Vitamins and their natural sources

All vitamins can be found in a bottle, but do we know where to look for them in their natural sources? 

When most people think of vitamins they think of a pill, or several pills, as their source. If you asked about the "natural" source of specific vitamins you would probably hear that you can find vitamin C in an orange or vitamin D from the sun. To refresh our memories, or perhaps to learn this for the first time, let's take a look at the basic vitamins, what they do for us and where, in nature, they can be found.

Please note that this is provided as information only, and is in no way meant to help with any self-diagnosis. As with everything health related, if you believe you may have a deficiency or wish to know how much of a vitamin you should be taking, see your physician.

Vitamin A and beta-carotene: Vitamin A aids in maintaining good vision, such as preventing night blindness and cataracts, as well as reducing the risk of heart attacks and some forms of cancer. Beta-carotene is a
compound that makes up the red, orange and yellow pigments in plants that, when in the body, is converted into vitamin A. Excellent natural sources of vitamin A are raw carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squash, spinach, and cantaloupe.

Vitamin B1 - thiamine: Helps convert blood sugar to energy, forms red blood cells, maintains skeletal muscle. Sources are pork, sunflower seeds, whole grains, beans, seafood.

Folate: A B vitamin called folic acid, aids in metabolism and all of the body's biological reactions. It has recently been found to be especially important in pregnancy, as it aids in development of the fetus while preventing neural tube defects such as spina bifida and incomplete brain formation. sources are beans, spinach and other leafy greens, wheat germ, oranges, and mushrooms.

Vitamin B2 - Riboflavin: Aids in production of body energy. The more active you are the more B2 you need. It also protects against cancer and anemia. Sources of B2 are milk, yogurt, chicken, leafy green vegetables, fruit and almonds.

Vitamin B3 - Niacin: Required for proper metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and protein, as well as production of digestive acid. It is also essential for healthy skin, proper blood circulation and the functioning of the central nervous system. Sources are chicken breast, canned tuna, Brewer's yeast, peanut butter, beans, and sunflower seeds.

Vitamin B5 - pantothenic acid: Vitamin B5 has been found to help fight depression, reduce stress, metabolize carbohydrates, fats and proteins, and aid in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Its presence is needed to produce healthy red blood cells, antibodies, cholesterol and Vitamin D. Sources are organ meats, fish, grains, egg, peanuts and peas.

Vitamin B6 - Pyroxidine: Often hailed as a wonder vitamin as it aids in the treatment of many disorders, such as: PMS, carpal tunnel syndrome, depression, nervous disorders, hyperactivity, diabetes, kidney stones, asthma, skin problems, acne, schizophrenia, and maintains a strong immune system. Sources are bananas, chicken, baked potatoes, chick peas, fortified cereals, oats, and peanuts.

Vitamin B12: Increases energy, reduces stress, improves memory, and aids the digestive system and strengthens the immune system. Sources are fresh fish, dairy products, beef and pork, and eggs.

Vitamin C: Vitamin C is known for fighting colds and cancer as well as enforcing strong teeth, healthy gums, and prevention of heart disease and cataracts. Sources of vitamin C are strawberries, melons, citrus fruit, broccoli, brussel sprouts, red peppers and cranberry juice.

Vitamin D: Builds and maintains strong bones and teeth as it aids in calcium absorption. It is also believed to aid in treatment of psoriasis, tuberculosis and cancers. Sources are the sun (5-10 minutes, 3 times per week), egg yolks, fatty fish, fortified milk, and liver.

Vitamin E - tocopherol: Protects cells from damage caused by destructive oxygen molecules (free radicals), aids in prevention of certain cancers, cataracts, and heart disease and improves the immune system. Sources are vegetable oil, mayonnaise, peants, whole grains, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, sweet potatoes and yams.

Vitamin K: Vitamin K plays an important function in blood clotting, maintaining healthy bones as well as aiding in the healing of fractures. Sources are leafy green vegetables, fruits, beets, potatoes, eggs, seeds, dairy products, meats, and is also made by bacteria in stomach.

Vitamn P - bioflavinoids: Vitamin P is a group of bioflavinoids that includes hesperidin, citrin, rutin, quercetin, calechin, flavone, and flavonals. They protect the capellary lining which is made up of the tiniest blood vessels in the body, as well as aid in the absorption and processing of Vitamin C. Sources are fruits, as bioflavinoids are actually a group of colored substances that are found in fruit skin and the pulp of the fruit.

As you can see, eating a well balanced diet is the best way to ensure getting adequate vitamins. If you feel you may need to supplement, along with eating a healthy diet, please consult your physician for your recommended daily allowances.

Autumn Vitamins for Strong Immunity

As I said in the last post , we have to take care of our vitaminization now for being strong all the autumn and winter.

Choosing a vitamin complex

In Autumn, first of all are needed vitamins which enhance our immunity. This is all well-known vitamin C (ascorbic acid), as well as vitamins A (retinol), E (tocopherol) and B6 (pyridoxine). They increase the body's resistance to viral and bacterial infections, and help cope with colds and flu. Immunity and micro elements can be strengthen with: zinc, selenium, copper. These vitamins and trace elements are needed to all: from babies to the elderly.

Pharmacies offer a wide range of effective vitamin complexes. They typically need to be taken only once a day. For pregnant women there are special vitamin complexes, but anyway before taking them consult your doctor. Vitamins for children usually have bright attractive package, and the drops (or pastilles) can have a funny shape. Most of the complexes are extracts of natural or infusions of immune-simulators: Echinacea, ginseng, eleuterokokka. Such complexes can be recommended to the elder persons.

Autumn Vegetables: enhancing immunity

Autumn vegetables are generous to us with the needed immunity enhancing vitamins. Vitamin C can be found in fresh cabbage, sweet peppers (it is ranked first with the content of vitamin C in vegetables). Vitamin C is destroyed with long-term exposure to high temperatures and in contact with metal (aluminum pots). To get the daily rate of vitamin C, one fresh sweet pepper or 200 grams of fresh cabbage salad is sufficient. Perhaps you can even cook a fresh cabbage juice: it will not only alleviate the vitamins' needs, but also help with the first signs of cold and inflamed throat.

For vitamin A supplies are needed carrots. 1 glass of carrot juice a day has a general strengthening, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer effects, refreshing the skin color. It is valuable not only the carrots' roots, but its leafy tops too. Take the green leaves from 3-4 carrots, scald them with boiling water, then mill with onions through the mincing machine. This vitamin mix is a great spice for rice, spaghetti, meat dishes.

Vitamin E is the most powerful natural antioxidant. Unlike vitamin A, vitamin E poorly can be accumulated in the body, so it is difficult to"stock" it for later. It is important ensuring to receive vitamin E in the body continuously. Vitamin E is found in abundance in vegetable oils (sunflower, flax, cornmeal, olive, almond). Apart from the use of vegetable oils for cooking, it is necessary to use one table-spoon of fresh oil a day.

Vitamin B6 is a real immunity vitamin, it is found in many vegetables: potatoes, carrots, cabbage, beans, beans, peas. From vegetable juices can be prepared exotic vitamin compositions. For example, take 2 carrots, 1 beet, a few leafs of cabbage and prepare a vegetable juice. To give it a different taste, you can also add half of lemon juice or orange juice.

Beside improving immunity, you should consider what vitamins will be practically impossible to find in the winter. It is the vitamin D, which is synthesized in the body only by the action of sunlight. While vitamin D is necessary, above all, to prevent rickets in children, in adults it prevents the loss of calcium, supports the strength of bone. Lack of vitamin D can affect the general feeling: there irritability, anxiety, depression.

Fortunately, vitamin D successfully accumulates in the body. When there is a possibility, you should take sun baths for 15-20 minutes a day. Recommendation is particularly relevant to children (up to 10-12 years) and women after 35-40 years.

Eye Supplements In Addition To Vitamin A

We all take our eyes and sight for granted, and that's ok cause we are born with them, but we only pay attention to them when some illness or trauma occurs. Sometimes it can be too late as our whole life is affected. There are many methods to take care of our vision, one of the prior importance is nutrition.

Of course we cannot control all the factors that involves the eye's health, but there also are a lot of them that we can prevent. Natural vision problems are caused by age, smoking, sunlight, obesity as well as the intake of many medications. The age related worsening (the most popular) can be delayed by means of nutrition.

It was proven that antioxidants from certain foods have an especially healthful effect on our eyes. Unfortunately far not everyone eats enough fresh produce - either because of the busy style of life, or just can't afford it.

Nowadays its very easy to find all the vitamins and supplements on the market, among them the A, C and E vitamins (antioxidants) have an influence on the eye health.

Vitamin A can be found in meals like eggs, liver, milk, carrot. It is involved in the formation and maintenance of healthy skin, hair and helps us to see in dim light, preventing night blindness for pregnant women.
Our eyes deteriorate without adequate supplies of vitamin C. An indication of its importance is the fact that the concentration of vitamin C in the vitreous humor (the clear liqud in the eyeball) is about twenty-five times our serum level (the level in our blood), the retina 100 times. The antioxidant qualities of vitamin C help prevent crystallization and accumulation of foreign molecules that result in the blurred vision of cataracts.

People with lower levels of vitamin E in their blood have a higher risk of cataracts and macular degeneration.
Not less important for the vision are the beta carotene, selenium, cupric and zinc oxide, lutein. Smokers should take care to take enough luteine as it is important to the retina.

Eye sight vitamins can be bought without a prescription unless it is a high dosage for certain people who have AMD and require an extra dosage. Over the counter vitamins are usually not expensive and provide most or all of the vitamins and nutrients listed on our eye nutrition page. Normally dosages range from 1 to 4 pills a day but these will vary with the amounts of vitamins and minerals in each pill. It is also good to note that although these vitamins and minerals are good for us, a moderate amount is all we need because taking too much of them can be dangerous.

Vitamin E: Why There’s No Need To Fear Nature’s Great Protector

It would be a great pity if recent media scare stories highlighting the supposed risks of vitamin E supplementation prevented people, particularly the elderly, from ensuring that their diets include adequate supplies of this vital nutrient.

These stories all centred on a single study, which was not new research but a meta-analysis of 19 previous reports focussed on subjects already identified as suffering from chronic diseases. The applicability of its findings to the usefulness or otherwise of vitamin E in helping to prevent disease and maintain optimum health in the well population must therefore be open to serious doubt. And this one study must also be considered alongside the many which have reported the different health benefits of vitamin E since its discovery in 1922.

Numerous of these studies have demonstrated the benefits of vitamin E to cardiovascular health in terms of protecting against the onset of heart disease, in restricting the advance of the disease, and in reducing the risk of second and further heart attacks in those already affected. In common with other anti-oxidants, vitamin E also appears to protects against atherosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries which is the common precursor of serious heart problems. In fact vitamin E appears to have a general blood thinning and anti-coagulant effect similar to but much gentler and more natural than drugs such as warfarin. Vitamin E thereby helps to protect against highly dangerous clots forming in the arteries serving the brain and heart; clots which can lead to stroke – still one of the main causes of premature death and disability in the western world.

But the benefits of vitamin E reach far beyond the heart and circulatory system. Being fat-soluble, vitamin E is also needed in large quantities by the brain, the trillions of cells of which are particularly rich in fat. Brain function is highly dependent on the efficient functioning of cell membranes, largely formed of fatty tissue, to allow transmission of messages between cells. Free radical damage to cell membranes, worsening rapidly with age, is therefore regarded as one of the principal causes of impaired cognitive function and may even be implicated as a contributory factor in Alzheimer's disease. As an anti-oxidant, vitamin E is an important protector against free radical damage and it's not surprising, therefore, that numerous studies have reported superior cognitive function and memory as consequences of vitamin E supplementation.

As cancer is well known as predominantly a disease of degeneration, it is not surprising that powerful anti-oxidants such as vitamin E should offer a degree of protection against it. And indeed, numerous studies have clearly linked enhanced levels of vitamin E in the body with a reduced incidence of common cancers, particularly that of the prostate. As a powerful anti-oxidant vitamin E may also protect against the damage to healthy cells that is an inevitable accompaniment of necessarily aggressive chemo and radio cancer therapies.

And as if all of this wasn't enough, vitamin E has also demonstrated possible benefits in the treatment of diabetes, in combatting the pain of rheumatoid and osteoarthritis and in maintaining good vision, particularly in old age. Vitamin E is also regarded as a general immune system booster.

But for all these identified benefits, concerns persist in some quarters about the potential dangers of vitamin E, and are generally focussed on the possible toxicity of very high intakes. And it's true that being fat-soluble, vitamin E can be stored in the body, giving rise to a potential for toxicity if ingested in excessive quantities over time. But there are good grounds for thinking that these concerns are probably misplaced.

Rich dietary sources of vitamin E are foods such as leafy green vegetables, certain types of nuts, vegetable oils and whole grains. The typical modern, highly processed, Western diet, high in fat and refined carbohydrate, and produced from intensively farmed, poor quality soils, is unlikely to provide even an adequate, let alone an excessive supply of the vitamin.

Moreover, both the Institute of Medicine and US Dietary Guidelines have identified a regular daily intake of 1,500 IU as the maximum at which no risk should arise to the health of healthy individuals. To put this in context: most commercially available supplements will provide only between 200 and 400 IU.

So with the ever increasing danger of free radical damage as the body ages, and the difficulty of obtaining adequate supplies from diet alone, it appears that any problems arising from vitamin E are far more likely to be those of deficiency rather than excess.


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