Amazing as it may sound if you’re hearing this for the first time, vitamins are more than the synthetic fractions we are commonly taught they are. The ascorbic acid you buy at the grocery store every few weeks, thinking you are buying Vitamin C, is just a chemical copy of naturally occurring ascorbic acid, which itself is still only a fraction of the actual Vitamin C. Real vitamin C is part of something living, and as such, can impart life. Your synthetic, fractionated chemical ascorbic acid never grew in the ground, never saw the light of day, never was alive or part of anything alive. It’s a chemical, a cornstarch derivative, a sulfuric acid by-product.
In your body it’s just another drug. Synthetic vitamins have toxic effects from mega-doses and actually can increase the white blood cell count. Vitamins are only necessary in minute quantities on a daily basis. Whole food vitamins, by contrast, are not toxic since the vitamin is complexed in its integral working form, and requires nothing from the body, and triggers no immune response. DEFICIENCY Scurvy is a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency. Scurvy is characterized by bleeding gums, slow wound healing, softening bones, loose teeth, ulcerations of the mouth and digestive tract, general weight loss and fatigue.
From 1650 to 1850 half of all seamen on transoceanic voyages died of scurvy. It was discovered by ship surgeon Thomas Lind in the early 1800s that British sailors were spared the disease altogether simply by a diet rich in citrus fruits. Since limes travelled well, they were the common choice during the early years, and thus the expression “limeys” was coined to describe British sailors. It was later found both at sea and in prison fare that potatoes were equally successful in preventing scurvy, and much cheaper to obtain
According to Scrip OTC News French collaborators of the anti-vitamin movement have poured huge sums of money into a legal battle in order to have doses of vitamin C over 800mg labelled as a medicine. The magazine, which is aimed at investors, says the market for vitamin C in France is worth $69 million.
Ascorbic acid is not vitamin C. Alpha tocopherol is not vitamin E. Retinoic acid is not vitamin A. And so on through the other vitamins. Vast sums of money have been expended to make these myths part of Conventional Wisdom. If you have several college degrees and all this is news to you, don’t feel bad. Unless you think your education ended at Commencement. Which is generally true Vitamins are not individual molecular compounds. Vitamins are biological complexes.
In addition, mineral co-factors must be available in proper amounts. If any of these parts are missing, there is no vitamin C, no vitamin activity. When some of them are present, the body will draw on its own stores to make up the differences, so that the whole vitamin may be present. Only then will vitamin activity take place, provided that all other conditions and co-factors are present. Ascorbic acid is described merely as the “antioxidant wrapper” portion of vitamin C; ascorbic acid protects the functional parts of the vitamin from rapid oxidation or breakdown.
The word synthetic means two things: – manmade – occurs nowhere in nature From the outset, it is crucial to understand the difference between vitamins and vitamin activity. The vitamin is the biochemical complex. Vitamin activity means the actual biological and cellular changes that take place when the stage is set for the vitamin complex to act. Think of it like gas and a car. Pumping the gas into the tank doesn’t necessarily mean the car is going anywhere. Other conditions and factors must be also present, in order for Activity to occur.
I have a book on vitamins that came out in 1988 and it already lists bone and joint issues among the side effects of taking vitamin A. Title of the book is “Complete guide to vitamins, minerals & supplements” and it is by H. Winter Griffith. Another side effect it mentions is premature closure of the end parts of bones where growth occurs from birth to adolescence. The SCIENCE of VITAMINS. Minerals, and other necessary supplements is an EXACTING Science, Anyone who is interested in his or her health, should make an effort to ecome thoroughly acquainted with his critical subject matter. Yout health and life span may depend on it!Everything has side-effects, including vitamins.
Taking vitamin A supplements can weaken the bones and increase the risk of fractures up to seven times, according to a large Swedish study. The research, conducted on men, confirms three earlier studies in women showing that high intake of vitamin A raises the risk of broken hips and weak bones. The latest study is the first to measure levels of the vitamin in blood, rather than just asking about diet and supplement use.
The study by doctors at University Hospital in Uppsala was reported in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine. It involved 2,322 men. Vitamin A is known as an antioxidant. Antioxidants are believed to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. Government studies show one-third to one-half of Americans take vitamin A or multivitamins containing it. Vitamin A can interfere with cells that produce new bone, stimulate cells that break down old bone and interfere with vitamin D, which helps the body maintain normal calcium levels.
Large amounts of vitamin A are found in beef liver and fish liver oils; smaller amounts are in egg yolks, butter and cream. Milk and some cereals are fortified with vitamin A and, per serving, provide about 10 percent of daily needs. And substances in dark green, leafy vegetables and yellow vegetables and fruits are converted to vitamin A in the body.
