What Happens When You Take Vitamin D-3 & Folic Acid Together?

Trying to understand the sundry studies of vitamins can make anyone's head spin. But according to the Harvard School of Public Health, the message is simple: Taking vitamins and supplements can be an easy way for you to get your essential nutrients, especially the ones that are lacking in most foods. There is no evidence to suggest that taking vitamin D-3 and folic acid together has any special benefits or risks. But because each vitamin is essential for your health, it is a good idea to get both of them daily, whether you take them together or separately.

Folic acid helps to prevent spina bifida in newborns, and it may lower the risk of heart disease and certain cancers. Vitamin D-3 can treat depression and possibly lower the risk of many cancers, as well.
Vitamin D-3 and folic acid don't interact negatively with each other, according to the website Drugs.com. And taking them together doesn't seem to have any special benefits. Each, however, is good for you. Before you start taking them regularly, talk with your physician. You may have a special condition or you may be on medications that need to be monitored.

Vitamin D-3 is a fat-soluble vitamin that's naturally present in very few foods. It is often added to foods or taken as a supplement. An interesting and important fact about vitamin D-3 is that it is also produced when ultraviolet rays from sunlight strike the skin.
Vitamin D-3, which is converted to cholecalciferol after it is consumed, has numerous functions, according to the National Institutes of Health. It controls phosphorus, calcium and bone metabolism, as well as neuromuscular function. Vitamin D-3 promotes calcium absorption and maintains serum calcium and phosphate concentrations to enable bone mineralization, which can prevent osteoporosis and other bone disease.
Vitamin D-3 deficiency can have a major effect on your bones, causing brittleness and weakness. Overall, vitamin D-3 deficiency is known as rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.

Folic acid is the supplemental form of folate, which is a water-soluble B vitamin that is easily available in food. According to the National Institutes of Health, folic acid is a key nutrient needed to prevent anemia in pregnancy. Folic acid helps to produce and maintain new cells, which is especially important during the periods of rapid cell growth that fetuses and infants undergo. Folate is crucial in the formation DNA and RNA and helps to prevent changes to DNA that may lead to cancer. Folic acid is also essential for the function of many amino acids.

Overall, vitamin D-3 and folic acid have numerous health benefits. It's especially important to get both of these vitamins during pregnancy. Vitamin D-3 aids in bone formation, and folic acid can help prevent birth defects. Those who are older also need both of these vitamins, because vitamin D-3 synthesis in skin weakens with age, and folic acid may prevent Alzheimer's disease, according to the Linus Pauling Institute.
But it's a good idea to avoid taking more than the recommended amounts of these two vitamins. Consult with your doctor to determine how much of each you should be taking daily.

Article reviewed by Amy Richards

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What Mineral Supplements Should Be Taken in Divided Doses?

Calcium supplements should be taken in divided doses if your daily dosage is more than 500 milligrams. Several other mineral supplements may require either divided doses or single daily doses, depending on how much you take and the formulation. Follow prescription or package instructions for mineral supplements to get the most out of them and avoid adverse effects.

Your body cannot absorb more than 500 milligrams of calcium at one time, and single doses of supplemental calcium should not exceed that dosage. Because the adult recommended daily allowance for calcium ranges from 1,000 to 1,300 milligrams, you may need two or three equally spaced doses of this mineral per day. To figure out how much supplemental calcium is appropriate for you, take dietary sources of calcium into account or follow your doctor's instructions. To avoid gastrointestinal upset, most kinds of calcium supplements should be taken with meals. The exceptions are calcium citrate and calcium citrate malate, which you can take on an empty stomach.

If you are anemic, your doctor may prescribe supplemental iron. A prescription for supplemental iron may require either single or divided doses. Ferrous fulminate and ferrous sulfate, for instance, are prescribed with an initial daily dose of 325 milligrams and a maintenance dose of 325 milligrams three times per day. Do not take iron supplements without medical advice, because excess iron can be harmful or toxic. Children, postmenopausal women and men are especially vulnerable to iron overdose.

As with iron, you shouldn't take potassium supplements unless your health care provider prescribes them, because a potassium overdose is dangerous. Potassium is an electrolyte, and your body tightly controls blood levels of this mineral. Too much potassium can cause an irregular heartbeat, ruptured red blood cells and other problems. For this reason, multivitamins never contain more than 99 milligrams of potassium, even though a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables provides at least 4.7 grams per day. Potassium from food sources does not pose the risks that supplemental potassium does. If you need supplemental potassium to treat a medical condition, the prescription will likely call for either multiple divided doses per day or an extended-release formula.

Supplemental zinc taken to treat a minor deficiency or to maintain good health doesn't require a divided dose. However, if you're taking zinc lozenges to fight off a cold, divided doses are most effective. To treat cold symptoms, take zinc lozenges every two to three hours. Do not take more than 40 milligrams of zinc per day, and do not use the lozenges long term. Nausea is a common side effect of zinc supplements; take them with food to prevent discomfort.

Article reviewed by Brigitte Espinet 

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What Kinds of Vitamins Help the Cardiovascular System?

More than 30 percent of all adults in the United States have cardiovascular disease, New York-Presbyterian Hospital reports. Like all of your body's systems, the health of your cardiovascular system is highly dependent on the nutrients in your diet. Three vitamins play a crucial role in your cardiovascular system's health. As with all dietary supplements, talk to a doctor before taking any vitamins.

Your body's cardiovascular system transports approximately 5 liters of blood around your body at all times, The Franklin Institute reports. Your cardiovascular system -- also called the circulatory system -- includes your body's blood, heart and blood vessels. It's chief role is to transport blood to and from your body's cells. A common health problem of the cardiovascular system is atherosclerosis -- clogging of the arteries that often precedes a heart attack or stroke.

Your body synthesizes vitamin D in your skin during exposure to sunlight. A paper published in the July 2009 issue of "Current Vascular Pharmacology" notes that low vitamin D levels are linked to cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as hypertension and insulin resistance. Adequate vitamin D levels reduce levels of inflammation in the body. High levels of inflammation promote the accumulation of plaque on blood vessels. The recommended dietary allowance for vitamin D is 600 international units for adult men and women, the Office of Dietary Supplements reports.

Vitamin C aids in the health of your cardiovascular system by promoting the production of new blood vessel tissue and reducing cholesterol buildup on artery walls, the Center for the Improvement of Human Functioning International reports. Vitamin C is found in many fruits and vegetables, especially limes, oranges, broccoli, spinach and mangoes. Adults should aim for approximately 75 milligrams of daily vitamin C, the Office of Dietary Supplements advises.

Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant vitamin that reduces levels of oxidation in your cardiovascular system, which can help reduce the incidence of atherosclerosis, a review paper published in the May 2010 "American Journal of Therapeutics" reports. Vitamin E is commonly found in foods such as nuts, whole grains and vegetable oils. The RDA for vitamin E is 15 milligrams per day.

Article reviewed by S.C. Ville

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Yeast Allergies & the GI Tract

You may be allergic to yeast if you have discomfort in your gastrointestinal tract after you eat bread or other foods with yeast. Food allergies, including allergies to yeast, can cause gastrointestinal pain and other symptoms. Consult your doctor for advice on staying healthy if you think you have yeast allergies or other digestive problems.

An allergic reaction occurs when your body’s immune system responds to an external trigger, such as pollen, dust or a component of food. The most common triggers of food allergies are milk, soy, shellfish, fish, wheat, peanuts and tree nuts, according to MayoClinic.com, and yeast is another potential allergen. Symptoms of food allergies may include anaphylactic shock, hives, wheezing and swelling of the airways, skin rashes and gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, diarrhea and stomach pain.

The only way to prevent allergic reactions is to avoid the allergen, such as yeast, bread or baked goods made with yeast. Breads made with fortified flour are good sources of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folate and iron, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services. Fortified grain products without yeast, such as rice, pasta and breakfast cereal, can help you prevent deficiencies of these nutrients when you avoid bread.

An allergic reaction can occur when food that isn't completely digested is absorbed by your body from your gastrointestinal tract. Food allergies are less common in adults than in children due to the more mature gastrointestinal tract in adults, according to MayoClinic.com. A child who has a yeast allergy may eventually be able to eat yeast-containing foods. You can reduce your infant’s risk for developing food allergies if you offer only age-appropriate foods as you introduce solid foods into her diet.

Along with stomach pain after you eat, yeast allergies can lead to exercise-induced asthma, according to NetWellness. Symptoms of food allergies can be similar to those of food intolerances, and a doctor can help you verify the cause of your symptoms. You may confuse a yeast allergy with gluten intolerance or sensitivity because yeast and gluten are in many of the same food products, such as breads and other baked goods, according to MayoClinic.com.

Article reviewed by Kile McKenna

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Will Saw Palmetto Raise Cholesterol?

Saw palmetto is a small North American palm tree that Native Americans used to enhance fertility in women and address urinary complaints in men. Saw palmetto is used in contemporary herbal medicine to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia, or enlarged prostate. While these benefits are due to chemicals in the plant that promote hormonal effects, another compound structurally similar to cholesterol may increase the risk of heart disease in certain people.

The botanical name for saw palmetto is Serenoa repens, although some older texts still use Sabal serrulatum, by which the plant was formerly known. An interesting aspect about this change in nomenclature is that it makes saw palmetto the only species residing in the Serenoa genus.

Saw palmetto berries contain palmitic, cis-linoleic, stearic and other fatty acids. Various flavonoids, including isoquercitin, kaempferol and rhoifolin, are also present in the fruits, as well as water-soluble polysaccharides. The herb is an abundant source of phytosterols, plant steroid compounds chemically similar to cholesterol. Of particular significance in terms of potential effects on cholesterol metabolism in humans is the plant steroid beta-sitosterol and its related esters and glycosides.

Phytosterols like beta-sitosterol are not readily absorbed in the gut on their own, but their chemical structure allows them to compete with dietary cholesterol in the intestinal tract, in effect displacing “real” cholesterol molecules and facilitating their elimination from the body. A review published in "The Journal of Nutrition” in 2009 concludes that plant-based phytosterols reduce total and LDL cholesterol levels in a dose-dependent manner. A subsequent review published in “Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids” in 2011 indicates that high intake of the stanol form of plant phytosterols may be more effective at lowering cholesterol than the sterol form.

The Prospective Cardiovascular Münster (PROCAM) study completed in 2005 followed 156 men at high risk for heart disease for 10 years to learn that elevated levels of plasma sitosterol levels are associated with an increased likelihood of a major coronary event. The study objective was based on the finding that a rare genetic disorder called sitosterolemia, which is characterized by extremely high levels of sitosterol concentrations, is associated with higher incidence of atherosclerosis in some people. It is not clear, however, if sterols from saw palmetto or other plant sources directly raise cholesterol and heart disease risk. A review of the Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular health (LURIC) study published in the “Journal of Lipid Research” in 2009 suggests that an increased risk of cardiovascular disease from plant phytosterols in the absence of sitosterolaemia is unlikely and has more to do with the ratio of the absorption and metabolism of individual plant sterols.

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What Organ of the Body Does Papaya Benefit?

Papayas are loaded with vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. These tasty tropical fruits offer benefits to the digestive system by providing ample dietary fiber and a protein-digesting enzyme. Papayas also benefit the lungs and immune system. More generally, every organ in the body uses the vitamins in papayas to neutralize free radicals, synthesize energy and heal damaged tissue. Whether you're seeking a specific benefit or eating well to promote overall well-being, papayas are a good choice.

One papaya contains 5.5 grams of dietary fiber, which is 22 percent of the daily recommended intake. Dietary fiber prevents constipation, diverticulitis and hemorrhoids, and it satiates hunger, which makes it easier to maintain your weight or to stick to a weight-loss diet. Fiber also provides striking benefits beyond the digestive system. About 60 percent of papayas' dietary fiber is soluble and soluble fiber lowers levels of dangerous low-density lipoproteins in the blood. It causes sugar to digest more slowly, which decreases blood-sugar spikes and protects against Type 2 diabetes.

Papaya contains papain, an enzyme that digests protein. If you suffer from indigestion following high-protein meals, eating papaya or taking papain-containing digestive aids can help ease discomfort. Green papaya is higher in papain than is ripe papaya and, when shredded, makes a delicious Thai green papaya salad. Check with a health care provider before self-treating digestive ailments with papaya or papain supplements.

A medium papaya contains 2,313 micrograms of beta-cryptoxanthin, according to nutritionist Jonny Bowden and author of "The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth." This orange-yellow carotenoid has anticancer properties and can lower risk of lung cancer by 30 percent, Bowden writes. Beta-cryptoxanthin may also protect smokers' lungs from the inflammation and damage that cigarette smoke causes. Although the scientific research on cancer prevention and carotenes is preliminary, getting these antioxidants from food sources, such as papaya and other colorful fruits and vegetables, is superior to taking supplements.

Papayas are loaded with essential nutrients that keep the immune system healthy. One papaya, which yields about two cups of chopped fruit, has 188 milligrams of vitamin C, which is more than 251 percent of the recommended daily intake. It's also rich in vitamin A, folate, vitamin E and potassium. Vitamin C and vitamin A are especially crucial for immune function, while folate aids in cell production and prevents birth defects. Potassium is an electrolyte that maintains the proper fluid balance in the blood, while vitamin E is another essential nutrient and antioxidant that helps the body recover from exposure to toxins and free radicals.

Article reviewed by Craig Sanders 

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The Benefits of Organic Eating

There's been a lot of talk about organic eating and organic foods lately. Eating "organic" means that produce is grown without the use of pesticides and harmful fertilizers and animal products such as meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy are not fed antibiotics or growth hormones. Organically grown foods often times have higher nutritional value and many people, including many top chefs, believe that the taste is superior too.

Shopping at farmers markets is a great way to eat organic food while supporting your local economy. Organic eating can be more expensive, but is it worth the extra money to you to buy food that isn't tainted with chemicals and pesticides?

If you're still not convinced organic eating is worth it, consider the issues with food that is grown with pesticides, antibiotics, and fertilizers:

Chemical pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, and the GMO's used in chemically based food production are linked to the following health problems: diabetes, obesity, cancer, autism, Parkinson's disease, male sterility, genital deformities, female infertility, miscarriage, infant deformities, and ADHD. Most conventionally grown foods come from thousands of miles away and often from other countries that don't have the same food safety regulations we do. The majority of meat you get from the grocery store comes from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). These animals rarely move or see sunlight, are fed an unnatural grain-based diet instead of grass, and are pumped full of growth hormones so they can be slaughtered faster.

The Environmental Working Group identified the following fruits and vegetables on their ?Dirty Dozen? list as being contaminated with the most pesticides:

1. Apples

2. Celery

3. Strawberries

4. Peaches

5. Spinach

6. Nectarines

7. Grapes

8. Sweet bell peppers

9. Potatoes

10. Blueberries

11. Lettuce

12. Kale/collards greens

For a downloadable copy of the Dirty Dozen list click here.

Here are some additional tips for organic eating and "going green":

1. Buy locally-grown foods. Check out Local Harvest, which is an excellent resource for information about where to buy organic food. It will also show you where to find the nearest farmer's markets and food co-ops close to you.

2. Plant a garden outside and grow your own fresh produce or buy an indoor Aerogarden and you can grow your own fresh herbs and vegetables right in your own kitchen.

3. Choose all-natural, whole foods over processed foods. Processed foods take more energy to produce and have less nutritional value than whole foods.

4. Choose foods labeled "100% organic" and "organic." Foods classified as "organic" must have 95% of ingredients produced organically, according to FDA standards.

5. Check out Start-Going-Organic.com, an excellent resource with lots of great information about organic foods.

6. Eat sustainably raised food. It's the best option for your health, the animals, and the environment.

7. For more information and tips on all things organic, check out The Organic Life. Organic living is a way of life that will give you energy, happiness and the ability to lose weight. This Website provides useful and effective resources with valuable information on healthy organic eating and living. Also, the site offers relevant facts on alternative health, organic cures and organic environment.

8. Join Taste of Green, an organic lifestyle, eco-friendly community of pro-active people who are passionate about Green Living, green news, and local organic shopping.

Next: Eating Sustainable Food

Return From Organic Eating to 6 Small Meals

The Healthy Eating Guide Home Page

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