Miracle vitamin?

Question

What vitamin is often called miracle vitamin because it is used to treat conditions such as alcoholism, drug addiction and heart diseases...?

Answer 1

None of the vitamins are called "miracles", nor have I ever heard of any supplement helping with addictions. What you may have heard about was one of the high-ORAC fruits that are current fads, though, like Acai, Mangosteen, Noni, etc.

Basically, they are very good antioxidants which help to protect the cells. Some people selling them refer to them as miracle cures (some claiming curing cancer and all diseases, but usually those people get in a lot of trouble for illegitimate claims that have no basis)... but they're just really good antioxidants.

There are many natural that help with heart health if that's what you're looking for. Some of the most popular are Hawthorn Berry, Fish Oil, Bonito Peptides, L-Carnitine Fumarate, CoQ10, Garlic, and Lecithin.

I hope I helped!

Answer 2

Vitamin D

What does “D” do?

This is, quite frankly, an amazing vitamin that may have been undervalued. Most of us (physicians included), thought we just needed “some” to prevent rickets and bone deformities; and that once our food (milk and cereal) was fortified with D we didn’t have to worry, at least when it came to our kids. We have acknowledged that Vitamin D is a bone vitamin; it plays a role in calcium absorption and bone metabolism. Indeed, without D only 10 to 15% of dietary calcium is absorbed whereas adequate amounts of D can more than double calcium absorption. And we all know we need calcium to fight the development of osteoporosis. In its bone building capacity, Vitamin D also prevents over production of hormone from the parathyroid glands which when too high can “leach” calcium from the bones. But did you know that D’s affect on bones starts in the womb: If a pregnant woman is D deficient, her developing fetus may suffer from growth retardation and (especially if the baby breastfeeds and doesn’t get additional D) then become high risk for fractures and later age osteoporosis.

D is much more than a bone vitamin. It is crucial to many of our tissues and organs; these include the brain, prostate, breast, colon, heart, lung and muscle as well as our immune cells.  Vitamin D controls more than 200 genes that go on to direct cellular processes such as division, growth, development, blood supply and degeneration. It can make normal cells grow and abnormal ones (cancer cells) die. It also helps immune cells destroy certain infectious agents, such as TB.

How do we get our D?

Three ways: Exposure to sunlight, through food and taking supplements:

Sun: Ultraviolet B waves penetrate skin and convert a type of cholesterol in the skin to D (D3).

Diet: D is present or fortified in some (relatively few) foods. It’s contained in oily fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines), and fortified milk (one glass has 400 units). There is very little in breast milk.

Supplements: Over the counter vitamin D comes in the form of D2 or D3. Prescription Vitamin D is D2 (D2 is 30% as active as D3).

What are the consequences of “national and global” Vitamin D deficiency?

Bones

In Pregnancy: fetal growth problems for the fetus

Childhood: Lack of calcium in the skeleton (if very low, rickets; if insufficient, future low bone mass and osteoporosis).

Adults: Osteomalacia (soft bone and bone pain) Note: This may cause chest pain and bone pain in individuals diagnosed with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and even depression.

Osteoporosis:  47% of women and 22% of men over the age of 50 will have an osteoporotic fracture in their lifetime. Adding 800 units of D3 daily for 3 years together with 1200 milligrams of calcium decreases fracture rates by as much as 26% (but if calcium is given with less D, there is little or no improvement).

Cancer

Hodgkin’s Lymphoma: People living at higher latitudes (with less UVB radiation from the sun) are at increased risk for this type of cancer as well as prostate, ovarian and breast cancer. Blood levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D below 20ng/ml are associated with a 30-50% increased risk of these cancers and higher mortality. (The Nurses’ Study of 32,826 women showed that increasing Vitamin D to 39.9 ng/ml decreased the risk of developing colon/rectal cancer by 50% and conversely, if they had very low D (less than 12ng/ml), their risk for this cancer increased 253% during 8 years of follow-up. Studies have also suggested similar decreased risk of breast cancer in women with high D levels.

Diabetes: Living at higher latitudes increases the risk of Type 1 diabetes. In a study from Finland of over 10,000 children, adding Vitamin D during pregnancy together with 2000 units daily during the first year of life decreased the risk of Type 1 diabetes by 80% over 31-years of follow-up. Another study has shown that combining daily doses of 1200 milligrams of calcium and 800 units of D decreased the risk of Type 2 diabetes by 33%.

Cardio-vascular disease: Again, living at higher latitudes has been linked to an increased risk of hypertension and diabetes. Is this also due to D deficiency? ...Perhaps to some extent; one study showed that when hypertensive individuals were exposed to ultraviolet B radiation three times a week for 3 months, their blood pressure went down. (If you are hypertensive don’t go off your medication and try this on your own!)

Schizophrenia and depression: An association of low D has been shown. Perhaps D in the womb is important for brain development and functions later in life.

Muscle weakness: Skeletal muscles require D for maximum function. Increased D levels have been shown to improve performance, speed and strength of certain muscles. Supplementing 800 units daily also helps the elderly maintain their balance. (Nursing home residents decrease their falls on 800 units of D and 1200 mg of calcium, but not when they receive only 400 units of D with the calcium).

Immune reaction: When blood levels of Vitamin D are under 20ng/ml certain immune reactions just don’t happen. (This gives credence to a theory that Vitamin D deficiency increases risk of tuberculosis in black Americans who are more likely to have D deficiencies because of the pigmentation of their skin and their diminished absorption of UVB rays.)

What is Sensible Sun Exposure?

5 to 10 minutes of direct sunlight between 10AM and 3PM (depending on the season, latitude and skin sensitivity) on the arms and legs without sunblock. This gives the equivalent of up to  3000 Units D which is stored in body fat and released over time.