USANA Essential Tips

Finding out that Vitamin D, in adequate amounts, helps your body maintain normal levels of calcium and phosphorus. This promotes strong bones and good bone density. Getting enough sunlight, whenever possible, will allow the Vitamin D you ingest to work in concert with the other vitamins and minerals. Vitamin D helps your body absorb dietary fats too, which keeps your colon, pancreas, liver, bowels and heart much healthier as well. Here are some ways to increase vitamin D intake:

1. Seek sunshine for at least 15-20 minutes per day, ultra-Violet rays help your body to synthesize Vitamin D. Don’t stop using sun screen, skin cancer is still a very great risk to your health.

2. Take a Vitamin D2 supplement along with your multi-vitamin if you are unable to get enough sunlight because of your location, or inability to find time for outdoor activity.

3. Eat foods that are Vitamin D enriched such as cereals, butter or margarine, yogurt, soy milk, bread, cereal grain bars, and whole milk, fatty fish such as sardines, cooked mackerel and salmon.

4. Ask your physician to check your bone density and levels of Vitamin D in your blood stream, periodically.

5. Know that one cup of milk which has been fortified with Vitamin D supplies 1/4th of your daily need for this essential nutrient.

6. Avoid exceeding the recommended daily limits of Vitamin D. For men and women these limits are:

• Ages 19-50 200 IUs
• Ages 51-70 400 IUs
• Ages 71+ 600 IUs

Taking a good multi vitamin everyday can improve your over all health. It can give you a sense of general well being as well as gives your body a boost physically and mentally. There are multivitamins made especially for certain age groups. There are certain conditions like pregnancy, it is important to take a multi vitamin in a liquid for to get the most out of it. The body absorbs liquids 5 times more efficiently than taking a pill form.

Everyone can benefit from taking multivitamins, children need to build healthy strong bones, and athletes need there antioxidants to fight the free radicals from working the body. It also helps white blood cells fight off infection, aides in healing wounds, and helps the formation of collagen. People who can really benefit from multi vitamins are people over the age of 55. People who consume a lot of alcohol, extremely active people, athletes, people who are sick, and smokers.

Oxidants and free radicals can be very harmful to the body in high levels, they can damage the membranes in cells and can alter genetics. It contributes to a number of diseases that develop like cancer, heart disease, cataracts, premature aging. Free radicals and oxidants are caused by chemicals, toxins, and stress, smoking and environmental pollution can cause them too. Taking vitamins like Vitamin A, C, and E can help to chase these oxidants down and get rid of them and neutralize free radicals preventing some of there damage.

Vitamin E- d-alpha tocopherol, an essential vitamin to sustain normal body function. Eating more processed foods the amount of vitamin E in our diet continues to fall. There are serious risks if we do not get enough vitamin E, studies are currently underway that may prove vitamin E among other things to be an anti-cancer agent. The RDA for vitamin E is 15 mg or about 22.5 I.U.

Vitamin E has shown to have many health benefits. Some studies have shown vitamin E may be been linked to congenital heart defects, there are other studies that show babies born prematurely may have a vitamin E deficiency because much of the transfer transpires during the last few weeks of pregnancy. Vitamin E is an oil based vitamin which means the body doesn’t pass it as easily as water based vitamins such as vitamin C, it may be wise to discourage too much supplementation especially while pregnant. The typical supplementation is about (400 I.U.)

Oils such as; corn, cottonseed, soybean and safflower, as well as margarine are all good sources of vitamin E, while nuts such as; peanuts, almonds, brazil nuts and hazelnuts are also good sources. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains contain less a lesser amount of vitamin E. Refined and processed foods contain the least amount. Cooking foods at high temperatures destroys vitamin E, so, your best sources are of vitamin E are always going to be raw or lightly processed foods, most especially those that aren’t overcooked.

For adults, the recommended daily allowance for ascorbic acid is 50-60 mg per day. 35 mg per day is recommended for infants while 40-45 mg per day for children. Patients undergoing dialysis also need nearly 500 mg of Vitamin C daily, the intake of Vitamin C must be increased during pregnancy and lactation, or if you smoke extensively to prevent Vitamin C deficiency, amounts in excess of this (but below 1, 000mg) are not known to cause harmful side-effects.

Vitamin C deficiency range from mild to severe, mild deficiency is indicated by the symptoms such as nose bleeding, weakness, swollen gums and lassitude. Deficiency over a long period of time can lead to various infections, male infertility, birth defects, slower wound-healing, joint and muscle aches, and a rash on the legs. Severe Vitamin C deficiency can cause scurvy.

It can be prevented through proper and balanced intake of ascorbic acid in the diet. Medicines may also be taken directly through injections. Vitamin C deficiency can be treated by taking medications such as C-500-GR, Cecon, C-Gr, and Redoxon. The dosage of ascorbic acid to treat Vitamin C deficiency varies from infants to adults, adults should be treated with A300-1,000 mg of ascorbic acid per day, whereas 50 mg per day of ascorbic acid is enough for infants.

Vitamin C overdose can hinder metabolic activities in the body and can reduce the levels of copper and essential nutrients in the body. Overdose causes stomachaches, gas, and diarrhea with many side effects such as stomach cramps and nausea and increased risk of developing kidney stones.

Almonds- chock full of calcium and vitamin E. It is thought to help prevent certain cancers and cardiovascular diseases and it’s also a great source of calcium which helps build strong bones.

Broccoli- Vitamin K, A and C, calcium and fiber are all very abundant in broccoli and a good dose of broccoli once a week will help prevent cancer and it can also help build strong bones.

Cauliflower- hands down the best source for vitamin K. It is vital to your body’s ability to make your blood clot and it is also a good source of vitamin C, fiber and some great nutrients that are believed to help prevent certain cancers like breast and prostate cancer.

Beans- great source of folate which is great for cell formation, plus iron is also found in beans which helps keep your energy up. Other important substances in beans can help prevent cancer, reduce the risk of diabetes, aid your circulatory system and help control your weight.

Apples- an apple a day may just keep the doctor away, they are a great source of vitamin C which will help boost your immune system. Studies have shown that apples also contain other vital properties that help boost your immune system in ways that vitamin C supplements can’t.

Blueberries- best known for their effects on memory, in fact, studies have shown that the vitamin B compounds in blueberries help improve memory and reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia and also a great source for vitamin C.

If you know where to look, vitamins are very easy to find. Meats, grains, fruits and vegetables are all excellent natural sources of vitamins, as an added bonus, your body will typically absorb the vitamins found in foods more easily than those found in supplements. Let us discuss the top natural foods that contain important vitamins that your body needs.

Oranges- not only jam packed with vitamin C, but they also contain potassium, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12. It is commonly know to help prevent and cure the common cold and helps aid in iron absorption but has also been tied to the prevention of heart disease, a powerful tool that aids your metabolism as well as other vital bodily functions.

Salmon- together with other oily fish such as trout, orange roughy or sardines are all rich in vitamin A, D and two important B vitamins. Vitamin A is essential for your immune and reproduction systems.

Carrots- heavy on the Vitamin A and also have a good amount of calcium and vitamin C, but it’s important not to overcook them or all of the healthy vitamins and minerals will be cooked right out. Fresh carrot into your lunch bag is a great way to keep all those great vitamins right where they should be.

Spinach- found abundantly in spinach, it is vital to pregnant women because it can help reduce the risk of birth defects in newborns. It has some other important nutrients such as vitamin A, C and E and should be eaten raw to get the most benefit from it.

Vitamins can be classified into fat soluble and water soluble depending on how the body processes it. Most people are unaware of this difference. It doesn’t really matter it is however important to ensure that our bodies get the recommended daily allowance of each kind of Vitamin for some.

From a scientific point of view, the chemical composition of a fat soluble and water soluble vitamin is rather complex, but for most of us this difference remains transparent. It is important to remember that the body is able to store only fat soluble vitamins but not water soluble ones. The fat soluble vitamins which include vitamins A, D, E and K are absorbed through the large intestines.

Vitamin E protects fatty acids preventing red blood cells from getting destroyed. Acts as an important antioxidant and defends Vitamins A and C in the body too.

Vitamin D helps in the absorption of calcium and regulates the amount of calcium and phosphorous in the bloodPossession of sufficient amounts of Vitamin D, their bones won’t suffer even if they don’t have enough milk.

Vitamin A is essential for good vision helping to adjust ones vision to dim light and differentiate between the broad spectrum of colors. It boosts the body’s immune system to fight against infections and also assists in tissue growth.

Water soluble vitamins like Vitamin B , Vitamin C and Vitamin H(Biotin) on the other hand are not stored in the body for long, they need to be replenished constantly.

Our body needs c vitamin for over 300 functions, the c vitamin has been proved to help protect against heart disease, cancer and other serious illnesses. Without them the body would not be able to heal itself either because the c vitamin is vital for the formation of collagen. Whenever a person has a cut or an injury it is the collagen that helps repair the damage. Collagen has a multitude of functions in the body keeping the organs in place.

Vitamin C is also an antioxidant for the body helping other vitamins and minerals to be absorbed better. Folic acid and iron need the c vitamin to maximize their usefulness. More c vitamin that the body has, the better its defense against colds and other common ailments. Vitamin C may not prevent a person catching a virus but it does help speed up the recovery process.

There is vitamin C in almost every fruit and vegetable. Some have far higher c vitamin content than others, cranberries and melons have high c vitamin content, tropical fruits have the highest c vitamin amounts of all fruit. Hot peppers are amongst the richest sources of the c vitamin when it comes to vegetables, the hotter the pepper, the higher its c vitamin content is. Vitamin is water soluble so many vegetables lose their effectiveness if they are boiled for a long time. Steaming or quick stir frying vegetables ensures that more of their c vitamin content is retained.

Vitamin D is used to treat other diseases in which calcium is not used properly by the body. It is fat soluble stored in your fat cells which is not excreted daily like many other essential nutrients building up to unhealthy levels. It is needed to keep a balance between calcium and phosphorus in the body by controlling how much is absorbed from foods. Taking them from bones when needed, Vitamin D is best known for its role in building bones and keeping them strong.

Vitamin D is manufactured in the skin after direct exposure to sunlight, exposing face or arms to direct sunlight for 15 minutes two or three times per week will help produce vitamin D. It is best absorbed when ingested with lipids incorporated into micelles and these will be absorbed by the intestine by passive diffusion. Vitamin D is a secosteroid hormone, the body regulates the production of all it needs, the use of supplements can be harmful, because they suppress the immune system for the body cannot fight disease and infection.

Vitamin D is found in food. It can also can be made in your body after exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun. There are several different forms of vitamin D involved in regulating cell growth and differentiation and in essential immune system functions. Scientists are exploring links between low vitamin D status and increased risk for a number of chronic diseases including some types of cancer, heart disease, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis.