The human body is like a power engine. Just as a machine needs to be fuelled constantly, our body must be replenished regularly with vitamins for it to function properly. Vitamins, which function as catalysts and coenzymes, protect cells and are important links in the metabolic armour. Yet, very little is understood about these essential components.
Each of the vitamins - A, C, D, E, K and B (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9 and B12) - has an individual role to play in the body. Barring vitamins B12 and D3, vitamins A, B, C, and E are dietary.
Most people believe that if they take a multivitamin tablet they won't fall ill, or when they cross 40 they must supplement their diet with one. Some people also believe that if they're stressed or dieting they must then double their dose of vitamins in order to compensate.
In fact, if the multi-vitamin contains iron and minerals it leads to gastric problems. So also, vitamins - A, D3, E and K - are fat-soluble. A highdose of these vitamins can become toxic in the body and in extreme cases may even lead to mental and neurological changes like memory lapses, tremors as well as urinary incontinence.
Deficiency
There is no clinical syndrome or arithmetic to prove that if you do not intake vitamins and food today there will be a paucity of it in a couple of weeks. A lot depends on your food reserves and how much you utilise your body.
The most dependable way to replenish your body with adequate amounts of vitamins you must follow a well-balanced diet. However, it is not enough to simply consume them. You should also ensure they get absorbed into your system.
Erratic lifestyles, eating late, not chewing the food properly, binging before going to bed, consuming too much oily stuff or junk food, antibiotics, caffeine, alcohol restrict the absorption of vitamins and nutrients in the body. Consumption of excess alcohol requires the vitamin B complex group for it to be metabolised.
When alcohol gets into the system, the liver gets too busy trying to metabolise it and doesn't find the time to do its natural work, which is manufacturing proteins. Likewise, people who smoke, go on crash diets, or intake other harmful substances can run down on vitamin reserves as well.
Diabetics have a highdeficiency of various vitamins. Vegetarians too have a lower reserve. One must go for an annual blood-test to check vitamins B12 and D3 levels as the two are unavailable in general dietary fibres. If you're low on these vitamins, you must take supplements as prescribed by the doctor.
Here are the vitamins you should ensure you get:
Vitamin A (Retinol/Beta carotene)
It's needed for healthy eyes and bone development. It also helps in healing infections as it strengthens the immune system and enhances the production of RNA (Ribonucleicacid).
Found in:
Cod liver oil, egg, yellow fruits and vegetables. Carotene rich foods like spirulina, wheat grass, sweet potato, carrots, green onion, spinach, Chinese cabbage, melons, peaches, yellow peppers and mango.
cont...
