Vitamins Are Necessary For Life
Vitamins are Basically Useless Without Adequate Mineral Intake
Vitamins are necessary, and are required to perform a variety of life-giving functions. It must be remembered that Vitamins can only perform their jobs when taken in conjunction with Minerals.
Vitamin RDA's, Functions, Deficiency Symptoms & Food Sources
- Vitamin A Retinol and/or Beta Carotene
- Daily Recommended Allowance: 5000 - 50,000 IU
- Fat Soluble Vitamin
- Helps build healthy eyes, required for growth and bone development
- A good antioxidant
- Helps healing of infections
- Deficiency Symptoms: night blindness; increased susceptibility to infections; rough, dry, scaly skin; loss of smell & appetite; frequent fatigue; lack of tearing; defective teeth & gums; retarded growth
- Sources are: Carrots, yams, pumpkins, yellow or orange fruits, beet greens, fish, eggs, tuna
- Vitamin B1 Thiamine 25
- Daily Recommended Allowance: 300mg
- Water Soluble Vitamin
- Helps in carbohydrate metabolism and energy production
- Required for normal nerve function
- Deficiency Symptoms: loss of appetite; weakness & feeling tired; paralysis & nervous irritability; insomnia; loss of weight; vague aches & pains; mental depression & constipation; heart & gastrointestinal problems
- Sources are: Whole grains, rice bran, lean meats, fresh peas, beans, wheat germ, oranges, poultry, fish, enriched pastas
- Vitamin B2 Riboflavin
- Daily Recommended Allowance: 25 - 300mg
- Water Soluble Vitamin
- Helps in production of energy from foods and the formation of red blood cells
- Deficiency Symptoms: itching and burning eyes; cracks and sores in the mouth & lips; bloodshot eyes; purplish tongue; dermatitis; retarded growth; digestive disturbances; trembling; sluggishness; oily skin
- Sources are: Fortified grains & cereals, leafy green vegetables, poultry, fish, yogurt, milk, cheese
- Vitamin B3 Niacin
- Daily Recommended Allowance: 25 - 300mg
- Water Soluble Vitamin
- Assists in release of energy from carbohydrates, fats and proteins
- Helps promote healthy skin
- Deficiency Symptoms: pellagra (disease caused by a deficiency of niacin and protein in the diet and characterized by skin eruptions, digestive and nervous system disturbances, and eventual mental deterioration), gastrointestinal disturbance, nervousness, headaches, fatigue, mental depression, vague aches & pains, irritability, loss of appetite, insomnia, skin disorders, muscular weakness, indigestion, bad breath, canker sores
- Sources are: Fortified breads and cereals, brewer's yeast, broccoli, carrots, cheese, dandelion greens, dates, eggs, fish, milk peanuts, potatoes, tomatoes, tuna, veal, beef liver, chicken breast
- Vitamin B5 Pantothenic Acid
- Daily Recommended Allowance: 10 - 300 mg
- Water Soluble Vitamin
- Helps release energy from foods
- Required for synthesis of many substances
- Deficiency Symptoms: painful & burning feet, skin abnormalities, retarded growth, dizzy spells, digestive disturbances, vomiting, restlessness, stomach stress, muscle cramps
- Sources are: Lean meats, whole grain cereals, fish, legumes
- Vitamin B6 Pyridoxine
- Daily Recommended Allowance: 2 - 300 mg
- Water Soluble Vitamin
- Essential for protein metabolism and nervous system function
- Participates in synthesis of hormones and red blood cells
- Deficiency Symptoms: nervousness, insomnia, skin eruptions, loss of muscular control, anemia, mouth disorders, muscular weakness, dermatitis, arm & leg cramps, loss of hair, slow learning, and water retention
- Sources are: Whole grain breads and cereals, fish, chicken, bananas
- Vitamin B9 Folic Acid
- Daily Recommended Allowance: 400 - 1,200 mcg
- Water Soluble Vitamin
- Essential for red blood cell formation
- Essential for synthesis of DNA and protein
- Deficiency Symptoms: gastrointestinal disorders, anemia, Vitamin B-12 deficiency, premature gray hair
- Sources are: Fortified cereals, pinto beans, navy beans, green leafy vegetables, beef, brown rice, bran, cheese, lamb, liver, milk, mushrooms, oranges, split peas, pork, tuna, whole grains
- Vitamin B12 Cyanocobalamin
- Daily Recommended Allowance: 25 - 500 mg
- Best taken sublingualy (under the tongue) in liquid or easy disolvable tablet
- Water Soluble Vitamin
- Helps maintain healthy nervous system
- Required for normal growth and for production of red blood cells
- Helps breakdown fatty acids
- Deficiency Symptoms: pernicious anemia, poor appetite, growth failure in children, tiredness, brain damage, nervousness, neuritis, degeneration of spinal cord, depression, lack of balance
- Sources are: Clams, cooked oysters, king crab, herring, salmon, tuna, lean beef, liver, low fat diary products
- Vitamin C
- Daily Recommended Allowance: 60 - 5,000 mg
- Water Soluble Vitamin
- Required for formation of connective tissue, bones and teeth
- Assists in utilization of other vitamins
- Acts as an antioxidant
- Deficiency Symptoms: soft & bleeding gums, swollen or painful joints, slow-healing wounds & fractures, bruising, nosebleeds, tooth decay, loss of appetite, muscular weakness, skin hemorrhages, capillary weakness, anemia, impaired digestion
- Sources are: Citrus fruits, strawberries, broccoli, melons, peppers, collards, dandelion greens, onions, radishes, watercress
- Vitamin D
- Daily Recommended Allowance: **400 - 800 IU
- Fat Soluble Vitamin
- Aides in normal bone growth and tooth function
- Facilitates calcium and phosphorus absorption
- NOTE: **The above Daily Recommended Allowance is low. Have your Vitamin D levels checked annually (especially in winter months) to monitor your Vitamin D level. You may have to take MORE - like 4,000 - 5,000 IU daily to bring levels up to prevent disease.
- Deficiency Symptoms: rickets, tooth decay, softening of bones, improper healing of fractures, lack of vigor, muscular weakness, inadequate absorption of calcium, retention of phosphorous in the kidneys, frequent colds and flu
- Sources are: Sun exposure, sardines, salmon, herring, liver, tuna, margarine, cod liver oil
- Vitamin E
- Daily Recommended Allowance: 30- 1,200 IU
- Fat Soluble Vitamin
- As an antioxidant it protects body cells
- Helps maintain normal red blood cells
- Deficiency Symptoms: a rupture of red blood cells, loss of reproductive powers, lack of sexual vitality, abnormal fat deposits in muscles, degenerative changes in the changes in the heart and other muscles; dry skin
- Sources are: Whole grains, wheat germ, nuts, spinach, sunflower seeds
- Vitamin H Biotin
- Daily Recommended Allowance: 0.3 - 1 mg
- Water Soluble Vitamin
- Assists in metabolism of carbohydrates
- Aids in synthesis of fats and proteins
- Deficiency Symptoms: extreme exhaustion, drowsiness, muscle pain, loss of appetite, depression, grayish skin color
- Sources are: Legumes, nuts
- Vitamin K
- Daily Recommended Allowance: 80 mcg
- Fat Soluble Vitamin
- Essential in the blood clotting process
- Deficiency Symptoms: hypoprothrombinemia(a blood disorder where a deficiency of prothrombin results in impaired blood clotting, leading to an increased risk for bleeding), fall in the concentration of the other vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors, defective coagulation and possible hemorrhage
- Sources are: Green leafy vegetables like kale, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower
