The Niacin Rush

Your face turns flush and your skin starts to itch. Your heart begins to beat faster. The itching may be felt all across your face and extend down your arms to your fingertips.

What is going on? If you're like me you forgot what you learned in school and had to call ask-a-nurse to be reminded.

You may have taken a little too much niacin, or vitamin B-3. It's ok, you'll be fine, it will probably wear off in about half an hour.

But it can really make you scared if you don't know what is going on.

What happened? I took a niacin supplement plus brewer's yeast which itself contains lots of niacin. That was nine years ago but I still remember it like yesterday.

Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid is very necessary for your body. Niacin is needed at the cellular level. It is an important nutrient in cellular processes that create the ultimate energy currency of your body - ATP or Adenosine Triphosphate.

A deficiency in niacin can lead to pellagra, which has a number of manifestations. An inflamed tongue and irritated gastric track and colon as well as depression and hard rough skin are just some of the symptoms of this deficiency disease.

Anxiety and hallucinations are also possible symptoms of pellagra. Wide spread pellagra is no longer seen in the United States, though individual cases can still occur.

Dermatitis, dementia and diarrhea are considered the 3 Ds or the classic symptoms of pellagra.

Diets rich in meats, eggs and milk provide adequate amounts of niacin to the body. Alcoholics and diabetics are at greater risk for being deficient in niacin.

Niacin is a vitamin, it is necessary to the body for cellular processes.

Oral supplementation can reverse the less severe cases of deficiency. In severe cases there may be permanent consequences.

So the next time your face flushes and you get an itching burning sensation down to your fingertips, take a moment to reflect before you panic. Did you have too much niacin?

This article is for information purposes only. If you have or think you have a health condition, consult your physician for proper diagnoses and treatment.

Does Your Body Need Vitamins?

Why bother taking vitamins at all? Our forefathers survived just fine without multi vitamin packs, why can't we? The answer to that question is easy, go look in your cupboards. Our forefathers ate a lot better than we do. High processed, homogenized, pasteurized, canned and prepackaged fast food means less chance of natural occurring vitamins surviving for any length of time.

While some of us pick our own fruit and grow our own vegetables, most of the country chooses to rely on packaged, store bought fruits and veggies. These aren't as healthy as they look, either. The longer the apples and tomatoes are off the vine, the faster they begin to lose their nutritional value, losing vitamins during processing and shipping.

Your body needs vitamins to boost your immune system, ward off colds and other viruses, and even keep you even tempered, so to speak. Did you know with a vitamin deficiency that you are less likely to clot when you cut yourself? Vitamins play a much bigger part then we think, and the average diet does not include all the vitamins necessary to keep the body in top shape.

A good multi-vitamin is your best choice, but here again you can be misled into believing that 100% of the USDA recommended dosage is good enough. They mean 100% total, not 100% of each vitamin necessary. Think about it, they can't possibly pack the right amount of every kind of vitamin that you need into one pill a day, and most multi vitamins sold in your local grocery store are cut with fillers and preservatives. Nope, you'll have to visit your local food co op and get some natural, all inclusive vitamin supplements. Along with eating well, these supplements contain everything you need for balanced vitamin intake, with none of the fillers and preservatives that I, for one, resent paying for.

So let's talk B vitamins as an example. You need several different kinds of B vitamins alone. B6 and B12 are just two, but the most commonly talked about. Vitamin B6 promotes the development of red blood cells, and 12 helps promote energy and fights Alzheimer's disease. You need these and other vitamins to be in the purest form possible in order to be the most beneficial. Let's skip back for a moment, the history of vitamins, if you will. Vitamins began being "discovered" by scientists and surgeons around 1914, and the word "vitamin " comes from the word "vital" as in vital energy for life, but as far back as the 1600's sailors knew to eat citrus fruits to prevent scurvy. It wasn't until later that they knew it as vitamin C.

Now we will skip forward to the future. Many vitamins are now available as liquids. Remember cod liver oil? Well now most vitamins can be taken from a spoon rather than choked down (although if you were one of the kids forced to down cod liver oil, you were choking anyway), what's more, they taste good now as well.

Now before you get all excited and run out to stock up on each vitamin that you are deficient in, let me remind you that you can, in fact, 'overdose' on vitamins, kind of. The water soluble vitamins such as B's and C's will simply be expressed through your urine if you've taken in more than your body needs, but fat soluble vitamins such as D and E can accumulate and cause problems such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and rash.

I recommend contacting a homeopath to test for vitamin deficiencies before you run out and spend a lot on vitamins. Knowing exactly what you need the most and in what daily dosage will save you some money, because again, you really need to purchase each vitamin separately, rather than in a multi-vitamin pill.

DISCLAIMER: This information is not presented by a medical practitioner and is for educational and informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read. Since natural and/or dietary supplements are not FDA approved they must be accompanied by a two-part disclaimer on the product label: that the statement has not been evaluated by FDA and that the product is not intended to “diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.”

Food And Vitamin Loss Over Time

You know the claim on food value from the label that is stuck on it; let's pick a nutritious drink product and on that drink is some nutritional claim that states it has a shelf value of two years. After those two years that product still needs to contain 100% of the vitamin C level.

Vitamin deterioration
That does not mean that when the drink product was manufactured it contained 100% of vitamin C and after the two year has gone, it only contain half that level of vitamin C. What it means is that the manufacturer had to put an overage of that vitamin in the product because the vitamins will deteriorate over a period of time. Usually the higher the temperature the higher rate of deterioration, and the longer it is stored means something too.

Vitamin C is the most sensitive vitamin. The government does routinely inspect the food manufacturing companies with products that have this problem. What the food companies and food scientist does when the product is formulated they will add an overage of vitamins and minerals. It protects the product during the shelf life.

200% of vitamins in the product
So if they want the product to contain 100% of vitamin C after 2 years, then they have to put 200% of vitamins in the product, because of the deterioration that takes place. 2 years later it will have lost half of its value, and contain the claimed amount.

Food companies have documentation on all food products that they have manufactured. They know the exact deterioration rate on all their products, and therefore they can predict the deterioration rate of new and similar products. That means that a new nutritional beverage formula can be based on the level of a know products nutrition values.

Vitamin questions
That makes me ask my self. Can I trust that the food I buy from the store has the nutrition value that it claims? Can I feel sure that my body gets all the vitamins it must have to function? I say better be safe than sorry!

Vitamins For Health

The word 'vitamin' has its root in 'vitamine' that means vital amine. Vitamins are powerful organic compounds found mainly in the food that we eat. Vitamins are essential for all human beings because they help cells and tissues to perform basic functions. Basically, vitamins are required for the growth of the body.

There are two types of vitamins- the water soluble vitamins and the fat soluble vitamins. Fat soluble vitamins are also called hormones. All the commonly known vitamins are water soluble vitamins, of which vitamin C or ascorbic acid is the most common. Earlier it was believed that all these vitamins belong to one group called B complex as they were all found in the same source. Later they were categorized as different vitamins.

Vitamin A, B1, B3, B5, B9, D, E, H, K, P, Choline and Inositol are some of the other vitamins. Few of these vitamins are known by their biological names, like vitamin B1 is known as thiamine and vitamin H, Biotin.

Vitamins form an essential component of the balanced diet that we eat. People with chronic illnesses are advised to take vitamin supplements by their doctors. Pregnant women and people suffering from bowel disorders need to watch out their vitamin intake. Bowel disorder retards the absorption of fat soluble vitamin. Folic acid is prescribed for a person suffering from thalassaemia. Patients with pernicious anemia have to be given injections of vitamin B12 because of its acute deficiency in their body.

We need small amounts of these vitamins on regular basis to help the body function smoothly and remain healthy. These vitamins help the organs to carry out their individual functions. In the absence of these vitamins, our body falls sick and suffers from vitamin deficiency diseases. There are enough vitamins present in our foods but if we don't eat a balanced diet the external supplements will do the needful.

Vitamins are useful and mandatory for the body, but excess of everything is bad. Even vitamins taken in excess can cause severe damage to the body. For instance, the body needs only 400 to 800 units of vitamin D in a day. If this amount is exceeded, too much calcium gets absorbed by the bloodstream, which can damage the kidneys. Moreover, supplements can never replace the healthy diets, so it's better to take vitamin-rich diet than take supplements.

Last word of caution: Do not take vitamins by gathering information from here and there. Consult your doctor. Remember, little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

Antioxidant Supplement

The focus of research on vitamins these days is how antioxidant supplements may play a role in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Antioxidant supplements – E, C, and beta-carotene (a form of vitamin A) – have potential when it comes to health promotion. However, most data available about such health promoting properties of antioxidant supplements are incomplete. And only up to 30 percent Americans are taking some form of antioxidant supplements.

But what exactly are antioxidants and how important are they?

Antioxidants come in two forms. They can either be vitamins or minerals. They help prevent oxygen from reacting with other chemicals in cells. Such reactions – called oxidation – could lead to cell damage which may result in heart disease and cancer.

Antioxidants can be found in a variety of foods, but they are far more common in fresh fruits and vegetables. A health diet of fresh produce could lead to high levels of antioxidants in your body, which could only mean one thing – less free radicals (those harmful molecules that cause cell damage) and a healthier you.

When antioxidants start to work, they destroy the free radicals or break the chain. You see, here’s what happens when you have lots of free radicals in your body. Because they are highly unstable, these free radicals have the tendency to steal or get electrons from stable molecules and in so doing, make those molecules unstable as well, turning them into free radicals. This becomes a long chain and will go on and on until such a chain in broken. This is where antioxidants come in whose sole function is to break the chain and neutralize free radicals.

During the process of neutralization, the antioxidants are neutralized themselves. Hence, they also become oxidized. That is why the body needs a constant source of antioxidants in order to keep combating these harmful free radicals and stop them from multiplying.

With the kind of diet most of us have these days, it is very likely that we may not be getting enough antioxidants from the foods that we eat. And remember that the body needs to replenish its levels of antioxidants constantly. This is where antioxidant supplements come in.

Because the body may not be getting enough antioxidants because you don’t enough fruits or you don’t eat a lot of vegetables, you therefore need an alternate source such as antioxidant supplements.

Antioxidant supplements are that source. And while antioxidant supplements can’t very well take the place of natural antioxidants, they can however aid in increasing the level of antioxidants in your body.

The Next Vitamins

Vitamins A, C, E and quasi-vitamins Coenzyme Q10 and alpha lipoic acid are powerful antioxidants that neutralize the damage caused by free radicals and oxidation. Our body's cells are undergoing a continuous cycle of oxidation (losing an electron) and reduction (gaining an electron). Oxygen and other atoms or molecules that are unstable because they lack an electron are called free radicals.

These free radicals don't like to exist in an unstable state and will steal another electron from where ever they can and can damage the cell that they oxidize. Free radicals are created as part of the body's normal metabolic process and if there are insufficient antioxidants available to donate electrons and neutralize the free radicals then cell damage will result.

When we are young, the body generates some of the antioxidants it needs and it acquires the remainder from the food we eat. As we get older, the body generates fewer antioxidants and the free radicals outnumber the antioxidants. This means the body is unable to repair the free radical damage and it ages and becomes subject to age-related degenerative diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, strokes, Alzheimer's disease, and macular degeneration. Additional free radicals are created when we expose our body to the sun's ultraviolet radiation, cigarette smoke, exhaust fumes and other air and water pollutants. Approximately 10 million people in North America have cancer and about 600,000 people will die from it this year. Until recently, we thought the key to slowing the aging process and associated diseases was to ensure the body had an excess supply of antioxidants by eating lots of fruits and vegetables and supplementing our healthy diet with multi-vitamins.

For years we assumed it was the vitamins in fruits and vegetables that provided us with a defense against aging and age-related diseases. We also wanted to ensure we had an adequate supply of vitamins so we took low dose once-a-day-type multivitamins for insurance. However long term studies have shown that low dose multivitamins had no impact on the survival of healthy people. Recently scientists have theorized that the health benefits due to eating fruits and vegetables may be from other nutrients such as phytochemicals or the combination of phytochemicals and vitamins. Phytochemicals or phytonutrients are simply “plant chemicals” that exist in fruits, vegetables and other plants like whole grain and tea. Scientists have already discovered thousands of phytochemicals and think that as well as being powerful antioxidants these phytonutrients provide our body with an entire range of health benefits. A few examples of foods, the phytochemicals they contain, and their health benefits are discussed below.

Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries and other berries contain the phytonutrients anthocyanidin and ellagic acid which are antioxidants that can suppress cancer and protect against heart disease. Berries are also rich in soluble fiber which should lower our cholesterol. Citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, limes etc. contain flavanones such as limonoids which help stimulate the body's enzymes to detoxify carcinogens. These citrus fruits also contain carotenoids which are powerful cancer fighting antioxidants and flavonoids which are antioxidants that may inhibit blood clotting.

Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, brussel sprouts, kale, cabbage, cauliflower etc. contain indoles which act to make estrogen less potent and which may reduce the risk of breast cancer. These vegetables also contain isothiocynates such as sulphoraphane which may neutralize cancer-causing chemicals and interfere with tumor growth. Orange and yellow fruits and vegetables like apricots, papaya, sweet potatoes, carrots, sweet peppers, etc. and leafy greens such as spinach contain carotenoids such as beta carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin that are powerful antioxidants that should suppress cancer, strengthen the immune system and reduce the risk of atherosclerosis. These colorful foods are also rich in Vitamin C, other vitamins, minerals and fiber and should reduce the risk of macular degeneration.

Non-traditional healthy foods such as tea, wine and soy have also been found to be high in phytonutrients. Both green tea and black tea contain flavonols which combat cancers and catechins which may protect arteries from the buildup of plaque. Red wine contains resveratrol which may prevent internal cell and skin cell damage, inhibit tumor growth and lower blood cholesterol. Other phytochemicals in red wine are flavonols like quercetin  and catechins, anthocyanidins and ellagic acid which were discussed earlier. Soy products contain isoflavonoids, lignans, saponins and protease inhibitors which can all provide cancer protection.

Products to combat aging and degenerative diseases are being developed. Both Pfizer and Merck are testing drugs to stimulate the older body to make more growth hormone and develop more lean muscle mass. Controlled studies on seniors are showing a lot of promise. Phytonutrient supplements like lycopene and beta carotene have been available for some time. The next supplements based on groups of phytonutrients that target specific conditions are already being marketed. How effective they will be remains to be seen. For now we should concentrate on obtaining our phytonutrients from our healthy diet and monitor developments in the pharmaceutical and nutritional supplement industries.

Body Building Supplements

Introduction:

Bodybuilding supplements consists of various substances including proteins and amino acids, metal replacement products, prohormones, testosterone boosters and are taken by boy builders and sports persons to help building muscle or supplement fat loss. These bodybuilding supplements are also suitable for improving sports performance.

Amino acids, Branched chain amino acids, glutamine and protein:

Protein consumed by our body metabolizes into amino acids. The bodybuilders prefer most commonly three branched chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine and valine. Muscles metabolize these branched chain amino acids. Additionally these branched chain amino acids are assumed to have resistance towards muscle breakdown.

Although soy protein, a naturally occurring complete protein may sometime exhibit estrogenic activity and is therefore avoided by many of the bodybuilders, however egg protein is preferred as it is also a complete protein. Casein, another richest protein source of amino acid glutamine is preferred as it contains casomorphine additionally, which releases amino acids at regular intervals.

Bodybuilders prefer to take protein just after exercise or as a replacement of meal. Protein powders are available in the market and right quantity of these at recommended helps in making muscles, as muscles are primarily made of protein and protein also helps us in repairing and growth of muscles.

Whenever you purchase a protein packet, you must look for total serving in the pocket and gram protein, gram carbs, gram sugar and gram fat per servings. If you are lactose intolerant, you should select a protein packet, which does not contain lactose. On the basis of all these information you must select the right product suitable for you.

Metal Replacement Products:

The metal replacement products are either available in powder form or in bar form. Powder form can be mixed with water, milk or juice and can be taken thereafter, however bars can be consumed straight away.

These are made available for complete meal replacement and contains high amount of proteins, moderate amount of carbohydrates and also contains various vitamins and minerals.

Various manufacturers of metal replacement products claim to have added soy protein, egg albumin, whey protein or micellar casein as source of protein. For replacement of carbohydrates ingredients derived from oat fiber, wheat flour or maltodextrin have been added. Some may contain essential fatty acids substitute and other mineral substitutes. Some other products such as glutamine peptide and additional amino acids are also added by some of the manufacturers.

Creatine Monohydrate:

Creatine monohydrate is one of the essential organic acids. It is one of the few products suitable for making healthy muscles. Creatine monohydrate is useful for sports persons engaged in weight lifting and short-range sprinters. Creatine monohydrate works in our body and plays a vital role in making and replenishing of ATP. It is also occurs naturally in beef, pork, and salmon.

If you are on creatine, you may notice a weight gain as creatine has a volumizing effect and draws water and various other nutrients to muscle cells. 

Some of the common and minor side effects associated with intake of creatine include stomach upset and gastrointestinal distress. Although, some of the recent studies on creatine shows that it has a positive influence on our heart health and it lowers our lipid profile.

Prohormone Supplements:

Prohormones are precursors to both male and female hormones. Body builders are only interested in the supplements capable to increase male hormone testosterone as at elevated level testosterone will lead to improved muscle growth. Studies carried out on various prohormone have not given the desired results. Some of the horhormone are not significant and effective and may have side effects.

Supplements And Nutrition

A well-balanced diet and affinity for all food groups ensure right amounts of much-needed nutrients.

However, not all people are blessed with a liking for vegetables or tolerance for milk.



There are also people with allergies to nuts and poultry which are excellent sources of protein and good fat.

What if you are one of them?

 How can you be sure that you get proper nutrition without force-feeding yourself brocollis?

This is why supplements and nutrition should work together.

Before taking supplements, it would be wise to seek your doctor's advice. After all, you want to be sure to have the proper supplements and nutrition. The wide variety of supplements include multivitamins, protein supplements, minerals, and specialized supplements. Multivitamins are the most prescribed supplements. Regulated and concentrated amounts of essential vitamins are packed in a tablet or gels.

Protein supplements are commonly used by people who want to build more muscle such as athletes. Mineral supplements include calcium for bone growth. Dietary supplements and memory enhancers are commonly classified as specialized supplements.

Supplements and nutrition must be complementary. For example, a person who consumes large amounts of carrots and squash need not take a supplement of Vitamin A. This is because too much of Vitamin A can cause a yellow or orange tinge to the skin.

Other overdoses on minerals and vitamins can even disrupt normal hormonal function. After all, even too much of a good thing can be hazardous to health.

Hence, a proper supplements and nutrition scheme must be discussed with the doctor in order to prevent overdoses or taking unnecessary supplements. The US FDA in recognition of the growing market and need for supplements has taken steps to regulate the production, dosage, and sanitation of supplements.

This was done to ensure good-quality products. This move is also partly due to rising number of unprescribed supplement use among consumers.

The agency also stressed the importance of informed use among supplement users. It is not enough to know the name of your supplements. You should know what deficiency it corrects and how it works. Studies show that many use different supplements whereas tests done to them indicate only a minimal lack which can be corrected by a single kind.

 Also, despite the supplement rage, doctors and health experts still stand by natural correction of deficiencies by means of a proper diet. They suggest eating alternative sources of nutrients found in allergy-inducing foods. Hey, real food tastes better than capsules anyway.