Vitamin Quiz Answers

Bone Issues Vol VII

1. Regarding taking vitamin D after a cold starts.

Answer: NO. You need to have consumed vitamin D for awhile to build up levels in the body. People with lower beginning levels benefit more than if levels are already high.  It is the level that provides the anit-cold effect, not the immediate vitamin D intake amount. That is just how vitamin D works. A study showed prevention of colds when taking 4,000 IUs daily for a year. Not recommended without Medical supervision. While higher amounts such as 4000 will not cause vitamin D toxicity, there is the possibility of elevated calcium blood levels, increased heavy metal absorption, and maybe other actions that would also warrant medical supervision. The safest precautionary higher dosage may be 2,500 IUs without medical monitoring and blood testing. And even at this amount, after 3 months, it is better to taper off to every other day. Remember, it is the overall blood level and not how much is taken evey day that appears to matter most.

A study looked into using larger amounts of vitamin D at one time, BUT discovered an increased rate of falling, so this might interfere with middle ear balance mechanisms as well as yet undiscovered other adverse effects, such as those mentioned above.

2.  The supplements with the best results for preventing bone fractures?                                                                        a. Calcium & vitamin D  ref ref ref & ref ref ref                                                                                               b. Potassium & Vitamin C  ref ref ref & ref ref ref                                                                                            c. Phosphorus & Vitamin A  ref & ref                                                                                                             d. Magnesium & vitamin K2 ref ref ref ref & ref ref 

 Answer: Surprise, while the most popular answer would seem to be Calcium & Vitamin D, it might not be the best one for everyone, maybe not even most. A look into calcium and vitamin D research study results show these two nutrients are failing as often as they reveal benefits. Many of the nutrients do not function without another nutrient(s) that must also be present. Vitamin D needs magnesium, Vitamin A, and vitamin K2 to complete conversion and functions, calcium combines with phosphorus to form bone crystals, potassium spares calcium and magnesium preventing their withdrawal out of bone for acid buffering. And vitamin C at a deficiency of 43% is far to high and might jeopardize building the collagen bone matrix into which bone mineral crystals are placed. Thus, the correct answer is one that is tailored to each individual. And then, the correct answer for that person would be the nutrient(s) that are most deficient in that person's diet.

Calcium is fortified in many foods plus over half the population takes supplements. Thus, answer d. could be just as vital. c. would be the least correct. Lots of people eat meat and drink colas that supply phosphorus and vitamin A can be supplied as beta carotene from vegetables and fruits. Plus, vitamin A in larger amounts is associated with more bone fractures.

This reference lists the general deficiencies in population overall. But, not everyone would exhibit such high levels of deficiencies. And for those taking supplements at 100%, their deficiency might be potassium or magnesium since these are not fortified and many people limit foods containing them, like nuts and seeds, bananas, potatoes, and avocados. Magnesium deficiency is higher than calcium but less than potassium ref, which is higher than vitamin D. Thus answer d. might be best for some, with b. close behind. The truth of course is that building strong bones is a team effort and all these nutrients are needed within a ratio window of amounts to each other. Too much of any one is just as detrimental as not enough. These issues are usually corrected and maintained by a variety of food over time. Caution: Supplements can quickly upset these balance points.

3. Does Vitamin C help prevent colds or...?

Answer: While not quite settled yet, here is the current consensus. Vitamin C only reduces the number of colds in extreme athletes. ref For the general public, no reduction in number of colds. But, there is a slight reduction in severity of symptoms and a small reduction in duration of colds. The greatest level of reduction occurs after taking vitamin C at small dosages for awhile. Very little if any help to start taking vitamin C at first stages of a cold. ref Food sources of vitamin C also supply accessory nutrients like bioflavonoids and rutin that keep vitamin C active for a longer period of time before it breaks down and is eliminated from body. ref  

return soon for answers 4-16.

 17. The functions for the active vitamin D form does NOT include this one:                                                  a. Increases absorption of calcium from food. b. Prevents calcium excretion out of body. c. Dissolves bone tissue. d. Stimulates production of new bone building cells. e. Builds more bone structure. f. Increases calcium content in blood, g. Increases intestinal absorption of heavy metals, h. Prevents colds and flu. i. Lowers diabetes risk

Answer:  While people will most likely pick either answers c. or g., the correct answer was left off the choices. It is; j. None of the above. The active form of Vitamin D participates in all of these actions. Not many Nutritionists realize all these actions and how they relate to each other. Vitamin D mostly stimulates bone building activities like increasing calcium and phosphorus absorption and preventing calcium elimination. But, these activities also increase the absorption of other minerals, like zinc, boron, and yes, heavy metals like lead. Plus, vitamin D also stimulates bone building cells. It is this process that causes a side effect for bone to release calcium as another method of increasing calcium blood levels to the required level. And, vitamin D also works on the immune system, to kill viruses and bacteria, by increasing LL-37. To top off vitamin D actions, it also causes bone building cells to produce osteocalcin, a hormone that not only helps bind minerals into bone crystals, but also controls blood sugar regulation.

The body generates many elements with counter mechanisms to balance, limit, and control actions. The active form of vitamin D actually has 2 different forms, one as 6-s-trans working most action areas while the other form, 6-s-cis, acts on completely different functions. The body uses it's VDR, vitamin D receptors, to attract more of the 6-s-trans form than the 6-s- cis form as the modifier to generate these differences. Since these two forms readily transfer back and worth between each form, Nutritionists pay little attention to these actions, but Scientists sure do. They have worked for over 25 years to synthetically create each of these forms for special treatment actions in disease conditions where each form dominates. 

The same nutrient, existing in two forms, in this case as -cis and -trans, is a process involved with many different vitamins, such as with Vitamin E and beta carotene.  Plus, this also occurs with fats. Remember Trans-fats. The other fat form is as a -cis formation.

Proper use of Multi-Vitamin Supplements

Here is where to find the new guideline, Multiple Vitamin Criteria  But, first, some background for HOW TO PROPERLY USE VITAMINS which adds clarity about how this new guide enhances and complements body functions.*

• Effective dosages, proper nutrient forms, and nutrient synergism combinations are all involved in achieving beneficial vitamin supplement results.

• A good diet will supply most of needed nutrients while supplements should mainly be used in a complementary role for certain conditions like pregnancy or if on restrictive or poor diets, or for those with genetic errors limiting vitamin actions. (This scenario is often mentioned to give the impression that only a few people need to take supplements, but the reality is that very few people have a good diet, maybe about 10%)

• Many vitamins and minerals come in different forms with certain ones preferred that have exhibited greater research benefits with less adverse potential.

• Certain supplemented vitamins, especially fat soluble vitamins, do not need to be consumed every day as body levels can build up and might reach amounts which hinder normal metabolism.

• Best to skip taking your multi-vitamin one day out of every four, or maybe two days during the week. Then, every 2 months it might be prudent to skip vitamins for a whole week as a wash out period.

• Taking incorrect vitamin forms, dosages, with missing synergistic nutrients can be more detrimental to health than not using supplements

• Some supplement nutrients can have opposite effects at low versus high dosages, or with different body conditions, and even at different ages or stages of life.

• Increasing supplement dosages also expands the possibility of vitamin-drug interactions.

• The better your diet, the less you need to take a multi-vitamin supplement and benefit from lower dosages.

• Of course there are some useful nutrients that are under supplied by the typical diet and also by the majority of multi-vitamin supplements. These will get a unique criteria as to usage protocols. EXAMPLE: Immune modulators should be rotated on and off, maybe for durations of two weeks on and two weeks off, or specialized products only taken during certain periods, such as allergy season or vitamin D in winter, assuming some outdoor time in summer.

• Vitamin Supplements appear to have greater impact for prevention over curative powers, but can exhibit both through proper protocols.

• The body has adaptive mechanisms to control nutrient levels that should be respected. EXAMPLE: A certain level of Calcium is needed in blood for critical functions like nerve impulse and muscle contraction. When low, the body will absorb more from food and prevent elimination out of body, and if that is not enough, the body will take calcium out of bone reservoirs. When the calcium level is too high in blood, the body mechanisms lower absorption from food, increase elimination, and if that is not enough, will pack more calcium into bones to get it out of the blood. 

• While dosages in the new vitamin criteria might seem LOW compared to many other vitamin supplements, these dosages actually harmonize into body processes and present less interference to other nutrient pathways.

• Increasing dosages for most supplement nutrients results in a decrease of absorption percentage.

• Nutrient balances or ratios play vital roles in maintaining effective body functions. Most vitamin products do not account for this balance aspect. EXAMPLE: Balance between omega 3 and 6 fats is vital, plus a diet higher in polyunsaturated fats from fish and vegetable oils, increases oxidation potential. article This fact would increase the need for some extra antioxidants such as vitamins E and C to neutralize. Here, vitamin E also needs the help of some other vitamin E family members to offer complete antioxidant protection against radicals, while respecting antioxidant balance points.

• Some vitamins have family members that increase the efficiency of that vitamin plus these family members may have counter balance control functions as well as other functions unique to them to maintain health. Beta Carotene, Vitamin E, and Vitamin C have synergistic related members that Nature often puts together in food.

• Higher dosages make it difficult for the body to control balance points. This uses up energy, nutrients, and organ function activity that should go for regular vital processes. 

• Modern food growing, processing, and storage methods compromise quality for quantity. Many nutrients measure lower today than in the past while other nutrients added to fertilizers are higher.

• The nutrients added to fertilizers are usually the ones to make the plant look healthier and increase yield of the crop, not necessarily those to make the body healthier. While some offer protection against harsh conditions and insect predators, these aspects need chemicals added to the plants during the growing cycle. This presents additional challenges for a healthy supplement program.

• While growing food crops organically attempts to mitigate many of these problems, it potentially generates another adverse aspect by using animal fertilizers which may introduce pathogenic microorganisms. This needs a different supplement protocol.

• A diet with a variety of different food groups will more or less maintain nutrients within a certain narrow window of dosages to each other, and usually within certain ratios. Most foods at normal serving sizes are within these ratios (except dairy), but supplements can be quite concentrated making these ratios difficult to maintain. Plus, supplement nutrients arrive all at once. A concept the body is not yet equipped to properly handle.

• The new vitamin criteria guide takes all these as well as other criteria into account when determining formulas, dosages, vitamin forms, plus nutrient synergism.

• The trends in supplement usage are unfortunately, going in the wrong direction.

• Over 99% of existing multi-vitamin formulas contain numerous design errors that may jeopardize health.

All of these aspects are explained with scientific support in the articles of this website.  

Now, this next article, Vitamin Issues, gives more detailed points leading into the new vitamin criteria. Yes, you can go directly to the new vitamin criteria, but the Vitamin Issues article clears up many of the questions generated by the new vitamin criteria.

* While vitamin supplements may have some roles to play, the food mix you eat is priority one for good health. The acid to alkaline balance is mainly a food element factor, especially for vegetables. Supplement minerals play a role here but care is needed not to overdo mineral balance points. ref