Vitamin Information Center

Anyone who takes vitamin supplements and looks at its bottles or boxes is familiar with the vitamins that are contained in each tablet.

But what do those vitamins really do? Do you really need to take them? Below is a list of the most common vitamins found in supplements as well as a description of what they do.

Vitamin A

- commonly found in leafy vegetables and in other products like carrots, broccoli, papaya, eggs and liver, this vitamin helps keep the eyes healthy. A deficiency of this vitamin can cause permanent loss of eyesight.

Vitamin B1

- thiamine is the other name for this vitamin. It keeps the heart and the digestive and nervous systems functioning normally. Aside from that, thiamine is also important in a person’s physical growth and development.

Good sources of this vitamin include beef, pork, nuts and legumes, among other foods.

Vitamin B2

- otherwise known as riboflavin, this vitamin is important in metabolizing energy as well as fats, carbohydrates and proteins. Common sources of this vitamin include milk, cheese and leafy vegetables. A deficiency of this vitamin is signaled by cracked lips, mouth ulcers and sore throat, among other symptoms.

Vitamin C

- also known as ascorbic acid, this vitamin has a lot of benefits attributed to it. Some of them include boosting the immune system and minimizing the symptoms of illnesses.

It is also a well-known antioxidant. Lack of this vitamin can cause scurvy that leads to loss of teeth and eventually, death.

There is plenty of information out there about different things that are available to cure wrinkles. One of them is Vitamin C that you can get from various foods including oranges. There is quite a bit of research that indicates Vitamin C may be just what women are looking for as a very natural way to get rid of those wrinkles.

Back in the early 1970’s there was a significant study done on women. More than 4,000 of them spanning from 40 to 74 years of age were evaluated with their skin problems. They were then closely monitored and what they consumed was tracked. It became apparent that a person’s diet definitely has plenty to do with the aging of their skin.

One important determination from that study was that women consuming large amounts of Vitamin C had healthier looking skin than those that didn’t. They have fewer wrinkles and their skin was smoother. It was reasonable for them to assume that Vitamin C does slow down the aging process. This is due to the antioxidants found in it. They help the body to naturally produce more collagen. The Linoleic Acid that they contain also helps to prevent the skin from drying out.

The thought of adding more Vitamin C to your diet is easy right? But most people don’t want to consume oranges all day either. There is also the fact that fresh oranges and even orange juice tend to be expensive. There are some other alternatives though because many other types of fruit also contain plenty of Vitamin C. Some of them you may enjoy include kiwi and papaya. They are also found in certain vegetables including broccoli and peppers.

In order to get the most Vitamin C though from them you need to avoid boiling them. You need to eat them raw. You also need to consume Vitamin C all day long instead of at one sitting. That way your body is able to absorb as much of it as possible. Just think adding more Vitamin C to your diet is an easy way to control wrinkles.

There is no reason to let those wrinkles form on your skin and make you look older than you really are. You also don’t have to pay for expensive treatments such as Botox or a face lift. Consuming Vitamin C is a natural way for you to control the look of your skin. You can also do it at home so no one has to know you are fighting wrinkles. They will just be jealous that you have skin they would love to have.

So there you go.

Consuming so much Vitamin C will also help to boost your immune system. This means you will be less likely to become ill with common ailments such as the flu and colds. Your overall dietary intake will likely improve as well so you will have more energy and you may even lose some weight. Overall, this could be the tip you need to look and feel much better than you have in a long time.

Stacey Williams helps you to find the best wrinkle cream and antiaging cream to turn back the clock on your skin’s appearance. See this review of Athena 7 Minute Lift wrinkle cream at his review site here. Does this ‘face lift in a jar’ known as Athena 7 Minute Lift really work? Find out right here.

Cataracts, the most common cause of blindness, may result from exposure to sunlight throughout your life. What we eat may help protect not only against cataracts but glaucoma and macular degeneration, and can promote overall and eye health.
Several research studies have found antioxidants like vitamin E and vitamin C help lower the rate of cataracts. Vitamin A, lutein and zeaxanthin are three more compounds found in food that are essential for good eye health.
Vitamin E is found in wheat germ, nuts, seeds and oils. Vitamin C is found in oranges, grapefruit, strawberries, broccoli and peppers. Vitamin A promotes normal vision and helps you see in the dark by adjusting to lower levels of light. Good sources of vitamin A are carrots, papaya, milk and tomatoes.
Lutein is a phytonutrient that contributes to the health of your eyes by maintaining healthy vision and possibly reducing the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration. Zeaxanthin is another phytonutrient that contributes to maintaining healthy vision and may help prevent macular degeneration.
Both lutein and zeaxanthin are found in dark green leafy vegetables, broccoli, peas, kiwi, red grapes, yellow squash, oranges, corn, mangoes and honeydew melon. They help keep the lens, retina and the pigment of the macula (or central area of the eye) healthy.
You’ve probably noticed these foods benefit your overall health in addition to being good for your eyes. Remember, one of the best things you can do to keep your eyes healthy is to consume five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day.
To keep your eyes healthy, fix your gaze on fruits and vegetables.
For other nutrition and food safety questions, contact me at 620-232-1930 or e-mail me at mmurphy@ksu.edu or check out the K-State Research and Extension Web site: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/humannutrition/

Q. For foods that act as natural blood thinners (such as broccoli, cabbage, etc.), does it make a difference whether the foods are eaten raw or cooked? My mom, who takes prescription blood thinners, has been told that she should avoid all these foods. But these foods are also good for you and I would like to be able to find a balance. It seems to me that you would need to consume a great deal of vitamin K in order for it to produce a negative effect together with the Coumadin.

A. First, a clarification on why people taking blood-thinners are sometimes advised to avoid foods that are high in vitamin K. Vitamin K does not act as a natural blood-thinner; quite the opposite. Vitamin K regulates clotting action and can interfere with blood-thinning medication.

But you are quite right to note that these foods are also very good for you and, in fact, it is not necessary to eliminate them from the diet when taking blood-thinning medication.  It is important, however, to keep your intake of vitamin K relatively steady from day to day so that your doctor can calibrate your dosage appropriately. Please refer to this post for a more complete discussion of this issue.

To your question about how cooking affects vitamin K levels: The amount of vitamin K is not greatly affected by cooking.  Nonetheless, most vegetables are listed in our database in both their raw and cooked forms so you can check the vitamin K content of a food according to how its prepared.

A garden may mean different things to different people. To some, it’s a way to trim back the grocery budget. If laid out properly and maintained, a 50-by-50-foot garden could produce all the vegetables a family of five would need for a year. Even a 20-by-20-foot plot could produce enough food to greatly impact that weekly trudge to the grocery store.Some find it relaxing, some, a source of exercise. Light gardening will burn 170 to 240 calories an hour, while vigorous work such as spading and hoeing will burn 250 to 350.
Most have found how much better homegrown harvest tastes than the store bought stuff and how much better it is for you. Tomatoes that are picked green will ripen with 1/3 less vitamin C than vine ripened ones, and broccoli will lose 2/3 of its vitamin C six days after harvest. But even when stored for a period of time, good amounts of disease fighting beta-carotene are found in winter squash, carrots and sweet potatoes.

Why should it surprise us that fresh, just-picked veggies are the best for us? You wouldn’t need to take another store bought vitamin if all your vegetables came from your garden.

Going down the list we find that asparagus is high in vitamins A, C, B1, and Calcium. Because they root deep they become a good source of minerals too. Beets are high in A and C, while turnips are packed with B2 and E.

Besides the beta carotene found in carrots, significant amounts of B1, calcium, and phosphorus make the carrot one of the best snacks you could give your little munchkin. They would consider it a tasty treat if it came from your garden; the store stuff can taste pretty bad sometimes, thus leaving a bad taste in their mouth for veggies.

Parsnips, when harvested in the winter under 12 inches of leaves, will give you a whole new appreciation for this B6, C and potassium packed, cream-colored, carrot-looking thing. Other vegetables whose flavor sweetens with each passing frost include broccoli, which has more body-ready calcium than a glass of milk could ever hope for. Brussels sprouts are just plain stuffed with everything. And just one serving of Cauliflower will give you all the vitamin C your body will need for that day. Cabbage goes beyond that, adding good amounts of vitamins B1, B2, A and calcium as well.

Onion and leeks rate high in vitamins A, C and E, with corn adding vitamins A, B and some minerals, though not in very big amounts. My wife says there is not much nutrition in sweet corn; and I guess after it’s been smothered in butter and sprinkled with salt, any good has probably been canceled out. But I tell her, “It’s got to be better than a Twinkie.”

There are many more, including spinach. We around 50 years old know what gigantic muscles can be had by downing a can of this stuff, and these are necessary when protecting our Olive Oyls from the Blutos in our lives (I still don’t know what he saw in her, what a bean pole).

If gardening is your thing, whatever your reason, be it saving money or good health, your tastes buds and, more importantly, your children’s buds will say, “I didn’t know veggies could taste this good.”

If you have any questions about your landscaping, lawn, or garden, enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope and write to Niemeyer Landscaping, 3368 Perry St., Hudsonville, 49426, or e-mail NiemeyerLandscaping@Juno.com.

In a time of fast food, dinner-to-go and Pizza hot-lines it becomes more and more crucial for people to remember healthy eating in order to stay active, feel good and maintain a healthy weight. For those that already chronically feel sick, fatigued and overweight it is important to review these keys to healthy eating in order to change back to a healthier lifestyle.

1. Eat green. Green vegetables have a huge amount of minerals and dietary fiber in them. The minerals are essential to your health, well being and fighting sickness. Dietary fiber is like the magic pill when it comes to keeping your colon healthy and working efficiently. Greens that are good to eat are spinach leaves, broccoli, lettuce, Brussels sprouts, fresh wheat grass and collards.

2. Get moving. Start with a very small amount but do it continually to build up a habit. When the habit is there you can increase the amount of exercise you are doing. For weight loss the slow increase over time will be more beneficial than a long workout over only a short time period. Exercise has been proven to work as a hunger depressant. Especially a few minutes walking before dinner help keeping the portion size down.

3. Laugh and be Social. When you eat with others you can focus more of your attention on the conversations and the interaction that is taking place. You do not have to rely solely on your food to make you happy. Also, laughing is good for the soul. It defeats stress and works against depression, two major reasons why people overeat and turn to food as their comforter.

4. Drink Water. Somehow we forget this a lot during our busy lifestyles but still you can feel pretty miserable if you don’t drink enough. If you don’t drink enough your body actually starts to store water which will lead to weight gain and will counteract weight loss. Therefore, make sure you are getting your recommended eight cups a day.

5. Get enough Sleep. Most people need about seven to eight hours of sleep a night. When loosing weight and going through physical changes you will be needing more sleep. Not getting enough sleep will lead to fatigue and a craving for high energy foods to keep you going through the day. When you notice fatigue, try a power nap of max. 30min instead of the candy bar.

6. Eat Fresh. Everything that comes in cans, bags, boxes, bottles and so on is processed food and has already lost a large amount of its minerals and vitamins. It still has the same calories as it did fresh, but the quality has degraded. Make sure you get enough fresh food in your diet to fuel your body with all the nutrients it is needing. Always have fresh fruit in the house, keep fresh vegetables in your refrigerator and if you can afford it buy your fresh produce in the organic section. Also, a farmers market is usually the better choice than a big store.

7. Avoid Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils. More and more people are picking up on this. Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils have been linked to many diseases lately. They are being used in pastry to extend its shelf life. Therefore, always check the ingredients before buying pastries and other baked goods.

8. Choose Whole Wheat instead of white flour. The diet expert are screaming it at you all the time. Avoid the white flour. A grain consists of it’s shell, the seed and a starch pocket. In the process of producing flour the grain is stripped of the seed which is fatty and would make the flour turn bad in short time. For white flour the shell is also taken away leaving mainly the starch. In whole wheat flour the shell is left with the starch providing dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins. If you want to use whole wheat flour for baking add about 10% more water to the dough. If you want to compromise use 2/3 whole wheat flour and 1/3 white flour.

9. Say ‘No’ to Sugar. White sugar is so refined that it does not have any vitamins or minerals left. Actually, when white sugar is digested it takes those minerals from the body that it needs to be processed. Sugar has an addictive effect on the body. Some people may have mild symptoms of dizziness, headache and sweating when stopping to consume sugar.

10. Always exchange bad eating habits with good ones. Changing to healthy eating is about exchanging bad eating habits with good one. This is the important thing to keep in mind when pursuing weight loss and health improvement. Take time to think about bad eating habits that you have and instead of ending them, exchange them for good ones. Once you have that good eating habit implemented move on to the next bad habit you have and keep continuing on this path of permanent health.

(HealthDay News) - Vitamin C is an antioxidant that’s found primarily in citrus fruits, leafy green vegetables, broccoli, potatoes and other fruits and veggies.

Significant enough vitamin C deficiency can lead to a condition called scurvy. Continue Reading…

Special K has a great promotional idea going with their “Special K Challenge. After all, so many of us want to shed the extra pounds we put on during the Holidays, what’s wrong with them offering us a little help while they introduce their new line of snack products? Besides, the program is logical. You are cutting calories if you substitute two meals a day with either Special K Cereal or one of their snack bars and milk. Cutting calories usually leads to weight loss, right?
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There is no warning signal that lets you know if you have a calcium deficiency. Actually, a calcium deficiency is usually undetectable until damage that is irreversible has already occurred. A calcium deficiency is extremely hard to detect because the calcium level in the blood may seem to be normal, even if extreme cases of deficiency are actually occurring. This is because the body has a calcium bank, which can be found in teeth and bones. Calcium is needed in order to control muscular contractions such as the heart, blood-clotting, transmission of nerve impulses, and other requirements which take priority.
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Expert diet tricks can easily help you along on your way to DROPPING THE POUNDS. Done in combination with a healthy lifestyle they will greatly improve the results you might be seeing, with just a typical. Adding these expert diet tricks is like popping a few extra pills without the nasty side effects. Continue Reading…