levels, surpass them. Chemical analysis of both might appear the same, but there's more to natural vitamins because there's more to those substances in nature.
Synthetic vitamin C is just that, ascorbic acid and nothing more. Natural C from rose hips contains bioflavonoids, the entire C complex, which make the C much more effective.
Natural vitamin E, which can include all the tocopherols, not just alpha, is more potent and better absorbed than its synthetic double. |
| The big nutritional plus for ginseng is that it helps you assimilate vitamins and minerals by acting as an endocrine-gland stimulant. For maximum effectiveness, it is best to take on an empty stomach—preferably before breakfast—or at least an hour before or after eating. Vitamin C may interfere with the absorption of ginseng. If you take a vitamin C supplement, wait two hours before or after taking your ginseng to do so. (A time-release vitamin C supplement makes any counteraction less likely. |
| If you've been instructed to take vitamin E 4 times a day, it's unlikely that you want 400 IU. vitamins and minerals come in different strengths. Be sure you're getting what you ask for— and need. Not understanding labels can often negate a lot of vitamin benefits.
The U.S. Food and Drag Administration (FDA) rules for the new millennium (effective as of March 1999) should make understanding labels a lot easier. They require vitamins, minerals, herbs, and amino acids be labeled as dietary supplements. |
| The Difference Between Micronutrients and Macronutrients
Micronutrients, like vitamins and minerals, do not themselves provide energy. The macronutrients—carbohydrates, fat, and protein—do that, but only when there are sufficient micronutrients to release them.
*See section 72
With nutrients, less is often the same as more.
The amount of micronutrients and macronutrients you need for proper health is vastly different—but each is important. (See section 72 for The Protein-Ammo Acid Connection.)
8. How Nutrients Get to Work
The body simplifies nutrients in order to utilize them. |
| It should. The vitamins and minerals that these foods supply are what your hair needs, along with frequent scalp massage, a good pH-balanced, protein-enriched shampoo, and supplements.
SUPPLEMENTS (Take with meals unless otherwise indicated.)
• An all-natural, high-potency multiple vitamin and amino acid-chelated mineral complex (see section 314 above for optimal supplement contents)—1 twice daily, a.m. and p.m.
Essential for general health of hair.
• A broad-spectrum antioxidant formula (see section 314 above for optimal supplement contents)—1 twice daily, a.m. and p.m. |
Gary Null
See book keywords and concepts |
 Make friends with the nutrient-rich soybean to guarantee that you get plenty of the vitamins and minerals that animal products supply in a nonvegetarian diet. For example, sixteen ounces of soybean milk daily can provide the necessary calcium and B2, while a B12 supplement will do the rest. Or explore other versatile soy foods like tofu, tempeh, and miso. It's also a good idea for you to snack on vitamin-rich grains, nuts, beans, and seeds as well.
Dieters need to pay attention to their B2 intake, too. If you are on a very strict diet, be careful not to overdo the undereating. |
| Rice syrup, barley syrup, and other grain syrups are less processed, have more vitamins and minerals, and are preferable over all other sugars mentioned.
Eight Facts About Sugar
1. You could be eating a high-sugar diet even if you don't own a sugar bowl. Half of our carbohydrate intake is in the form of sugar, experts tell us; between 20 and 25 percent of our calories come from sucrose. Most of it is already in the foods we buy.50
2. |
| Unsulfured molasses supplies some B vitamins and minerals that table sugar does not. But all sugary sweeteners can be habit forming and should be used with great moderation.
Table sugar, turbinado sugar, brown sugar, and raw sugar are so similar that it makes no difference which you choose—except that brown sugar has added chemicals that may be harmful.
Saccharin has been shown to cause cancer in test animals and their offspring, and using it doesn't reduce your caloric intake all that much. It is a carcinogen that should not have been allowed to remain on the market. |
| What he is missing is an adequate portion of vitamins and minerals.
True, the meat supplies complete protein—but possibly more than he really needs. And by the time he finishes a pound or so of roast beef, he's really not very interested in eating his vegetables, such as they are. He throws a few pats of butter onto his potato—still more saturated fat —eats the inside and discards the skin as waste. He doesn't realize he's throwing out a fine source of fiber and vitamin C—neither of which is to be found in his roast beef. |
| The potatoes are made from a mix—Jimmy's mother was too tired to peel, boil, and mash her own—but the package reassures her that they have been enriched with several vitamins and minerals. The creamed spinach is from a frozen commercial preparation, but spinach is spinach—always good for you, she believes, and the freezing process "locks in" so many of the essential nutrients. Jimmy's father is on a diet, so there is no dessert, but when he's finished his homework, Jimmy sits down to watch television with cookies and a big glass of Coca-Cola. |
Mark Stengler, N.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
| For optimal health, people need to consume certain amounts of vitamins and minerals on a regular basis. The Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) have been used as a guideline since 1941. The goal of the RDAs is to reduce the incidence of diseases that occur as a result of severe nutritional deficiencies.
A classic example is scurvy. Once the scourge of sailors and arctic explorers who had to go long periods without any sources of vitamin C (such as fresh fruits and vegetables), scurvy has virtually been eliminated because vitamin C is so easy to get under normal condition. |
Velma J. Keith and Monteen Gordon
See book keywords and concepts |
| It has been called the King of plants because it is extremely rich in vitamins and minerals including iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, sodium, potassium, silicon, and trace elements.
— good source of carotene (Vitamin A) and a little known vitamin—Vitamin K, the blood clotting vitamin which has been known to help peptic ulcers.
— has eight of the essential amino acids and the highest chlorophyll content of any plant. Note: Essential amino acids are not made by the body, but have to be supplied daily by our food or supplements. |
Nicola Reavley
See book keywords and concepts |
 Many, although by no means all, nutrition experts agree that a balanced diet can supply all the vitamins and minerals that a healthy person needs. This line is most often taken by government organizations such as the American
Dietitians Association and the American Heart Association. However, this view may be changing. |
| Fruit and vegetables are often picked before they are ripe, in some cases before they have developed their full content of vitamins and minerals. When food is stored for later use, some of the content may decay during storage. Processing of foods removes many valuable nutrients, and a person whose diet is high in these foods may be at risk of nutrient deficiencies.
The basics of a healthy diet
Ideas about what comprises healthy eating behavior vary from one culture to another. |
| Whole grain products are better than refined ones because they still contain the vitamins and minerals lost in the refining process.
• Try to limit your sugar intake, particularly if you suffer mood swings, depression and fluctuating energy levels. If you do eat sugar, try not to combine it with fat, particularly if you are trying to lose weight.
• The latest research on fat suggests that it is not just how much you eat but what type that increases the risk of obesity and disease. Try to cut down on foods high in saturated fat such as meat, whole milk, butter, palm oil and coconut oil. |
| For example, fried chicken contains twice the calories of grilled chicken but the same amount of protein, vitamins and minerals. The way food is stored and cooked affects the vitamin and mineral content. Some vitamins are easily affected by exposure to light, heat and air.
• Vitamins A, D, E and K, riboflavin and beta carotene are destroyed when exposed to light.
• Vitamins C, A, B12, folic acid and thiamin are destroyed by heat.
• Vitamins C, A, D, E, K, B12 and folic acid are destroyed by exposure to air. |
Joe Graedon and Teresa Graedon
See book keywords and concepts |
 Ask your physician and pharmacist to check periodically on the compatibility of all your medicines, including over-the-counter remedies and even vitamins and minerals.
Look out for your friends, neighbors, and loved ones; they may not always be able to protect themselves. Why not loan them this book so they can do some checking of their own? Remember, good health is your most valuable possession. Fame and fortune fade very quickly in the face of illness and death.
1. Reid, Dee, Managing Editor, Publications, Family Health International. Personal letter, November 14, 1990.
2. Ibid.
3. |
Stanley W. Jacob, M.D., Ronald M. Lawrence, M.D., Ph.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
 Along with a gentle exercise program and the addition of important vitamins and minerals, this patient has continued to make a remarkable recovery.
Many of my rheumatoid patients report rapid and substantial relief from symptoms with MSM. Previously, if I was unable to help severe cases, I would refer them to a specialist. Now, I find this amazing supplement helps even the most severe conditions and gives me a substantial therapeutic tool. It doesn't restore destroyed joints but it makes the lives of patients much more comfortable and also produces many other side benefits. |
| Medical science knows a good deal about deficiencies of many vitamins and minerals, but not about sulfur.
One sulfur researcher at a major university put it this way: "People look so little at sulfur nutritionally because it is so well known that sulfur-containing proteins, which are in the foods we eat, must be present in plants or else the plants don't grow. When we meet our protein requirements we have enough sulfur produced through the breakdown of the protein to obtain the body's sulfur needs. |
| At a landmark 1992 symposium sponsored by the New York Academy of Science, researchers presented many new findings on the beneficial effects of vitamins and minerals against cancer, heart disease, and other illnesses. The symposium was called "Beyond Deficiency: New Views on rhe Function and Health Effects of Vitamins." Medical World News, a periodical read by many doctors, led off its January 1993 issue with an article entitled "Vitamins: Emerging as Disease Fighters, Not Just Supplements. |
Email this page to a friend
