Make Sure to Take Your Vitamins...

 



Don't Forget to Take Your Vitamins!

I am sure a lot of us remember our parents telling us to take our gummy vitamins.  Telling us that it would help us to grow big and strong.  While this is true, there can be specific benefits of taking certain vitamins...  
I am going to talk about specific vitamins and supplements that will have specific health benefits or disease prevention.
The usefulness of vitamins, depends on the nutritional value of one's foods and their dietary needs or deficiencies (Ward, 2014).
    


1) Vitamin C or E
I remember my parents always giving me this giant pill that had a bitter taste when I put it in my mouth... It was my vitamin C! I always associated vitamin C with immunity, but there is so many more benefits than just that.
Why?
  • There has been a great debate on wether vitamin C helps benefit immunity or not, but it has been proventhat cells such as phagocytes and t-cells accumulate vitamin C and need it in order to work in the immune system and fight against the pathogen (Ströhle & Hahn, 2009).
  • Research has shown the the use of multivitamins and specifically supplemental vitamin E shows a reduction in the risk for colon cancer. (Relationship between vitamin and calcium supplement use ...) 
  • Alzheimer's Disease can also be reduced with the long term use of Vitamin E.  
    • A study has shown that out of 633 people 65 and older, after 4.3 years, 91 of the participants with the vitamins had met clinical diagnosis for Alzheimer's Disease (AD), yet NONE of the 27 participants who took vitamin E had AD and NONE of the 23 participants who took vitamin C had AD (Apa PsycNet)
      • These numbers support the use of high doses of vitamin E and C to decrease the risk of Alzheimer's Disease (Apa PsycNet)
2) Biotin Supplement
As a woman, I have always wanted long hair and nails.  My mom always told me that taking biotin as a supplement would help my nails and hari grow long and strong.  While this is does not have much of any evidence supporting it, it can be used for other things.

Why?
  • One study has shown that the use of biotin supplement intercepts the metabolic pathways underlying the disease process, therefore biotin could be used as a treatment in comedonal acne that has increased amount of seborrhea and also could be useful for treatment with topical retinoids, controlling flaking and irritation (Piraccini et al., 2019)


3) Vitamin B Complex
I have used vitamin B for many things, such as for energy metabolism and to help with my depression and low energy levels.  This is one of the vitamins I would recommend to anyone who suffers from major fatigue or major depressive disorder. (along with seeing a healthcare professional for diagnosis)

Why?
  • One study has shown that vitamin B showed to improvement in mood and mental health (Lewis et al., 2013)
    • Depression is the most common mental illness therefore treatment is extremely important for this common illness (Lewis et al., 2013)
  • Another study even showed that vitamin B and Alpha lipoid acid orally for 12 weeks has shown improvement in peripheral neuropathic symptoms associated with diabetes (Boghdadi et al., 2017)

4) Ginko biloba
One of the most sold medical plants universally and is a leaf extract (Singh et al., 2008)  I have personally not tried this extract, but it sounds like it would be a great addative to my supplement regimen especially since it also helps with fatigue, depression and anxiety.

    Why?
  •  Along with vitamin B, Ginkgo biloba has shown improvements in depression and anxiety moods, also memory, concentration and fatigue (Lewis et al., 2013)
  • It has also beent tested and shown to have neuroprotective properties (Ahlemeyer & Krieglstein, 2003)
5) Vitamin D
You can get most of your vitamin D from sun exposure.  Vitamin D is vital for the prevention of rickets in children, osteomalacia, osteoporosis or even more serious effects such as hypertension, multiple sclerosis, colon, prostate, breast and ovary cancer and type I diabetes (Holick, 2003).

    Why?
  • Vitamin D can prevent all the disease listed above if obsorbed or taken in the correct amounts.
  • It can also decrease the risk for stroke and improve cardiovascular health (Yarlagadda et al., 2020)
    • Studies have shown that vitamin D3 deficiencies are linked to increased risk for ischemic stroke (Yarlagadda et al., 2020)





References

Ahlemeyer, B., & Krieglstein, J. (2003, March 17). Neuroprotective effects of ginkgo biloba extract - cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. SpringerLink. Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00018-003-3080-1

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Apa PsycNet. American Psychological Association. Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1998-11183-001

Boghdadi, M. A., Afify, H. E., Sabri, N., Makboul, K., & Makboul, M. (2017, July 21). Journal of Clinical & Experimental Pharmacology 2 3 ... researchgate. Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mohey-Elmazar/publication/319041922_Comparative_Study_of_Vitamin_B_Complex_Combined_with_Alpha_Lipoic_Acid_versus_Vitamin_B_Complex_in_Treatment_of_Diabetic_Polyneuropathy_in_Type_2_Diabetic_Patients/links/59a42a40a6fdcc773a372ff7/Comparative-Study-of-Vitamin-B-Complex-Combined-with-Alpha-Lipoic-Acid-versus-Vitamin-B-Complex-in-Treatment-of-Diabetic-Polyneuropathy-in-Type-2-Diabetic-Patients.pdf

Holick, M. F. (2003, January 3). Vitamin D: A millenium perspective. Wiley Online Library. Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jcb.10338?casa_token=6C7hNq19tLUAAAAA:A5aGMzNYkmz7bfpcE6f5T0fRHW3CwW8lM8c48JQrrTGpdwzCPbXS8OhByKyZIM9I7UOmz23ehHcJedk

Lewis, J. E., Tiozzo, E., Melillo, A. B., Leonard, S., Chen, L., Mendez, A., Woolger, J. M., & Konefal, J. (2013, January 21). The effect of methylated vitamin B complex on depressive and anxiety symptoms and quality of life in adults with depression. ISRN Psychiatry. Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn/2013/621453/

Piraccini, B. M., Tosti, A., Berardesca, E., Micali, G., & Fabbrocini, G. (2019, October). Biotin: overview of the treatment of diseases of cutaneous appendages and of hyperseborrhea. Europe PMC. Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://europepmc.org/article/med/31638351

Relationship between vitamin and calcium supplement use ... (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jackilen-Shannon/publication/13894119_Relationship_between_vitamin_and_calcium_supplement_use_and_colon_cancer/links/5890c4f8458515aeac92cb28/Relationship-between-vitamin-and-calcium-supplement-use-and-colon-cancer.pdf

Relationship between vitamin and calcium supplement use ... (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jackilen-Shannon/publication/13894119_Relationship_between_vitamin_and_calcium_supplement_use_and_colon_cancer/links/5890c4f8458515aeac92cb28/Relationship-between-vitamin-and-calcium-supplement-use-and-colon-cancer.pdf

Singh, B., Kaur, P., Gopichand, R. D., & Singh, P. S. (2008, June 27). Biology and chemistry of ginkgo biloba. Fitoterapia. Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0367326X0800124X?casa_token=cBza1CpZYdMAAAAA%3A8aKkh9llxm1YIYFUxhMTOYw8kaIsiZZ311OcdCd8rTjPpyWfNb0gYR-tLL9wCsz9FGbqI1mOaw

Ströhle, A., & Hahn, A. (2009, February 1). Vitamin C and immune function. Europe PMC. Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://europepmc.org/article/med/19263912

Yarlagadda, K., Ma, N., & Doré, S. (2020, June 10). Vitamin D and stroke: Effects on incidence, severity, and outcome and the potential benefits of supplementation. Frontiers. Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2020.00384/full

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