Tag Archives: vitamins

Vitamin Guide A-Zinc: Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that is an antioxidant and protects our body from free radicals. These free radicals can damage our cells and also cause cardiovascular disease, which is why it can be said that vitamin E is essential to maintaining a healthy heart and protecting against heart disease. As an additional benefit vitamin E is also effective in helping with the immune system.

Vitamin E is typically measured in milligrams and the recommended daily intakes are as follows:

Men 19+ years of age = 15mg/daily
Women 19+ years of age=15mg/daily
Women who are breastfeeding= 19mg/daily (more…)

Posted on December 26, 2023 by Amy

Vitamin Guide from A to Zinc: Vitamin D

Want to keep your teeth and bones strong? Then you want to pay extra attention to vitamin D and ensure to have it in your daily diet. Vitamin D has also been shown to lower our risk for cancer, upwards of 150,000 cases according to Cedric Garland, a doctor of public health. One of the best ways to get vitamin D is directly from sunlight; this is due to how our bodies produce the vitamin from the exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

With the increase in concern for skin cancers and wanting to protect our skin from sun damage and burning, the amount of sunscreen we utilize has caused our vitamin D levels to plummet. I myself am very fair skinned, but I still make sure to allow my skin time outdoors to soak up the sun’s beautiful rays in limited quantities, ensuring not to burn or over expose myself. (more…)

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Amy

Vitamin Guide A to Zinc: Vitamin C

orange This week the Vitamin Guide continues through vitamins A to Zinc with vitamin C. Click here to read about last weeks topic of vitamin B12. Vitamin C is essential for our bodies as it helps with the formation of our bones, muscle, teeth and skin. It is also important to note that unlike most animals, we as humans do not have the ability to make our own vitamin C, and therefore must get it through our diet. Vitamin C helps with resistance to infection and with healing wounds, and in most recent research it has shown that vitamin C is useful in lowering cholesterol and fat levels in blood. (more…)

Posted on December 12, 2023 by Amy

Vitamin Guide from A to Zinc: Vitamin B12

Last week the vitamin guide series kicked off with vitamin A. This week I focus on Vitamin B12 an essential vitamin needed for healthy nerve and blood cells as well as the production of DNA. A lack of B12 in the diet can cause anemia, which prevents the body from making normal red blood cells that carry oxygen in the blood. Anemia can leave you feeling tired and weak, if you have been feeling this way you should visit your doctor and have your B12 sections checked.

Vitamin B12 is a water–soluble vitamin, so you don’t have to worry about having too much in your system or risk of toxicity. Any amount of the vitamin your body does not need will be rid of through urine, unlike vitamin A as reviewed last week. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for the average adult is 2.4 micrograms per day. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should increase their daily allowance to 2.6-2.8 micrograms. (more…)

Posted on December 5, 2023 by Amy

Vitamin Guide from A to Zinc: Vitamin A

If you have ever heard the suggestion to eat your carrots for good vision, you were actually being told to eat a food high in vitamin A.

Vitamin A not only helps with vision but it is an antioxidant, which means that this substance can prevent damage to our bodies’ cells and also help with repairing damage. Additionally, vitamin A helps with maintaining our skin tissue and it is necessary for our cell growth. It also helps fight off infection, which in addition to the benefits listed above, makes vitamin A essential for our bodies.

(more…)

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Amy

Vitamin guide from A to Zinc – Series Kick-off

As a holistic health counselor and a relatively healthy eater (yes, I eat ice cream and can be seen eating french fries), I take supplements every day. The reason for this is because despite eating a healthy American diet, it is virtually impossible to get all the vitamins and nutrients our bodies need.

In a new weekly series that will launch on Saturday, November 28th, I’m going to feature specific vitamins and provide an overview as to why you need it, what it does for your body and where you can get it.

More and more people are deficient and with busy schedules you can start to feel even more run down especially heading into the holiday season.

(more…)

Posted on November 21, 2023 by Amy

Gummy Vitamins For Adults

As a young Army brat in my tween years living in Germany, I have distinct memories of enjoying the original German Gummy Bears, known there as Gummibär (rubber bear) or Gummibärchen (little rubber bear). I also enjoyed another German treat that made its way over to the States, Capri Sun, but that’s getting off subject a bit.

My wife and I have been giving my three-year-old daughter gummy bear vitamins for a year or so now. We’ve found it an easy way to get her to supplement her very finicky diet. And I even find myself occasionally dipping into her stash. (more…)

Posted on November 1, 2023 by Jason

Five Key Supplements For Good Health

Everywhere we go, we are assaulted by claims of “Enriched with Vitamin C!”, “Added B vitamins!”, “More Vitamin A than the leading brand!”, and so on. We all know that vitamins and minerals are essential to the proper balance and function of our bodies, but which supplements are vital and necessary to our health and well being, and which might we avoid, lest we end up with an expensive bathroom trip? Here are my top five choices for essential supplements:

Calcium – According to the National Institute of Health, the recommended total calcium intake is 1,000 mg a day for women between 25 and 50 years of age, 1,200 – 1,500 for pregnant or lactating women, and 1,500 mg per day for postmenopausal women. The average calcium consumption among North American women is currently only 600 mg per day. I take a calcium magnesium supplement and find that it really helps me with nighttime leg cramps. (more…)

Posted on September 21, 2023 by Carmen

Vitamin K Helps Fight Diabetes

Experts are always finding new and interesting benefits that come with certain vitamins or minerals. This time around, it’s vitamin K and how it may help you avoid diabetes.

In a study, those subjects (older men and women) who took a vitamin K supplement for three years had lower blood levels of insulin. They also experienced an improvement with insulin resistance as compared to another group who did not take the supplement.

Here comes the catch… (more…)

Posted on June 20, 2023 by Jason

Find out if You Really Need a Multi-Vitamin

Many corporations push and spend big bucks on advertising and marketing of multi-vitamins, mineral (or combo) supplements. Besides the companies telling you to buy these products because your body needs them, how do you truly know if it’s something you should buy and start taking?

Do I need one?
Deciding to take a multi-vitamin and mineral really should be determined based off of your current diet. Do you eat a well balanced diet (including plenty of fruits and vegetables)? If so, you’re honestly wasting your money on these supplements.

However, if you eat poorly (i.e. Eating out a lot, not having a lot of variety, eating little to no fresh fruits and vegetables) then you would probably benefit from taking a daily multi-vitamin and mineral supplement. (more…)

Posted on May 1, 2023 by Kinsey

Multivitamins Not Found to Reduce Risks

Multivitamins

The new findings, published in the February issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers analyzed data from 68,132 women who were enrolled in a clinical trial and 93,676 in an observational study. They followed the women for an average of about eight years to track the health effects of multivitamins.

After controlling for age, physical activity, family history of cancer and many other factors, the researchers found that the supplements had no effect on the risk for breast cancer, colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, heart attack, stroke, blood clots or mortality.

Read the rest of the commentary at the NY Times.

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Natalie K

Tag Archives: vitamins

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