| Cryptoxanthin
Facts
Every time you bite into a peach, papaya, tangerine, or orange, you are getting a healthy serving of cryptoxanthin, one of a select group of carotenoids that can be converted to vitamin a in the body. Two groups of people need to be concerned about getting enough cryptoxanthin: people who smoke or use tobacco products, and women. |
Laurie Deutsch Mozian, M.S., R.D.
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 Some carotenoids also serve as precursors to vitamin a. Carotenoids deflect oxidative damage in the cell and appear to help protect against heart disease and certain cancers. Availability of carotenoids for absorption is influenced by heat and particle size. With optimal heating—enough heat to cook but not overcook—carotenoids increase in bioavailability. Carotenoids are found in most green leafy vegetables and red-orange fruits and vegetables.
Isoflavones
Isoflavones are phytochemicals that are found chiefly in beans. The best studied of the isoflavones are genistein and daidzein. |
Gabriel Cousens, M.D.
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 Citrus is high in vitamin C, and melons are high in vitamin a. Fruits have an important role in cleansing as well.
Pregnancy Superfoods
There are certain superfoods that add significant benefits to the prepregnancy, prenatal, and lactation nutrition program. One of the most important of these is brewer's yeast. It is 40-50% protein and is particularly high for a vegetarian food in RNA and DNA. It is one of the best food sources of the total B-complex in the most natural form. It is known as one of the best foods to stimulate breast milk production. |
Ronald L. Hoffman, M.D.
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 It is extremely high in vitamins, minerals, and beta-carotene (dandelion has 14,000 International Units of vitamin a per 100 grams, compared with 11,000 International Units for carrots). Studies show that dandelion increases the flow of bile and relieves liver congestion.
Milk thistie (Silybum marianum). This common plant contains powerful liver-protecting substances, and its extract is stocked by the National Poison Control Center as an emergency treatment for ingestion of poisonous mushrooms (particularly the death angel mushroom). |
| Dosage: 400 to 600 milligrams elemental magnesium daily, in magnesium citrate, glyci-nate, or chelated form.
• vitamin a (retinol), to provide additional cancer prevention. Dosage: 25,000 International Units per day (but no more than 5000 International Units daily in case of pregnancy)
• N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), to act as a powerful antioxidant and specifically control mucus production. Dosage: 600 milligrams three times daily. |
Gabriel Cousens, M.D.
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| Calcium, iodine, boron, vitamin a, B3, and B12 slow down the rate of glycolysis and thus help the fast oxidizer become more efficient. For example, if we try to give a high-potassium diet to a fast oxidizer, we will make them more metabolically out of balance.
The reverse is also true: if one gives vitamins and minerals that slow glucose metabolism to a slow oxidizer, one may make their condition even worse. |
| An interesting aside to vitamin a deficiency is, according to Dr. Price, associated with impacted third molar teeth. His findings show that in indigenous cultures there is no problem with the third molar or wisdom teeth such as we are experiencing in our modern American culture.
The main purpose of this data and the whole chapter, as I said earlier, is to show that physical health as well as brain function are affected significantly by the peri-natal health of the mother. |
Earl Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D.
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 Until recently, it was widely believed that betacarotene itself was useless and could be used by the body only after its conversion into vitamin a. We now know that carotenoids such as beta carotene may each offer particular advantages. In the 1980s, beta carotene stole the spotlight because of studies that suggested it may protect against certain types of cancer. When researchers investigated whether other carotenoids could also have hidden benefits, the results were quite astonishing. |
| Fat-soluble vitamins are measured in IU, international units, with the exception of vitamin a, which is sometimes measured in RE (retinol equivalents): 1 RE = 1 IU.
What is a mineral?
Minerals are naturally occurring chemical elements that are found throughout the body and must be replenished through either food or supplements. They are critical for strong teeth and bones, and for normal cell function. Minerals are divided into two categories: essential minerals and trace minerals. Essential minerals need to be consumed in greater volume and are measured in milligrams or grams. |
the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing
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 Beta carotene, which is converted into vitamin a by your body, helps you fight infections. To get plenty of beta carotene, eat brightly colored fruits and vegetables. Good sources include carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, kale, spinach, apricots, cantaloupe, mangoes, and broccoli.
Constipation
Prunes
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Raisins
Pnto beans
Brown rice
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Broccoli cereal
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Avoid
Foods that have little or no fiber
The next time you feel irritable and bloated from irregularity, don't reach for a laxative. |
Neal Barnard, M.D.
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 Beta-carotene provides all the vitamin a the body needs and is much safer. Research studies showing benefits from beta-carotene use doses in the range of twenty to thirty milligrams per day and occasionally higher. This amount is easily obtained from carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, and other natural foods.
• Infants should receive vitamins only as prescribed by a pediatrician.
• Be careful about selenium. Typical dosages used in research range from fifty to one hundred micrograms. This range is probably safe, but higher doses are potentially toxic. |
| Scientists appreciated it at first only because it can be broken apart to make two molecules of vitamin a, which the body uses for eyesight
Table i . 1
Top Foods for Vitamin £ (milligrams)
Almonds, 1 ounce, dried
6.7
Avocado, 1 medium
2.3
Brazil nuts, 1 ounce, dried
2.1
Broccoli, 1 cup*
1.0
Brussels sprouts, 1 cup*
1.3
Chickpeas, 1 cup*
5.1
Corn kernels, 1 cup*
9.5
Mango, 1 medium
2.3
Navy beans, 1 cup*
4.1
Brown rice, 1 cup*
4.0
Soybeans, 1 cup*
35.0
Spaghetti, 1 cup*
1.0
Spinach, raw, 1 cup
1.7
Sweet potato, 1 medium*
5.9
Wheat germ, 1 ounce, toasted
4. |
Isadore Rosenfeld, M.D.
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 The same precautions apply to vitamin a itself.
Does what you eat play any role in the formation of acne pimples and pustules? Doctors used to think so and prescribed an "acne diet" for youngsters with this skin problem. Teenagers were encouraged to eat lots of vegetables, cereals, and fruits and to avoid sweets, fried and fatty foods, nuts, chocolate, cola drinks, and dairy products. But most physicians have abandoned the dietary approach to acne. |
| Try to get all your vitamins from food whenever possible, and don't take extra vitamin a in supplement form for this purpose because of its potential toxicity. A diet high in vitamin E may reduce the incidence of stomach and esophageal cancer by inhibiting the formation of a potent carcinogen, nitrosamine, in the stomach.
Cruciferous vegetables are plants that have flowers with four petals. The best-known examples are cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower. |
| Beta-carotene, an antioxidant, maintains normal levels of vitamin a in experimental animals and may also do so in humans. If you're at high risk for lung cancer for whatever reason—because you smoke or were exposed to airborne asbestos, or work in milling, mining, textiles, insulation, or cement manufacturing, or if you had too much radiation from your dentist or doctor before its harmful effects were fully appreciated—get enough beta-carotene in your diet in the form of food, not supplements. |
| So, you would need to consume 3 milligrams of beta-carotene to get 5,000 IU of vitamin a.
CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME
VITAMINS FOR A PAINFUL WRIST
When you have carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), your median nerve, one of three that supplies the hand, is "pinched." As a result, the thumb and middle three fingers tingle, feel numb, and hurt. Your wrist and forearm may also be painful. |
Jean Carper
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 For example, a recent 12-year study of about 3,000 men in Switzerland found that those with low blood levels of vitamin a and carotene, reflecting low fruit and vegetable intake, were more apt to die of all types of cancers, especially lung cancer. Low blood levels of vitamin C predicted death from stomach and gastrointestinal cancer.
A recent British study found that cancer rates dropped by 40 percent in men with the most blood beta carotene, compared to those with the least. |
the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing
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| It's especially important for your skin cells and the lining of your digestive track. vitamin a is also famous for boosting your immune system.
Vitamin D. You don't have to worry about this bone-building nutrient if you live in Florida, southern Italy, or another sunny location. That's because your skin can turn sunlight into vitamin D. For most people, it doesn't take long in the sun to get the needed amount. Whether you get it from the sun or from food, vitamin D controls your body's levels of calcium and phosphorus. That's key for keeping your skeleton strong.
Vitamin E. |
Isadore Rosenfeld, M.D.
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| In addition to malodorous diarrhea, kids with cystic fibrosis are also malnourished because the fat they excrete takes with it the four fat-soluble vitamins: vitamin a, necessary for the healthy lining of various organs and for night vision; vitamin D, needed for bone growth; vitamin E, for which there seems to be a new benefit reported almost daily stemming from its antioxidant role in neutralizing harmful free radicals; and vitamin K, required for normal blood clotting and whose deficiency causes hemorrhages. (Sometimes a child with cystic fibrosis will bleed vigorously from a simple cut. |
the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing
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| And you may see RE (retinal equivalent) or RAE (retinal activity equivalent) used to measure vitamin a. All these measures tell you how much of the vitamin you are getting. Just be sure they fall within the guidelines listed in the following chart. |
Isadore Rosenfeld, M.D.
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| These free radicals are neutralized by a class of vitamins known as antioxidants, among which the best known are beta-carotene (a plant pigment converted to vitamin a in the body), vitamin E, and vitamin C. That being the case, it seems logical to assume that eating ample amounts of antioxidants throughout life should make you less vulnerable to cataract formation. To test this hypothesis, the diets of some fifty thousand female nurses, ages thirty-four to fifty-nine, were evaluated over a period of ten years. |
the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing
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| This brightly colored vegetable is loaded with beta carotene, which your body converts to vitamin a.
Carrots are important for many other reasons, too. Take fiber, for instance. Carrots contain enough fiber to put you on the path to regularity and maybe even lower your risk of heart disease.
Then there are the carotenoids — beta carotene and alpha carotene — which might safeguard you against cancer and heart
Carrots disease. Plus, carrots have few calories, no fat, and the highest sugar content of any vegetable besides beets. That's why they're so tasty. |
| Although this amount of vitamin a is more than the government normally recommends, it's still a safe level as long as you're getting the vitamin from whole foods, not supplements. Eat one small cantaloupe and you're halfway to this sight-saving goal.
Antioxidants like beta carotene may safeguard your retina from free radical damage and keep the blood vessels surrounding your eye working properly — all factors that protect against AMD. According to studies out of five major ophthalmology centers, the more carotenoids like beta carotene you eat, the lower your risk of developing this disease. |
Earl Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D.
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| If your diet is very low in fat, you are probably not getting enough vitamin a. Take one 5000-IU capsule daily.
L-Arginine
This Hot 100 amino acid is involved in nitric oxide production, which is essential for erections. Men who use it report that they have stronger and longer-lasting erections. (For more information, see page 3.) For best results, take 3 to 6 grams of L-arginine on an empty stomach 45 minutes before having sex.
ASTRALAGUS
This herb is used in China as a tonic to revitalize, strengthen, and restore sexual energy and physical endurance in men and women. |
| Like beta carotene, alpha carotene is also converted to vitamin a. The best food sources of alpha carotene are cooked carrot and pumpkin.
Alpha carotene is sold alone, included in mixed carotenoid supplements, and included in antioxidant formulas.
Possible Benefits
Works as a natural antioxidant and free radical scavenger. Shows strong anticancer activity.
The Right Amount
Take 3-6 mg. of mixed carotenoids daily. |
Neal Barnard, M.D.
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| Beta-carotene easily produces all the vitamin a the body needs and helps build immunity, too.
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Like beta-carotene, vitamins C and E and the mineral selenium act as both antioxidants and immune boosters.38 Vitamin E helps stimulate the immune system, boosting both B cells and T cells and increasing the ability of white blood cells to engulf bacteria.39 We saw in the previous chapter that highly concentrated vitamin E supplements can impair white blood cells' ability to make the free radicals they need to poison bacteria. |
the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing
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| You can also eat foods high in beta carotene, which your body turns into vitamin a, such as spinach, sweet potatoes, carrots, and papaya.
Fatty acids. Inflammation often goes hand-in-hand with yeast infections. To fight it, you need to eat more of the essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6. Have some fish two or three times a week, along with small amounts of vegetable oils like canola, saf-flower, sunflower, or olive oil. Seeds, nuts, poultry, and eggs contain good amounts of fatty acids as well.
Yogurt. |
Mark Blumenthal
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 A; niacin; and minerals (BHP, 1996).
Pharmacological Actions
Crude Preparations
Human
Antiemetic (Grontved and Hentzer, 1986; Grontved etal, 1988; Mowrey and Clayson, 1982; Fischer-Rasmussen et al, 1990; Bone et al, 1990; Phillips et al, 1993; Meyer et al, 1995); antiplatelet aggregation (Bordia et al, 1997; Verma et al, 1993; Srivastava, 1989). |
Bill Gottlieb
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 Viva-Drops are made of sterile vitamin a oil and other antioxidants, which may actually improve the health of the tissue of the eye so tears remain in the eye longer. The homeopathic medication in Similasan is thought to moisten the eyes and stimulate tear production.
"In my experience, these products simply work better than any of the other artificial tears available," Dr. Paul says. Use them as needed; you can't "overdose" on artificial tears, he says. If you wear contact lenses, however, be sure to remove them before using these products. |
Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
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 Compounds in these vegetables that are similar to vitamin a deactivate one of HPV's cancer-causing genes, although they are more effective in the disease's earliest stages.
—1 Fortify your diet with the antioxidant supplements vitamin E and glutamine. Taking 200 to 400 international units of vitamin E per day has been shown to provide a threefold decrease in the rate of invasive cancer. Lower levels of vitamin E have been found at every successive stage of cervical cancer—that is, the worse the cancer, the lower the tissue amounts of vitamin E. |
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