Vitamin Reference Guide
Vitamins are absolutely essential for growth, maintenance, and reproduction of the human body. They have been studied in great depth by many biochemists. Those who work with vitamins under clinical conditions are convinced of the undeniable benefits to the human condition from vitamin sufficiency. However, they have found that vitamins manufactured from synthetics are NOT always as good as natural vitamins. Although chemically, the synthetic varieties of vitamins are identical to the natural vitamins, the field of activity is sometimes reversed. Natural vitamin molecular structures rotate in a dextro-rotary motion; some sythetic counterparts have a laevo-rotary action inside the molecule.
Vitamin A
Functions: One of the most important functions of this vitamin, and one of particular interest in our text, is that it maintains the health and well-being of the epithelial tissues of the body. These are generally the tissues that line the openings, skin, and mucous membranes. All glands and their duct systems come under the protection of vitamin A. Since these areas come under the protection of Vitamin A. Since these areas are the first potential sites for bodily invasion by outside microbes, we must maintain these sites in optimal health; Vitamin A aids in the growth and repair of body tissues, especially bones; Proper formation and maintenance of tooth enamel and gums are a vitamin A process; Vitamin A prompts the secretion of gastric juices necessary for proper digestion of proteins; Vitamin A maintains the proper health of sex glands and the uterus; Night vision and the general maintenance of the eye is a function of vitamin A; Vitamin A aids in the synthesis of RNA.
Deficiency Symptoms: The eyes are obvious indicators of vitamin A deficiency. One of the first symptoms is night blindness; Other eye indicators of vitamin A deficiency include dry, itchy, and inflamed eyeballs; Susceptibility to colds, flu, bacterial and viral infections, especially of the respiratory and urinary tract, are indicators of Vitamin A deficiency; Sinusitis and abscesses in ears and mouth are also common symptoms, as well as general repeated infections; Acne; Rough, dry, scaly, prematurely aged skin; Sensitivity to light; Reproductive difficulties.
Vitamin D
Functions: Vitamin D is necessary for normal growth of children; In its absence, bones and teeth do not calcify. Vitamin D is essential for proper utilization of calcium and phosphorus; Formation of RNA; Formation of certain enzymes; Helps to maintain a stable nervous system, normal heart action, and normal blood clotting.
Deficiency Symptoms: Rickets (bowlegs, knock-knees, enlargement of bones); Poor growth and lack of bone development; Osteomalacia (softening of the bones); Tetany (muscular numbness, tingling, spasm); Thyroid problems (loss of thyroid hormones); Arthritis; Fatigue.
Vitamin E
Functions: Plays an important role in cellular respiration of muscles, most especially the cardiac muscle; Prevents peroxide formation by being an anti-oxidant; Protects all the other fat soluble vitamins against oxidation; Reduces scar tissue formation both internally and externally; This is why creams and ointments containing vitamin E are especially effective; Increases formation of new blood vessels around damaged areas; Stimulates urine secretion, hence has a lowering effect on some instances of blood pressure; Provides protection against poisonous substances such as inhalants and internal by-products of metabolism; Assists in normalizing blood viscosity; Retards muscle degeneration; Protects and ensures permeability of the capillary system.
Deficiency Symptoms: First clinical sign of deficiency is the rupturing of the red blood cells; Faulty absorption of fat and fat soluble vitamins. Evidence shows a link between this condition and the development of cystic fibrosis and inflammation of the pancreas; Retarded growth in children; Nutritional muscular dystrophy; Swelling of the cardic muscle which can become necrotic; Women severely deficient experience frequent miscarriages, as well as premature births; Angina pectoris; Menstrual discomfort and PMS; In males, a reduced mobility of spermatoza; In females, uterine degeneration, and in some cases, sterility.
Vitamin K
Functions: Basic function of vitamin K is to act in the formation of prothrombin, the chemical necessary in the clotting of the blood. NOTE: Synthetic Vitamin K should never be taken for any reason!
Deficiency Symptoms: Hypoprothrombinemia (loss of blood's ability to clot); Internal hemorrhages, especially in the brain, spinal cord and intestinal tract.; Subcutaneous hemorrhage; Nosebleeds; Can be a cofactor in cellular disease and diarrhea.
Vitamin B-1 (Thiamine)
Functions: Assists in conversion of carbohydrates to glocuse; Necessary for growth, fertility, and lactation; Controls and feeds nervous system; Stabilizes the appetite; Involved and consumed in the metabolism of alcohol.
Deficiency Symptoms: Poor carbohydrate metabolism; Mental instability, forgetfulness, fears, and confusion due to the build up of pyruvic acid in the blood, creating an oxygen deficit; Cardiac malfunctions - palpitations, rapid rhythm, enlarged heart, elevated vernous pressure, and myocardial lesions; Loss of ankle and knee reflexes; Muscular weakness progressing to atrophy; Fatigue; Reduced or lost appetite; Inflammation of the optic nerve.
Vitamin B-2 (Riboflavin)
Functions: The respiration of cells; Aids in the conversion of tryptophan to niacin; Critical in the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats; Needed in the maintenance of skin, nails, and hair; Helps the eyes in adaption to light.
Deficiency Symptoms: Shiny tongue; Eye fatigue - burning, itching, with a sensitivity to bright lights; Capillary congestion in the white area of the eye; Sensation of grit or grinding sand inside eyelids; Lesions of the lips, scaling around the nose, mouth, and ears; Oily skin; Retarded erythrocyte formation resulting in anemia; Cataracts; Pellagra factor.
Vitamin B-3 (Niacin or Niacinamide)
Functions: Plays the active role in the coenzymes that provide an essential ingredient in tissue oxidations; Necessary for the synthesis of sex hormones; Vital to the activity of the nervous system; Improves circulation and reduces serum cholesterol.
Deficiency Symptoms: Pellagra - still a common disease in modern times; Mood swings; Loss of appetite, indigestion; Schizophrenia; Recurring headaches, especially migraine; Canker sores, and other small ulcers; Inflammation and irritability of mucosa linings; Insomnia.
Vitamin B-6 (Pyridoxine)
Functions: Necessary for proper assimilation of Vitamin B-12; Aids in the production of hydrochloric acid; Required in the metabolism of many amino acids; Involved in the metabolism of fats, especially the unsaturated fatty acids; Necessary for the conversion of tryptophan to niacin; Helps to maintain the sodium/potassium balance; Facilitates glycogen conversion to glucose; Must be present for the production of antibodies and red blood cells; Involved in proper synthesis and activity of DNA and RNA.
Deficiency Symptoms: Dermatitis; Numbness of hands and feet; Over production of xanthurenic acid (green-colored urine); Low blood sugar and low glucose tolerance; Cramps in the extremities; Kidney stones; Edema; Arthritis during menopause.
Vitamin B-12
Functions: Essential for the functioning of all cells, with emphasis upon bone marrow, nervous tissue, and the gastrointestinal tract; Aids in the synthesis of many other nutrients such as choline; Plays a vital role in the formation of nucleic acids; Because of its connection with bone marrow, it is needed by the body in the formation of the red blood cells.
Deficiency Symptoms: The really serious lasting side effects from B-12 deficiency can take years to develop. Soreness and tingling of the extremities, indicating the deficiency is affecting the nervous system; Sore tongue, weakness, loss of weight; Brain damage over long periods similar to schizophrenia; Shooting pains, "needles and pins" sensations; Serious apathy; Pernicious anemia (accompanied by degeneration of the spinal cord); Neuritis, menstrual disturbances; Mental deterioration and paralysis.
Pantothenic Acid
Functions: Pantothenic acid is necessary for the makeup of coenzyme A. This factor is necessary during the intermediary metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Since this nutrient has an enhancing effect upon the adrenal glands, it becomes an important factor during stressful conditions. This vitamin is so closely involved with others of the B-group, that the B-complex group of vitamins should always be taken together as a unit. Single dosages of isolated B-vitamins can cause a rapid deficiency in others. Once a balanced combination of all the B-complex group is taken on a daily basis, then mega-doses of isolated B-vitamins can be administered for specific purposes without the fear of creating an imbalance or deficiency.
Deficiency Symptoms: Fatigue, headache, changes in personality; Reduction in metabolic processes; Postural Hypotension, dizziness, rapid heart beat (this is because of the effect of the deficiency on the adrenal glands); Gastric distress, reduction of HCL and Pepsin leading to constipation; Burning sensation of hands and feet; Inclination toward hypoglycemia; Involved in the metabolic breakdown leading to arthritis.
Biotin
Functions: Acting as a coenzyme, it is essential in the making of fatty acids and in the oxidation of fatty acids as well as the carbohydrates; Required in the formation of glycogen; Required in the synthesis of several of the non-essential amino acids by the body; Aids in the formation of nucleic acids.
Deficiency Symptoms: Sore tongue and dry skin; Muscular pain; lack of energy; Insomnia; Loss of appetite; Intense depression.
Choline
Functions: Aids in the metabolism of fats; (It is for this reason that lecithin has shown sometimes dramatic beneficial results in normalizing cholesterol levels in the blood.); Part of the chemical acetylcholine, which is essential to normal nerve function; Protects the myelin sheaths of the nerves; Regulating effect upon liver and gallbladder; Assists in the synthesis of hormones such as epinephrine.
Deficiency Symptoms: Fatty degeneration of the liver; Hemorrhaging of the kidneys; High blood pressure; Heart muscle lesions; Atherosclerosis (the single greatest cause of the bypass operation).
Inositol
Functions: Plays a great part in the metabolism of fats; Acts as a growth factor; feeds cells of the brain; Aids hair growth and prevention of thinning and baldness.
Deficiency Symptoms: Atherosclerosis; Eczema; Constipation.
Folic
Acid (Folacin)
Functions: Increases appetite
and stimulates HCL production; Enhances liver functions; Necessary for
synthesis of nucleic acids; Necessary for some amino acid synthesis;
Prevention of macrocytic anemia.
Deficiency Symptoms: Macrocytic
anemia (lack of mature red blood cells, or red blood cells that are larger
than normal and contain less hemoglobin levels than normal); Smooth, red,
tongue; Poor growth, and metabolic disturbances; Graying hair; Possible
link to certain types of mental illness; Gastrointestinal disturbances,
like diarrhea; Birth deformities; cleft palate; Toxemia of pregnancy,
premature birth.
Para-Aminobenzoic
Acid (PABA)
Functions: Stimulates
intestinal bacteria; Acts in the capacity of a coenzyme in the breakdown
of proteins; Assists in the formation of blood cells, primarily red blood
cells; Prevents eczema and vitiligo which is a loss of skin pigmentation;
Has been shown beneficial in burn pain control; Helps to protect the skin
against the harmful effects of overexposure to sunlight.
Deficiency Symptoms: Sulfa
drugs cause a deficiency of PABA; Gastrointestinal disorders; Irritability
and depression; Lupus (mega-doses have shown a positive response in 80% of
cases studied); Loss of sex drive; Constipation.
Vitamin
B-13 (Orotic Acid)
This very new addition to the B-complex family is not currently readily
available in the United States. It has been used in Europe quite
extensively, however. One of its pioneer uses has been in the treatment of
multiple sclerosis. Very little is known about absorption of this nutrient
at this time. We do know that Orotic Acid is involved in the synthesis of
some other members of the B-complex group. It is also involved in
restoration of certain cells.
Pangamic
Acid
Functions: Stimulates glands
and nervous system; Reduces or elinimates Hypoxia (an insufficient supply
of oxygen in living tissue); Protects the liver from fatty deposits;
Serves as a powerful detoxifier; Seems to increase the life span of the
cell; Regulates blood levels of steroids.
Deficiency Symptoms: Hypoxia;
Premature aging; Asthma, emphysema; Fatigue (due to poor oxygenation of
cellular tissue); Recent studies show a link to glaucoma; Heart
palpitations, possibly angina pains.
Vitamin
C
Functions: The most important
function of vitamin C in the human body is in the formation of collagen
protein. Collagen is the glue for specialized tissues that hold us
together, such as skin, cartilage, tendon, and bone; Speeds the healing of
wounds; Antihistamine action; Maintains strength in blood vessels; Fights
bacterial and viral infections. Promotes formation of hemoglobin; Aids in
absorption of iron from intestinal tract; Converts folic acid to folinic
acid; Antioxidant action, protecting many other valuable nutrients such as
thiamine, riboflavin, vitamins A and E and patothenic acid against damage
from oxidation; Diuretic action on body cells; Aids in the metabolism of
the amino acids, phenylalanine tyrosine, and tryptophan; Helps the
adrenals in the secretion of hormones.
Deficiency Symptoms: Skin
bruising; bleeding gums; Shortness of breath; impaired digestion; Anemia;
Joint pains; Increased healing time of surface wounds; Breaks in capillary
walls resulting clots; Excessive hair loss; Scurvy.