Interesting reading about vitamins, minerals and other (s) ..

 

Vitamin A: Vitamin A has many important functions in your body.  Your eyes, tissues, bone health, reproductive health, gut and immune system health all require Vitamin A.  Vegetables high in beta-caotene can be converted into CVitamin A but this is a taxing process on your body and it may not be effective if you arent in optimum health.  It may be wiser to have some pre-formed Vitamin A is in your diet, and these are only found in animal foods – egg yolks, liver and oily fish.   and almost everyone (especially those with an autoimune disorder) can take between 15000 IU to 50000 IU daily.

Vitamin B: Vitamin B deficiencies are generally associated with decreased antibody responses and impaired cellular immunity.  Good sources are: liver, spirulina and chlorella, brewers yeast, blackstrap molassess, bran and wheat germ.

Vitamin B1: Thiamine is probably the most important B vitamin of them all. It is essential for the manufacture of hydrochloric acid, which aids in the digestion of proteins.

Vitamin C: Vitamin C is the foundation for forming glutathione (your bodies powerful detoxifier and antioxidant), collagen and connective tissue.  Found in: Rose Hip tea, Camu Camu (Lifefoods NZ Certified ‘Organic Primal Awakening’ is a mix of 16 wholefoods (powders) to add to your daily smoothie, Camu Camu being one),  Acerola Cherries, and Indian gooseberries, have the highest natural Vitamin C levels, followed by oranges.  Vitamin C can also be found in kiwifruit and capsicum (although vegetables and fruits with plenty of Vitamin C start to loose it as soon as they are picked).  Rose hips tea is a rich natural source of Vitamin C, and has co-factors which enhance immune function.  Huckleberry Farms (AKL) sells 3 – 4 varieties of Rose Hip tea.. all retailing around $7.50 for a box of 20 – 25 tea bags.

Vitamin D: its suggested that as many as 70 – 75% of women will be deficient in Vitamin D.  Vitamin D is critical and its deficiency is linked to low immunity, osteoporosis and coronary artery disease.  Many people are deficient.  The best source of Vitamin D is by exposure to the sun, but you can also get Vitamin D from fish and Ghee (clarified butter), but in much lower proportions . During the summer if we wear sunblock, this inhibits Vitamin D production.  For those who are deficient, Chairman of Integrative Medicine, at the Beth Israel Medical Centre (USA) says ‘ I start them off at 2000 units per day and often give 2 x days a week at 20,000 units.  Once they are back to within the normal range, I suggest 1000 units per day (equivalent to 15 minutes in strong sunlight). p.s. peeps with calcium or kidney stone issues need extra Vitamin D’.  Vitamin D is one of the most important supplements anyone with an AutoImmune condition can take, as it literally stops the autoimmune response (Cabot, S, 2015).  Doses are variant on age, hours of sunshine and genetics but you need to get your body up to (and maintain) a level of 25(OH)D of 60 – 70 ng/ml, so starting at say 5000IU  – 8000 IU daily would be solid place to start. The most accurate way to measure how much vitamin D is in your body is the 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood test. (A level less than 12 ng/mL indicates vitamin D deficiency).

Vitamin D3 is the natural supplement found in Cod Liver Oil. Vitamin D2 is the synthetic form (commonly added to Milk) and is not recommended.

To know for sure how your levels are, request a simple blood test: called 25-hydroxy-vitamin D.  Your levels should be between: 40 – 90.

Vitamin E: A suggested daily dose of 30 IU of α-Tocopherol, a natural Vitamin E derived from Wheat Germ oil and is safer for long-term use.

Vitamin