More helpful information on Vitamin B and D!

Low Levels of Vitamin D Connected to Musculoskeletal Pain in Men.

 Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases

When pain presents itself, one’s first instinct is to find relief from the pain. And while pain is the number one reason why people seek medical advice, it is interesting to note that everyone is an individual in regard to their own personal relationship to pain. Regardless of how one measures pain, it has a tremendous impact on society as a whole and is the reason for millions of lost work hours and, most importantly, a poor quality of life. Pain is usually divided into two categories - acute and chronic. Acute pain is the type that comes on suddenly when a tissue has been injured. Chronic pain can be, among other things, chronic lower-back pain, chronic headaches, cancer pain, or phantom limb pain. Chronic pain is generally associated with a chronic disease and lacks a clear cause. This is pain that exists past the normal expected healing time. Researchers are finding social support significantly influences chronic pain intensity.

Musculoskeletal pain can involve the bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons and nerves. Lower back pain is the most common and other types include tendonitis, myalgia (muscle pain) and stress fractures.

Vitamin D is known as the "sunshine" vitamin because it is formed in the body by the action of the sun's ultraviolet rays on the skin. The fat-soluble vitamin is converted in the kidneys to the hormone calcitrol, which is actually the most active form of vitamin D. The effects of this hormone are targeted at the intestines and bones. When vitamin D deficiency occurs, bone mineralization is impaired which leads to bone loss.

A recent study sought to determine whether low levels of vitamin D can be linked to musculoskeletal pain in men. The study included 3,075 men between the ages of 40 and 70 years who completed pain assessment questionnaires, lifestyle questionnaires, physical performance tests and fasting blood levels of vitamin D. It was found that 1,262 participants were pain-free, 1,550 reported other pain that was not classified as chronic widespread pain and 263 men reported that they experienced chronic widespread pain. Researchers discovered that compared to those who reported no pain, those with other pain or chronic widespread pain were more likely to have lower levels of vitamin D. Even after adjusting for age, participants who reported other pain were 30% more likely to have low vitamin D levels, and those who reported chronic widespread pain were 50% more likely to have insufficient levels of vitamin D. These results suggest that people with low levels of vitamin D are more likely to have musculoskeletal pain and that further studies should be carried out to determine whether dietary or supplemental vitamin D could help alleviate pain in some individuals.(1)

1. McBeth J, Pye SR, O’Neill TW, et al. Musculoskeletal pain is associated with very low levels of vitamin D in men: results from the European Male Ageing Study. Ann Rheum Dis. May 2010.

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Vitamin B6 and B12 Beneficial in Preventing Depressive Symptoms.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Depression has been classified as a mood disorder or affective disorder. Mood is defined as a pervasive and sustained emotion that, in the extreme, markedly affects a person's perception of the world and ability to adequately function in society. Mood disorders are among the most common encountered in clinical practice and are divided into depressive disorders and bipolar disorders. There are over 187 million adults in the United States – and about 19 million of these people will experience a depressive episode in any given year, making depression the most common psychiatric disorder encountered in general medical practice. Women are two to three times more likely to experience depression than men. Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is a water soluble vitamin that is instrumental in more than 100 enzyme reactions in the body. These activities are mostly related to the metabolism of amino acids and proteins. Vitamin B6 deficiency is one of the most common nutritional deficiencies. Much of this is due to the fact that a lot of vitamin B6 is lost during cooking and food processing. A U.S. Department of Agriculture study reported that 80 percent of Americans consume less than the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for vitamin B6.

 

Cobalamin is the common name for vitamin B12 because it contains the heavy metal cobalt, which gives this water-soluble vitamin its red color. Vitamin B12 is essential for growth and plays a role in metabolism within cells, especially those of the gastrointestinal tract, bone marrow and nervous tissue. It also lowers homocysteine levels, enhances cognitive performance, decreases risk of osteoporosis. Vitamin B12 is not found in plants, but it is produced by bacteria in the digestive tract of animals, which explains why animal protein products are the only dietary source of this nutrient.

A current study examined whether vitamins B-6, folate or vitamin B-12 were predictive of depression symptoms in older adults. The study included 3,503 bi-racial (59% African American) aged 65 years or older. The participants’ dietary intake was assessed using food questionnaires and depression incidence was measured by the presence of 4 or more depressive symptoms. The results revealed that higher intakes of vitamins B-6 and B-12 (which included supplementation) were associated with a decreased risk of depression for up to 12 years of follow-up. There was no link between depression and folate intake. It was found that each 10 additional milligrams of vitamin B-6 and 10 additional micrograms of B-12 were associated with a 2% decrease in the likelihood of depressive symptoms per year. The results appear to indicate that higher dietary intakes of vitamins B-6 and B-12 are protective of depression in older adults.(1)

1. Skarupski KA, Tangney C, Li H, et al. Longitudinal association of vitamin B-6, folate, and vitamin B-12 with depressive symptoms among older adults over time. Am J Clin Nutr. Jun 2010.

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Vitamin B Deficiency - and why vitamin supplementation isn't enough!

Nutritional vitamins are sometimes sold and marketed as the “cure or magic bullet” for all health problems. The concern is that vitamins, when not in their basic state (as they would be in their original form - i.e., oranges, bananas, spinach, broccoli, etc.) are merely base elements lacking the complex natural synergy needed by the body.  Sometimes our bodies do not recognize vitamins as nutrients, because they don’t work the same way as whole foods for these simple reasons: Foods contain not just vitamins, but the co-workers (synergists) and helper nutrients that allow vitamins to work. Vitamins are just a small part of what our bodies require for health and healing. It is very often that it is the other food properties that help us while the vitamins are secondary. Vitamin sometimes need other nutrient properties in order to work.

 For these reasons, vitamin supplements taken alone without a proper balanced diet will not completely solve health problems. They lack the many of the properties of real balanced nutrition which can only come from eating nature’s real, whole, raw foods.  This is why supplements should be from a whole food source where possible.  At the very least it is evident that a good balanced diet and nutritional supplementation go hand in hand!

VITAMIN B COMPLEX DEFICIENCY:

MAJOR CAUSES

Vitamin B is a complex of individual vitamins that exist as a family.  In this modern era, millions of people suffer from a deficiency of vitamin B for several reasons, chief among which are:

Stress: emotional, physical and spiritual.

1. Processed foods in the diet: these foods lack their original nutritional vales and can tax the body.
2. Refined sugar. The average person consumes at least 140 pounds of sugar a year, which robs the body of its vitamin B stores.
3. Drugs: both recreational and prescription drugs deplete vitamin B.
4. Toxins: poisons in the environment and personal care products deplete vitamin B complex.
5. Malnutrition. Most people are malnourished because they are not eating the right kinds of foods.
6. Cooking. Most people do not eat enough real, raw foods, so vitamin B is killed or so depleted that people are not getting enough of it in the diet.

SYMPTOMS OF VITAMIN B DEFICIENCY:

Once your body has been deprived of the vitamin B vitamins due to reasons stated above, it begins to show symptoms (signs) of altered, diminished or poor health.  This is because the vitamin B complex (within foods, not just vitamins) is responsible for such a wide variety of activities, including cellular differentiation, transmission of nerve electricity, health of nerve cells, heart pulse rate, muscular contraction, digestion, brain function, thought processes and energy production. Without adequate vitamin B complex from foods, you can experience one or more of any one of these symptoms:

• depression and anxiety
• heart palpitations
• heart arrhythmias
• fibrillation
• indigestion
• chronic fatigue
• chronic exhaustion
• paranoia, vague fears, fear that something dreadful is about to happen
• nervousness
• ADD (attention deficiency), inability to concentrate, irritability
• feeling of uneasiness
• easy agitation, frustration
• inability to sleep (insomnia)
• restlessness
• tingling in hands
• tingling fingers and toes
• rashes
• crying spells, inability to cope
• soreness all over
• and so much more.

CHRONIC VITAMIN B DEFICIENCY

Vitamin B deficiency can sneak up on you, because it doesn’t have to create serious health problems right away. In fact, medical researchers have discovered that very often there can be no detectable signs that you are experiencing a deficiency.  Researchers feel that it is possible that certain mental disorders can be directly attributable to vitamin B complex deficiency, and it is easier to first start replenishing stores of vitamin B complex than to begin treating difficult mental illnesses with drugs, therapy or psychological counseling.

When vitamin B deficiency becomes chronic (long-lasting), other problems can occur, including troubles with your adrenal system. The adrenal glands serve many purposes, but in relation to this topic, they are the back-up system for making energy. When there is a chronic lack of vitamin B complex then the adrenal glands are called upon to produce quick energy by injecting certain hormones like adrenaline into your system so that you can cope with life. If this goes on for a long time, then the adrenal glands become impaired or worn out, leading to even more health problems.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP YOURSELF

There are a number of things you can do to prevent and overcome vitamin B complex deficiency:

1. Reduce sugar intake.
2.  Avoid eating artificial ingredients. Read all labels on your foods and if there are names of chemicals, don’t eat them. Read the author’s book, Illness Isn’t Caused by a Drug Deficiency. Switch to organic foods.
3. Reduce stress through a regular exercise program, meditation, counseling and/or hobbies.
4. Reduce the use of caffeine: coffee; maybe switch to organic decaffeinated coffee or organic teas
5. Eat more vitamin B-containing foods — oats, barley, wheat bran, avocado, salmon, Brazil nuts and others.
6. Be patient. It took a while to create a vitamin B deficiency, so it takes a while to reverse the problem; with severe cases it can take a year or so, with milder cases it can take just a few days.
7. If you have a friend or relative with a mental or emotional disorder, think of the possibility of a vitamin B complex deficiency and then make suggestions for adjustments in their diet and take appropriate whole food formulas.
8. Always coordinate all of your health and treatment plans with all of your practitioners.
9. Avoid toxins in your life. This is a serious issue that causes more health problems than people commonly realize. (See the author’s book, Evil Genius in the Garden of Eden — how toxins make us sick and corporations profit from our illness).
10. Add a quality Vtamin B Complex to your daily supplementation.

Sources:

1. Stryer, PhD. Lubert, Biochemistry, 2nd Ed., Stanford University, WH Freeman & Co., San Francisco, 1981
2. Hamilton, et.al, Nutrition Concepts & Controversies, 5th Ed., West Publishing, St. Paul, 1991
3. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA); “Vitamins for Chronic Disease Prevention in Adults,” Clinical Applications, Robert H. Fletcher, MD, MSc;  Kathleen M. Fairfield, MD, Dr PH
4. JAMA. 2002;287:3127-3129.
5. Shayne, PhD, Vic, Man Cannot Live on Vitamins Alone, 2004
6. Shayne, PhD, Vic, Illness Isn’t Caused by a Drug Deficiency!, 2001

Get your Liquid Vitamin B Complex here!

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Amino Acids - the body's "Building Blocks of Life".

What you need to know about Amino Acids!

Important Notice: Only your doctor can properly diagnose and treat any disease or disorder. Before starting the use of any nutritional supplement, it is important to consult with your doctor. The statements on this web site have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Information on the site is educational information only and does not warrant, imply or guarantee any result or cure.