Prevention is Key to What – Life!

Prevention is Key to What – Life!

The age old saying, “Prevention is key” has been handed down through the years.

But what is prevention the key to? Let's start at the beginning to get a clear idea of what, where and why vitamin supplementation is critical for you and me in this day and age.

Firstly though, did you know that when it comes to preventing a wide multitude of ailments, taking steps to care for your oral health can often be a useful strategy? It is no secret that your teeth and gums can be a window into what is going on with your overall health so therefore, if you are not already doing so, it is vital that you regularly see a Dentist in Framingham or wherever you might live for an overview of your oral health. Cavities and tooth decay can both be signs of something more serious going on and a dental professional can provide expert advice and guidance to improve your overall health.

What are vitamins, why do we need them and are all vitamins created equal?

Let's start with the very definition of what a vitamin is. Vitamin – “a group of substances essential for normal cell function and development”. Let's break this statement down into English that you and I can understand…vitamins are substances that are necessary to support life…in other words without vitamins…we die.

Okay, with the definition of vitamin understood, let us look at what we need to live. Without writing a book tonight, I'll stick to the basic vitamins without going into great detail, but I know you will get the point.

  • Vitamin A – beta carotene – eyes and skin, teeth, bones, soft tissue
  • Vitamin C – teeth and gums, antioxidant, promotes healing
  • Vitamin D – helps body absorb calcium, (your body makes D from sunshine exposure)
  • Vitamin E – formation of red blood cells helps body use Vitamin K
  • Vitamin K – needed to coagulate blood, promotes strong bones
  • Vitamin B1 (thiamine) – helps body cells change carbohydrates into energy, healthy heart
  • Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) – body growth, red blood cell production
  • Vitamin B3 (niacin) – healthy skin and nerves, lowers cholesterol
  • Pantothenic acid – essential for food metabolism
  • Biotin – necessary for metabolism of proteins and carbohydrates, production of hormones and cholesterol
  • Vitamin B6 – helps body form red blood cells, use protein, maintain brain function
  • Vitamin B12 – forms red blood cells, production of DNA, tissue growth. Can be supplemented in the form of b12 injections which are often recommended for people living with Vitamin B12 deficiency or for people on diets that restrict calorie intake such as the HCG diet.
  • Folate (folic acid) – prevents birth defects

In your opinion, after looking at the vitamin list above and what they do for the body, which one can you do without today?

It would appear that you would need each and every single vitamin and maybe more to provide your body with the very “food” it needs to do its job, right?

Let's look at some examples of people in history that had to do without some of the above vitamins, what they did without and what the result of doing without them was.

  • Scurvy – during the Renaissance period somewhere between the 16th and 18th centuries many sailors died of this dreaded disease. It was later discovered scurvy was simply a lack of Vitamin C and by introducing citrus fruit into the sailor's diet they didn't die from scurvy. This is also where the name “limies” came from, they ate limes for the vitamin C.
  • Pellagra – prevalent during 1900 until the 1940s an epidemic swept through the country that accounted for more than three million cases and one hundred thousand deaths. Pellagra was a disease brought about by Vitamin B deficiency mostly in the southern states of America. The nutritional culprit was spoiled corn and lack of a balanced diet.

The reality is that your body needs over 90 nutrients each and every day… to sustain and maintain vibrant good health. Those nutrients need to be in a form that your body can absorb so you get the benefit of the vitamins, not your septic tank. When you purchase vitamins, make sure they are standardized; this means that each dose is exactly as nutrient rich as the previous dose, guaranteed. They should be time released so the digestion process can break them down at the right time and right part of that process for maximum absorption benefit to you.

Are all vitamins created equal?

Absolutely not. Here is a free tip for you today, no charge…take one of your vitamins in your cupboard, drop one into a glass of water and watch what happens to it. If it is not completely dissolved, into what looks like silt at the bottom of the glass within 15 minutes, you are feeding your septic tank and not your body.

Now it's your turn to decide… are you depriving your body of what it needs to live or are you giving it what it needs to live. If you are not using supplements, your body is dying a slow death each and every day.

Helping Turn Back the Clock,
Carla J Gardiner