Alternative health and healing

Vitamins-not enough or too much?

Vitamins and minerals

 In 1747, Dr Linden, a ship’s doctor announced, that scurvy can be cured by eating lemons and fresh vegetables. His colleagues were outraged at this idea, saying that he brings wives tales into the noble profession of healing. Who ever heard of such nonsense as to heal a disease with a vegetable! Outrageous idea!

181 years had to pass until Dr Linden’s theory was proven.

The beri-beri was classified as a communicable disease until a Japanese scientist Takaki announced that it also can be cured with diet. He was ridiculed as well, until in 1912, a biologist named Casimir Funk isolated the thiamin from rice and proved that it can not only cure, but also prevent beri-beri.

Today, we have much broader knowledge of the effects and need for vitamins and minerals, thanks to the scientists before us, who bore ridicule and laughter in their time.

For example, it is proven that calcium and vitamin D help in the formation of strong bones; Vitamins C and E with selenium aid in the prevention of cancer; Vitamin A deficiency causes visual problems in dim light; Vitamin B12 deficiency is the cause of anemia, etc.

A healthy diet, adequate vitamin and mineral intake also play a role in the prevention of diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, heart and circulatory diseases as well as in the prevention of cancer.

Thanks to modern technology, we have a suffocating amount of information. The more we learn about it, the more questions we have instead of a solid answer.

We have as many theories as scientists, mostly contradicting each other. It’s very hard to see the trees in the forest if we do not know its trees we’re looking for.What is the solution?

What kind and how much vitamins or supplements should we take? It is again safer to trust someone who spent years learning aout them than to go to the store and discuss our needs with an uneducated clerk or take advice from magazines, websites who wants to sell their peoducts and will promise anything to achieve their goal.  

In order to stay healthy, you might want to follow the basic consultation's vitamin and supplement advice, if you suffer from illness or need specific advice for a condition, please order the comprehensive consultation in our webstore

Is it really good for you to take mega doses of vitamins? In my opinion it is not. Further more, it can be harmful. Of course we need vitamins and minerals to function properly, these micronutrients are essential to our health.

But how much and in what combination?

Certain vitamins or minerals can be added in conditions such as prostate cancer, in which the zinc requirement is 40mg daily. Taking the water soluble vitamin A palmitate 10000U a day in case of psoriasis or increasing vitamin E to 600 IU in MS and so on.

But, does everyone need high doses of everything? I don’t think so. In my opinion, moderation is the key, give your cells what they need but don’t overload them unnecessarily.

Our ancestors did not take vitamins but they ate what nature has provided them with. Ripe fruits, vegetables from the garden or field, various grains and meats that came from animals that were not raised using chemicals, pesticides or hormones.

Today, we are not really able to eat clean, organic food, drink clean water, we are surrounded by chemicals and our food is depleted of the vital nutrients. So logically we need supplements that we’re not able to get from our diet.

But let’s not fall off the horse on the other side; let’s use common sense when it comes to nutritional supplements.

Some vitamin sales pitch scares you to death when you read them, make you feel like you have to have those mega dose things, otherwise you will get deathly ill or die. Don’t worry, nature has built a defense mechanism into every one of us, your body will let you know if you lack of any vitamins or minerals. Besides, your body will let you know if you have too much of them as well, just read further, you will find out the symptoms of deficiency and overdosing.

My opinion, taking into consideration our diet and environment, we need vitamin and mineral supplementation in doses listed below.

The best products are the ones without gluten, fillers and coloring. Store them at room temperature, preferably a dry, humidity free place. Do not keep them in the refrigerator. If discoloration or stickiness appears, discontinue using them.

Symptoms of vitamin deficiencies

Vitamin A

Night blindness; at night when we have trouble making out distinct objects or a flash of light, like a headlight of a passing car blinds us and we do not quickly regain our vision.

Vitamin B1, thiamin

Wet form of beriberi; swelling and accumulation of fluid in the limbs, this disorder is not ordinarily thought of when a patient presents with high blood pressure and heart failure. Some patients who responded poorly to the usual treatments of heart failure have improved dramatically as soon as thiamin was administered.

Dry form of beriberi; in early stages, “pins and needles” sensation in the legs that might be diagnosed as peripheral neuropathy. In later stage, the nerves to the limbs degenerate resulting in wasting of the muscles, thin, nearly paralyzed arms and legs.

Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome; unsteadiness, staggering gate, disorientation and apathy.

Vitamin B2, riboflavin

Cracking and peeling of the lower lip with splitting at the corners of the mouth as well as vertical wrinkles radiating up from the upper lip. Sensitivity to light as well as greasy scaling on the chin and forehead as well as little white heads accumulating under the skin.

Vitamin B3, niacin

Pellagra; a serious, widespread disease seen where diets are poor. Symptoms are dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia and death. In mild cases there may be only weakness, tremor, anxiety, depression and irritability. In severe cases; psychosis.

Cracks appear in the corners of the mouth and the tongue looks like raw beef. Worms may invade the gastrointestinal tract. There is often rough and dry skin on all parts of the body exposed to sunlight.

Vitamin B6, pyridoxine

Acne flares up around menses, morning sickness in pregnancy.

Vitamin B12

A sever anemia develops which leaves the skin and mucus membranes pale. The tongue becomes red, raw and sometimes ulcerated, eventually losing its papillae and becoming shiny and smooth.

Folic acid

Pigmentation of the face that develops during pregnancy (called melasma), mental deterioration such as indifference, withdrawal, lack of motivation and depression. In newborns, deficiency of folic acid during pregnancy results in mental retardation and birth defects.

Panthothenic acid

Vomiting, abdominal pain with burning cramps. In later stage; tiredness, difficulty sleeping as well as tingling sensation in the hands and feet.

Vitamin C

Scurvy; spongy, bleeding gums, inability to heal wounds, hemorrhage.

Vitamin D

Rickets; the bones cannot grow properly, become deformed. In children, large, bulging forehead, chest is collapsed in the frontal, mid portion. The legs are often bowed. If not treated in childhood, the deformities are irreversible in adulthood.

Vitamin E

Infertility, sterility, miscarriage, abnormal blood clotting cholesterol deposits in arteries.

Vitamin K

Abnormal bleeding and nausea in pregnancy.

Zinc

Prostate enlargement, atherosclerosis

Phosphorus

Bone growth problems, hydrocephalus, skin infections.

Iodine

Thyroid problems, slow thinking, memory problems, heart arrhythmias.

Calcium

Osteoporosis, teeth decay

Potassium

Hypoglycemia, peripheral edema

Chrome

Circulatory and heart problems, high cholesterol, diabetes

Magnesium

Muscle weakness, pain, tingling sensation

Manganese

Problems with coordination, balance

Copper

Edema, anemia

Selenium

Chronic fatigue, infertility, muscle weakness

Iron

Chronic fatigue, nail and hair weakness, anemia

Symptoms and effects of vitamin overdose

Vitamin A

Bone and joint pain, insomnia, fatigue, loss of hair, dryness and fissuring of the lips, loss of appetite and weight, persistent headaches, peeling of the skin and liver enlargement. Overdose during childhood may cause premature closure of the epiphyses of the bones, limiting their normal growth.

Vitamin B1

Blocks the absorption of vitamin C, neutralizes insulin

Vitamin B3, niacin

Damage to the liver, depression, decreases the effect of cholesterol medications.

Vitamin B6

Restless sleep, heavy dreaming. Damage to the liver

Vitamin C

Abdominal cramps, diarrhea. Large doses can deactivate B12, produce demineralization of bones, and interfere with calcium absorption. Concerts to calcium oxalate in the urine forming kidney stones.

Vitamin D

Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness and weakness. Large dose taken for a prolonged time results in too much calcium being removed from the bones and absorbed that it begins to form deposits that damage tissues of the heart, blood vessels and lungs.

Vitamin E

Nausea, intestinal distress, fatigue, weakness mimicking symptoms of the flu.

People who is taking digitalis he effect of the digitalis is magnified that can result in fatal arrhythmias. Iron metabolism impaired by large doses of vitamin E.

Zinc

Copper deficiency

Phosphorus

Depletes calcium from bones and teeth, increases symptoms of hyperthyroid condition

Copper

Zinc deficiency