Vitamins For Dummies

Christopher Hobbs, Elson Haas

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9780764551796
• eBook ISBN: 9781118069202
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Nutrition, Dietics & Bariatrics

"Christopher Hobbs and Elson Haas...take a complicated field and...make sense of it."
—Ron Lawrence, MD, PhD, Director, Council on Natural Nutrition

Don't forget to take your vitamins! It's good advice. But everybody's needs are different. Age, lifestyle, gender, ethnicity, diet, and habits all play a role in determining which vitamins and minerals you need more or less of in your diet. Like traffic lights, vitamins help regulate your body' most basic functions at the cellular level. And just like those red, green and amber beacons, they must be synchronized—not too many or too few—to get you through your life's journey in good shape. Now Vitamins For Dummies shows you how to have green lights all the way.

Confused by vitamins? Mystified by minerals? Can't tell the difference between gingko and ginseng? In this straight-talking guide, two experts cut through the confusion and help you:

• Get a handle on what each vitamin mineral and supplement does
• Create a personalized supplement program
• Understand the fine print on the labels
• Combat or prevent specific ailments
• Enhance memory, mood, and energy
• Slow the aging progress

Drawing upon their years of experience in clinical practice as well as the latest scientific research into nutritional supplements, Chris Hobbs and Elson Haas, MD, tell you, in plain English, what you need to know to make informed decisions about which supplements you take. They cover:

• The ABCs of vitamins
• All about minerals
• Amino acids and proteins—the body's building blocks
• The importance of fats and oils
• Common supplements for digestion
• Super-foods and other great supplements
• The top 40 herbal supplements

As an added bonus, Vitamins For Dummies features a quick-reference, A-to-Z guide to treatments for 90 common complaints. From acne to motion sickness to varicose veins, the authors describe complete healing programs that include vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements and lifestyle changes.

Your complete A-to-Zinc guide to vitamins, minerals, herbs and other nutritional supplements, Vitamins For Dummies is your ticket to good health and long life.

Part I

Starting Out with Supplements

In this part . . .

**IN a DROPCAP**

We hope you’re not pondering the question, “Why do I need supplements at all?” too seriously if you already bought Vitamins for Dummies and are home settling comfortably into the book. If you haven’t yet taken it home and are perusing it in the aisles of your favorite bookstore, then browse through the first chapter on your way to the checkout counter. In this part, we tell you about the benefits of nutritional supplements and how to choose the highest-quality supplements for the least money. We show you what special supplements you might need to add to your basic program, how to get going with your personal program, and how to read between the lines on supplement labels. We also tell you about some popular therapeutic diets and specific nutrients that you may need, to help direct you to chapters on those nutrients later in the book.

Chapter 1

Supplement ABCs

In This Chapter

Why you need supplements

Choosing the best supplements for your needs

Starting with a basic supplement program

Understanding labelese, the language of labels

Knowing when and how to take your supplements

A s a supplement buyer, you have probably pondered at some point, “Do I really need to take all these pills?” In our clinical practices, we have seen patients bring bags of them into the treatment rooms when they come in for a visit. Patients sheepishly pull out bottle after bottle with a questioning look — “Should I be taking this one?” We find that people are confused about which supplements are appropriate for everyday use, which ones can be taken with other supplements, which ones are safe to use with drugs, and whether to take supplements with meals or without food.

If you would like to simplify your supplement program, to learn how to read the labels on your supplements, and to maximize the health benefits and relief of symptoms from the supplements you buy, this chapter is for you.

Pills and More Pills — Why Bother?

You’ve probably seen a story about people living in the future who sit down to the evening meal where each person has a plate before them with a few scattered pills of various shapes and colors, and no food. The idea is that in the future, nutritional science will be so advanced that you can get all the nutrients you need every day in a few small pills. Just swallow and go about your business, full of energy and enthusiasm. This pill-taking diet is great for busy people who don’t want to be troubled by actually going to the store, selecting fruits, vegetables, meats, grains, and dairy products, then going home and actually preparing all those foods. But what about the flavor, textures, smells, and the ritual of mealtimes? After a few days on the pill diet, we’re sure you would soon start longing for the smell and taste of a great meal!

Fortunately, this scenario is not likely to happen anytime soon. You like food too much, right? But while the miracles of nutritional science can’t convince us to go on an exclusive pill diet, the nutritional work of scientists around the world can give you tremendous health benefits. Through advances in the measurement of nutrients in food, and close and systematic observation of large populations of people around the world, science has helped identify the most common nutritional deficiencies and created products to help prevent associated symptoms and diseases. Following, in a nutshell, are some of the most common nutritional deficiencies, the groups of people who have them, and the reasons why you may want to consider supplementing your diet with some of the new, effective nutritional products that are available:

If you are over 65: You are more likely to be deficient in vitamin B-12, vitamin D, vitamin K, folic acid, zinc, and other nutrients. Vitamin D deficiency is especially common (up to 57 percent). Up to 20 percent of elderly women are deficient in vitamin C. To counteract the low hormone levels that occur as you age, and to enhance your energy, supplements like DHEA, pregnenolone, and 5-HTP, may be worth a try. These supplements are called hormone precursors because they contain the building blocks for hormones. They each have different functions, including aiding in hormone production, helping to induce sleep, and balancing your moods. (See Chapter 7 for more on these hormones.)

If you have a medical condition: See your doctor or nutritionist before starting with one of the new hormone builders like DHEA or pregnenolone.

If you’re a regular Joe or Jane: Common nutrient deficiencies among the general population, especially if you eat a Standard Adulterated Diet (SAD), include at least zinc, chromium, and manganese, or a good general multivitamin. See Chapters 2 and 4 for more on these substances.

If you’re pregnant and nursing: You’re more likely to be deficient in folic acid (15 to 30 percent) and iron. Check out Chapter 11 for a complete program for moms.

If you’re a woman: You’re more likely to be deficient in magnesium, iron, zinc, folic acid, and possibly calcium. See Chapters 4 and 11 for more information on these supplements and a complete program for women.

What if you don’t fall into one of the previous categories? How much should you worry about nutritional deficiencies? Should you run out and buy armloads of supplements? Not really, but if you fall into one of the groups in the following list, you may want to pay more attention to your dietary intake ...

Table of contents

• Title
• Contents
• Introduction
• Part I : Starting Out with Supplements
• Chapter 1: Supplement ABCs
• Chapter 2: Getting Nutrients from Food and Popular Therapeutic Diets
• Part II : Looking and Feeling Great with Supplements!
• Chapter 3: Vitamins: The ABCs
• Chapter 4: Minerals — Mining the Earth’s Nutrients
• Chapter 5: Building Blocks: Amino Acids and Proteins
• Chapter 6: Fats and Oils: The Good, the Bad, and the Oily
• Chapter 7: Hormones — Not Just a Teenage Craze
• Chapter 8: Common Supplements for Digestion
• Chapter 9: Superfoods and Other Great Supplements
• Chapter 10: Herbal Supplements: The Herbal Top 40
• Part III : Supplements for Everyone
• Chapter 11: Get with the Program — Supplements for Your Needs
• Chapter 12: As Young as You Wanna Be: Nutrition and Supplements for Longevity
• Part IV : The Part of Tens
• Chapter 13: The Ten Most Effective Supplements
• Chapter 14: The Ten Most Common Nutritional Deficiencies
• Chapter 15: Ten Common Questions and Answers about Supplements
• Part V :
• Complete Healing Programs for Common Diseases and Symptoms
• Reference Guide: Complete Healing Programs for Common Diseases and Symptoms
• Appendix: Resources