For Natural Health Vitamins Play A Big Part.For natural health vitamins are truly important – whether you get all your vitamins from a varied, natural diet, or you take supplements, you can’t be truly healthy without the full complement of vitamins. Vitamins are chemicals that you need in tiny but vital amounts. In general they aren’t produced in your body, so you need to get them from your food. With the continual interest in natural health vitamins are recognised as playing an important role. Vitamins are vital to life, and deficiency symptoms were recognised 1000s of years ago – but it’s only recently that they have been identified chemically.
Vitamin C was among the first to be discovered. Around 1750 it was discovered that citrus fruits could prevent scurvy, and lemons and limes became part of the standard rations for sailors in the British navy (freeing the British navy from the scourge of scurvy and giving it supremacy at sea - and British sailors the name ‘limeys’!). However, mainstream medicine is slow to accept new ideas, and it was not till the 1930s that vitamin C was identified and its deficiency officially recognised as the cause of scurvy - the earliest official recognition of the connection between vitamins and natural health. Since then, more vitamins have been identified – one or two of the most recent discoveries have yet to be recognised officially. (Hopefully this time it will take less than 180 years!) There are now about a dozen known vitamins. They are either fat-soluble or water-soluble. The fat-soluble vitamins are A, D, E and K. Your body can store these vitamins in your liver. The water-soluble vitamins are the B vitamins and vitamin C. These you need every day because they are not stored – what’s not used is quickly flushed out of your body. Whether fat- or water-soluble, all play a vital role in keeping you healthy. There is no doubt now about the connection between vitamins and natural health. For natural health vitamins are not the only nutrients. Minerals, essential fatty acids (EFAs) and essential amino acids have their part to play. Though each nutrient has specific functions in your body, they also work together – some can’t do their job properly without others being present, some help you absorb others. For instance, to absorb calcium you need vitamin D and to absorb iron you need vitamin C. The B vitamins interact and don’t work properly if any one of them is missing. You need all these nutrients in the right amounts to be really healthy. While a daily dose of a good multi vitamin and mineral can be a useful supplement, it’s no substitute for a healthy diet. One reason is that even the best is likely to be missing something essential – scientists keep on discovering new nutrients. Plants are so incredibly complicated, it could be many years yet before they think they’ve found out everything. One of the latest discoveries is resveratol, an anti-oxidant thought to have
anti-aging properties.
Red grapes have particularly high levels of resveratol - which may be the reason that red wine – in small amounts – is supposed to be good for you.
Different vitamins are found in different parts of plants – for instance, fruits and berries contain vitamin C; folic acid (B9) is present in leafy vegetables; and wholegrains, nuts and seeds are a good source of most of the other B vitamins. Some vitamins are destroyed by heat in cooking, others are lost in storage. So it’s important to eat a good variety of fresh fruits and vegetables to ensure you get the full range of vitamins. Deficiency symptoms are obvious when the deficiency is severe, and soon dealt with by taking supplements. Often you can have a slight deficiency. This might go unrecognised because the symptoms may be very subtle, but ultimately it’s just as harmful. For instance, severe deficiency of vitamin C causes scurvy, which has obvious symptoms (this is what used to kill so many sailors on long voyages). On the other hand, a slight deficiency of vitamin C can go unnoticed for many years, but can cause gum disease and eventually can lead to heart disease and death. Interestingly, dentists have long been aware of the connection between gum disease and heart disease, but have generally not realised that vitamin C deficiency is the cause of both, even though poor gum health is one of the first signs of scurvy. I've had dentists tell me to brush my gums to improve their health, and also that the damage to my gums is caused by brushing too vigorously! Well, which is it? They can't have it both ways. Luckily I found out the answer for myself. I now take Vitamin C every day and my gums and teeth are much better. For natural health vitamins are so important.
The good news here is that you still have time to remedy the deficiency by improving your diet, and taking supplements if necessary. Eat as many different fruits, vegetables and wholegrains as possible to make sure you are getting all the nutrients you need. In terms of natural health vitamins, EFAs, minerals and protein all have to be there in their full range. Read About The Gluten Free Diet
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‘You are what you eat’.It’s so true.What you are today is decided by what you ate yesterday, and everyday before that. You decide whether to be healthy or not by what you choose to eat. Choose a diet of healthy, nourishing food, supported by suitable nutritional supplements and you can avoid – or cure – most diseases. While you need the full complement of vitamins for optimal health, the most important nutrient for heart health is vitamin C. My first choice of Vitamin C supplement for quality and value is from Credence. I trust Credence to provide top quality products at reasonable prices. Their Vitamin C powder with bioflavonoids and natural orange flavor is not only good for you - it also tastes lovely. Add a spoonful to your fruit juice or smoothie for a really tasty way to get your daily dose of this most essential vitamin.
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