Why a Vitamin Reality Check?

Every once in a while, a Vitamin Reality Check is needed. What is a VRC? It simply is a step back overall review of the way current vitamin supplement products and usage is impacting health. Are vitamin supplements yielding positive results, or...? Lately it seems more negative and nil results are surfacing. The Scientific community is sending mixed signals which only serve to confuse the Public. Time to clean the windows to allow more clarity. 

The only logical findings of such a VRC review if undertaken today would quickly discover that major flaws exist. Too many opportunities are being missed to improve vitamin forms and dosages which would increase healthier parameters. There are now significant warnings, plus see this article.

THERE ARE SIMPLE WAYS TO VASTLY IMPROVE HEALTH RESULTS FROM VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS.

Here are some of the current challenges and areas that would be impacted by vitamin formulas and dosages:

• Vitamin B1 harnessed by cancer cells to increase tumor growth rate
• Vitamin B6 on nerve cell damage
• Synthetic Folic Acid on suppressing immune system potentials
• Folic Acid on cognitive functions when coupled with low vitamin B12 levels
• Folic Acid on cancer prevention
• Folic Acid used by existing cancer cells to promote growth
• Synthetic beta carotene limiting health benefits without other carotinoid family members
• Vitamin K2 actions on putting calcium into bone structure
• Vitamin K2 on artery wall integrity limiting calcification
• Vitamin D and vitamin K2 on cancer (prostate), immunity, blood sugar regulation, and bone health
• Calcium ratios with magnesium and phosphorous and soft tissue migration on bone health
• Extra daily Calcium impact direction on long term bone health
• Vitamin E as only d'alpha tocopherol form hindering benefits from other vitamin E family members
• Vitamin E family forms on prostate cancer (Select Study)
• Vitamin E family forms on mental health article
• Selenium and vitamin E on antioxidant load, cancers, and blood sugar regulation (Select Study)
• Iron on oxidation of other nutrients
• Omega 3 and vegetable oils increasing antioxidant needs  

These impact areas appear to be somewhat significant but might just be the tip of the iceberg of potential vitamin supplement actions. Vitamin supplement effects can be either positive or negative at different amounts and with different vitamin and mineral forms. The ideal supplement amounts and forms help maintain normal metabolism. Less than ideal and the body has to labor by spending extra energy and organ activities attempting to reestablish this normal. Such as when the Kidneys eliminate excess minerals to balance ratios. This also uses up vital nutrients which eventually could become disruptive to body tissues and organs. Example includes when bones dissolve to maintain blood calcium levels and to use bone minerals to buffer high metabolic acid loads. Small swings in nutrient intake amounts can be accommodated by body adaptations, but over long term, excessive supplement nutrients may overwhelm adaptations and jeopardize body functions.

NOTE: While a vitamin or mineral study might show benefits on a certain condition at a given amount, this same amount could have adverse effects on another part of the body. Far to often research suffers from tunnel vision and misses vital synergism. Antioxidant studies are often guilty of this aspect. A study showed that Seniors who took a multi-vitamin had colds that lasted longer than not taking vitamins. The antioxidant vitamins in the multiple formula rapidly destroyed certain free radicals the body had intentionally produced to help destroy the illness causing viruses. article

Scientific research has consistently been updating vitamin knowledge, concepts, and theories. Some old ones have developed cracks and are no longer valid. But so far, this information on new research results hasn't found a voice to inform the Public and someone to coordinate the many separate areas of study into a coordinated approach. This website, even with it's many shortcomings, is perhaps far ahead of most other websites attempting to offer such nutritional and vitamin usage advice.

Did you know that Scientists long ago discovered that the value of statin drugs was not so much in lowering cholesterol levels, but in associated antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions. And that milk drinking over the long term does not prevent bone fractures, it might slightly increase them.

USE OF VITAMIN D PATHWAYS AS AN EXAMPLE

Vitamin D actions do not happen without magnesium first activating the storage form of vitamin D as 25OHD3 into the hormone form, 1,25(OH)2D3, so that it can then combine with certain receptors and special forms of vitamin A and K.

• Vitamin D works in cells by directing the production of protein forms that actually produce the vitamin D actions. First, the active from of vitamin D has to combine with a Vitamin D Receptor, then this combination adds a vitamin A form, 9-cis retinoic acid, after it has combined with it's Retinoic X Receptor. This complex combination than stimulates the building of proteins. One of the proteins, Osteocalcin is first built in a non-carboxylated form. This form than has to have vitamin K2 carboxylate the osteocalcin before it can bind with calcium and place it into bone crystals. Osteocalcin also has other function areas like blood sugar control and even prostate protection.
• Thus, a calcium and vitamin D study on bones that does not also include or look at levels of these nutrients, 9-cis retinoic acid, magnesium, and vitamin K2, would by itself not have much validity. 
• This also helps explain the controversy over seemingly conflicting results of vitamin bone studies, as well as for many other nutrients and diseases.

Factors such as these and many others that have come to light from new and ongoing vitamin research would form a vital part of the VRC. Here is a list of some of these new factors.

• Certain forms of vitamins and minerals exhibit greater actions than other forms.
• Comparing Vitamins in food versus supplements, even though food vitamins are lower in dose, they show better results than most supplement studies.
• The higher concentration of vitamins in supplements present unnatural challenges for the body in digestion, assimilation, and organ processing.
• Supplement vitamins and minerals can interfere with other nutrients and processes if balance or ratio dosages are not respected. article  
• A heart Doctor found that heart patients were not lower in vitamin E, d'alpha tocopherol, than healthy people. But they were lower in one of the other vitamin E family members, gamma tocopherol found in foods, but almost never found in supplements.
• Gamma tocopherol is rarely if ever used in heart studies testing vitamin E. Alpha tocopherol is the dominate form used. An unwise choice.

• Is it logical to make the assumption that more vitamin E (alpha tocopherol) is the answer for heart disease when there are no differences in vitamin E levels at any point between heart disease patients and healthy people? 

• In foods, there are 4 tocopherols, alpha, beta, delta, and gamma. But only alpha can be called vitamin E or given vitamin E units by US government edit. An unwise decision.
• The SELECT study on prostate cancer discovered that vitamin E as d'alpha tocopherol did not reduce cancer rate. Another Doctor found that to adequately protect the prostate, both d'alpha tocopherol and gamma tocopherol are needed which might explain why the SELECT study did not find a positive result. 
• Taking just high dose alpha tocopherol would reduce the absorption amount of gamma tocopherol arriving only in food.
• Alpha tocopherol works vwery well against oxygen radical but not against nitrogen radicals. Gamma tocopherol is needed against the nitrogen radical. The prostate is attacked by both types of radicals.
• Some natural vitamins stand head and shoulders above their synthetic forms, others not so much.
• Synthetic folic acid is simply toxic until the body changes it into the natural form. But this change takes time and only so much can be processed in one day, about 600 micrograms. with 200 at each meal. Over that amount, synthetic folic acid flows in the blood stream as unmetabolized. This form suppresses immune system cells called Natural killer cells.
• While folic acid is great for preventing a certain defect in babies, folic acid may not be benefical in older people low in vitamin B12 or in people with cancer, as folic acid may stimulate cancer cell growth.
• Antioxidants need to honor a body balance between oxidation and reduction processes. (redox)
• The body uses some free radicals for beneficial actions before it steps in and has antioxidants neutralize.
• An overdose of selenium destroys a free radical that is needed to help control the blood sugar insulin response. (SELECT study found)
• The immune system has cells that produce free radicals to help destroy cold causing viruses.
• Omega 3 fats are very long and thus highly perishable. Need to be protected by antioxidants.
• The so called bad LDL cholesterol has to be protected against oxidation after which it can damage artery walls.
• There are mineral groups that have to stay within certain ratios for beneficial actions. i.e. Calcium to Magnesium, Potassium to Sodium, Zinc to Copper. Outside of these ratios, the body will use up other vital nutrients, waste body organ actions, and use up body energy to attempt to maintain these balances. 
• In food, there is more potassium than sodium by a factor of at usually 10 to 100 times. But in cooked foods with added salt, this ratio is often reversed creating extra demands upon body organs and systems to achieve the historical and necessary balance.
• Vitamins like C and K can have actions in multiple areas of the body. Just looking at only one area during research often misses other actions, sometimes those can have adverse effects.
• Iron, while of utmost importance for blood, is very reactionary and oxidizes other nutrients. If supplemented, it should be taken separately and modestly. Food is by far the best source.
• Vitamin supplements deliver large concentrated amounts of nutrients that overwhelm body digestion and assimilation systems, plus transporting systems, receptor docking spaces, and binding elements.
• Vitamins in food are at much lower amounts and are further buffered by other food elements, such as fibers, proteins, and fats, that just trickle nutrients into body systems for utilization.
• Nutritionally, many supplement doses are far to large and add stress in the body rather than benefits.  

These are a few of the overlooked areas of vitamin research that prompts the need for a VRC.

NOTE: This term VRC was found to be first used here. Overall, this article has some good advice, but notice that many of the short-comings mentioned on this website are still not addressed.

In far too many vitamin studies the wrong form, or a missing synergistic nutrient(s), or use of an improper dosage, is skewing the results. THERE ARE HEALTHIER WAYS TO TAKE VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS. Scientists are failing to check for nutrient synergism and missing out on numerous opportunities to enhance vitamin supplement health benefits. And lower dosages are preferred since the majority of vitamins and minerals should come in food. Always add supplement amounts with estimated food contributions of vitamins and minerals together to get total vitamin intake picture.