Vitamins
INTRODUCTION
VITAMIN
A
VITAMIN
B
VITAMIN
C
VITAMIN
D
VITAMIN
E
VITAMIN
K
AMINO
ACIDS
INTRODUCTION:
Mental
fitness and physical fitness go hand in hand.
One is useless without the other. Nutrition is
the key to both. We all know that we need
vitamins and minerals to achieve a healthy body
and mind, but do we all do what we need to do
for acquiring these vital substances? Well, it
is just too easy to go through the drive-thru at
the burger place or order in from a delivery
restaurant. This is not good, we know, but it is
easy and fast. Well, laziness has no place
in a healthful mind and body. I mean, if you
can't go to the store and cook some good food,
how do you expect to exercise and lift weights?
The irony here is, the more work you do, the
more energy you will have. The reason for
that is, work, or exercise, leads to a higher
metabolism, which leads to more red blood cells,
more oxygen in the blood (both of which lead to
energy), more enzymes that make the body
function at it's natural level, and better
thought processing. The list is far too
long to elaborate on, but it is true. For a
healthier mind and body, physical exercise and a
healthy eating style are essential.
We all pretty much know how to exercise, but
hardly any of us know how to eat. It
always amazes me to think of how little we know
about our own body. I mean, talk about taking
something for granted! My philosophy is that we
should know absolutely every thing we possibly
can about our own body and it's functions, our
laws, and the bible. These are the things
in which we live by, or should maybe, eh? Yet we
have so little understanding of any of them.
Well, enough of my philosophy, chances are, you
know how your car works and how to make it work
better, why not your own body? The thing that
does everything you want it to. Talk about
dependability and reliability. Well, I will do
my best to put together something that you can
understand, without putting you through a
biology class in the meantime.
Vitamins and minerals are what make our bodies
tick and tock and what could make them purr like
a supercharged V-8 on nitro, well, maybe not
that good. We can though, take in just enough to
stay ticking and tocking or we can take the
amounts we need to have the energy and
functionality we need. Here are the basics of
what vitamins and minerals are and what they do
in our bodies.
Vitamins, there are thirteen of them and are
either fat soluble or water soluble. The
water soluble vitamins are vitamin C and all the
B vitamins (Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin,
Pyridoxine, Folic acid, Cobalamin, Biotin, and
Pantothenic acid). Fat soluble vitamins are
vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K.
The fat soluble vitamins are stored in your
fatty tissues and the liver and processed there
too, but not used up every day. Water soluble
vitamins are not stored, but used in the rest of
your body on a daily basis and need to be
replenished daily as well. There are a total of
thirteen vitamins and you need all thirteen of
them to function properly and healthy.
What vitamins and minerals do in our bodies is
very important to know. Vitamins and minerals
are the reasons we function on the cellular
level. Vitamins make enzymes and hormones, the
essential parts of our living. Enzymes are
compounds your body makes from vitamins,
minerals, and proteins and combinations of them.
Enzymes speed up chemical reactions in your
body. One very important one is the anti-oxidant
enzyme and I will get into it in detail later.
Hormones are chemical messengers that tell your
body what to do. Hormones regulate your growth,
sexual characteristics, blood pressure, heart
rate, glucose levels, and many other functions.
Vitamins and minerals have no calories and do
not give you energy, but lead to the processes
that can cause energy, like oxygen increase in
the blood, more red blood cells, more protein
conversion, etc.. and must be eaten in your food
for you to get them, as well as taking
supplements, which is a good idea even while on
a good nutritious diet. I don't think any of us
could truly eat a good diet every day and even
if we did, some vitamins and minerals would not
be counted for or not in a sufficient amount.
The amounts of vitamins and minerals we should
take is of much controversy. The recommended
daily allowances are there for the purpose of
preventing any deficiency diseases and are not
enough for many people, in fact, they are just
enough for prevention. The fact is, we
should consume twice that amount of certain
vitamins and minerals, but not all of them. With
water soluble vitamins, you could safely take
much larger doses than the RDA and your body
will just wash out the excess in your fluids,
but fat soluble vitamins like I said are stored,
so you could actually build an over supply
and potentially cause problems.
Once you start eating properly and taking in all
of your vitamins and minerals you will be on
your way to a healthier mind and body, but this
will not happen right away. After some
months of a healthy diet, you will begin to fell
more energetic, happier, more optimistic, fewer
illness problems, and just a better sense of
being.
Here is a list of safe dosages for a healthy
adult.
Vitamins
Vitamin A: 5,000 - 25,000 IU's
Vitamins B: Thiamin 2-100 mgs
Riboflavin 50-100 mgs
Niacin 20-100 mgs
Pyridoxine 3-50 mgs
Folic acid 800 mcgs - 2 mgs
Cobalamin 500-1,000 mcgs
Pantothenic acid 4-7 mgs
Biotin 30-100 mcgs
Vitamin C: 500-2,000 mgs
Vitamin D: 400-600 IU's
Vitamin E: 200-400 IU's
Vitamin K: 160-300 mcgs
Minerals
Calcium: 1,000-1,500 mgs
Copper: 1.5-3.0 mgs
Chromium: 50-200 mcgs
Iron: 15-30 mgs
Magnesium: 300-500 mgs
Manganese: 2.5-5.0 mgs
Molybdenum: 75-250 mcgs
Potassium: 2,000-3,500 mgs
Selenium: 70-200 mcgs
Zinc: 15-50 mgs
You may have noticed that some are missing, this
is because the amount is nothing to worry about,
as you will easily consume it in your diet, in
fact, even if you weren’t trying.
Now that we have covered the aspect of what
vitamins and minerals are, what they do, and how
much to take we need to get into what each
specific vitamin and mineral does and what foods
to find it in, this however, is a long process.
I will go into detail on two vitamins and two
minerals per issue, but in the meantime, get a
head start and begin taking your supplements and
getting started on a good physical exercise
routine. Once you start this, keep reading our
monthly issues to find better fitness routines
and learn what these vital substances each do
for your body.
We can't expect to go to the gym, take some
steroids and get physically fit, buff, or even
massive and expect to keep it on and be healthy.
You must eat right, be committed, surround your
self with people who want the same thing and may
even be successful at it. Otherwise, you will be
where you are and among the average, which isn't
bad, but if that's what you wanted, you wouldn't
be looking here would you?
back
to top
I
would really like to tell all of you out there,
I know vitamins, minerals, nutrition, and all
that jazz is not what you want to read about.
It is boring. But I also know that
all of you want to know the best way to gain
mass.... and keep it. That is one
of the most often asked questions I get,
"How do I keep the gains after my
cycle?" Well, I suggest you read
about all of these vitamins and minerals each
issue, I know it doesn't have a lot to do with
steroids and that is what you want to know
about. Remember though, you are not just
taking steroids, you are training, training
hard. Your body needs it's nutrients more
than ever now and you need to know about it more
than ever now.
You
know that nutrition is important in working out,
exercising, and staying fit, but do you know
which vitamins and minerals are destroyed by
steroids and thyroid meds? Do you know how
much of these you need per day? And which
ones will help you gain muscle and energy and
strength? Then read on, this issue is a
bit long, but I had to include all of the B
vitamins for your benefit instead of one B now
and two per issue later. The B's are very
important in your body and training.
Trust
me, all of this pertains to you if you train, on
or off steroids.
The first two vitamins I will go into are
vitamin A and the B vitamins (which are many,
but I will cover all of them).
VITAMIN
A:
Vitamin A will help keep you healthy, give you a
lot of antioxidants, and not to mention better
eyesight to see your results in the mirror!
Night blindness is one of the most prominent
symptoms of VITAMIN A deficiency. Now, how it
works. VITAMIN A helps you health wise by
creating an offense to infections through
growing and repairing your body's epithelial
cells at a better efficiency. Epithelial
cells are the cells that line your digestive
tract, lungs, mouth, eyes, nose, throat, and
urinary tract among all of your body's internal
and external surfaces to keep out germs and the
like. In early development, you need
VITAMIN A to help grow and build properly;
bones, teeth, etc… but in adulthood, you still
need it to replace old and damaged tissue cells
and to keep your bones and teeth strong and
healthy.
So, I mentioned "antioxidants" again.
I will give you the run down on them.
Antioxidants are enzymes that protect your body
from free radicals that bounce around in your
body on a cellular level, knocking your cells of
balance and destroying them. Antioxidants
capture them and escort them out of your body
like the bouncer at the local pub escorts out
the drunken slob. Free radicals are
unstable, destructive oxygen atoms and come from
toxins like cigarette smoke, pollution, and even
from the things we eat and drink, but with the
proper balance of vitamins, you can get rid of
them and be healthy.
The source of antioxidants comes mostly from
"Carotenes". Carotenes are the
largest source of VITAMIN A as well. Roughly 40%
of the carotenes you eat are converted into
VITAMIN A in your liver and small intestine, as
you need it. The rest act as powerful
antioxidants. Beta-carotene is especially good
at getting rid of free radicals. Carotenes
are natural pigments found in plant foods such
as tomatoes, carrots, apples, oranges,
strawberries, dark green vegetables, yellow
vegetables, etc… (I.E. why you need to eat the
most colorful of foods to get the most nutrition
out of them). All red, green, yellow,
orange fruits and veggies as well as potatoes
have a good supply of B-carotene in them. In
fact, five servings per day of fruits and
veggies will give you all the VITAMIN A you need
as well as plenty other vitamins, minerals,
antioxidants, and fiber, without calories and
cholesterol. One molecule of beta-carotene is
converted into two molecules of VITAMIN A.
VITAMIN A is also found in animal foods such as
egg yolks, beef liver, American cheese, Cheddar
cheese, butter, swordfish, yogurt, and many
others.
Amounts of VITAMIN A in some of these foods for
example are 82 RE's (retinal equivalents) per 1
ounce of American cheese, 9,000 Re's for 3
ounces of beef liver, 11 RE's for 3 ounces of
salmon, and 35 for 3 ounces of swordfish. Now,
the amount of beta-carotene in food is; one
apple contains 120 I.U.'s of b- carotene, one
banana has 230, 1/2 cup cooked broccoli has
1,940, one medium raw carrot has 8,100 I.U's ,
one tomato has 1,110, one large peach has 2,030,
and one cooked sweet potato has 9,230 I.U.'s!
Since VITAMIN A is fat soluble and stored in
your liver and fatty tissues, there is the
potential of overdosing and getting toxicity, so
keep an eye on your intake. Supplement VITAMIN A
is really not necessary unless you have a
deficiency, you can get plenty from foods.
The recommended daily values of VITAMIN A are
1000 - 5000 I.U.'s per day for men and 800 -
4000 for women.
VITAMIN
B:
I am going to tell you about the B's now, why
you need them, foods that are high in them, and
how they protect your body.
As you know, there are twelve B vitamins, I'll
get into each of them beginning with B1, but
first, why you need them.
All the B's come together to keep you healthy,
to grow and reproduce properly, and for sending
messages through your nerves from your brain.
They are also responsible for converting foods
into fuel and thus producing vital energy.
Some of the B's also help your heart, keeping it
healthy. On their own though, each one does a
specific beneficial function in your body, so
now we get into them individually.
Thiamin, B1; You need this for better
mental function and memory, can you remember
this? If not, take some Thiamin! It keeps your
cells and nerves working right, regulating their
growth, it also converts food into energy. Your
body goes through a seriously complex series in
converting what you eat into energy. All
B's take part in this, whether alone or in
conjunction with one another. One step in
specific that B1 contributes is an enzymatic
process called Thiamin pyrophosphate or TPP.
Without Thiamin, you can't make the enzyme,
without the enzyme, the whole process stops. As
far as your brain and nervous system, your brain
runs on glucose, a type of sugar that is made
from the carbohydrates you eat. Thiamin
helps your brain and nervous system absorb
enough glucose. Without it, they absorb
about half of what they need, causing you to
become forgetful, depressed, lethargic, and
apathetic. It also regulates your heart;
how strong it pumps, how evenly, and how many
beats per minute.
Some ways to tell if you are not getting enough
B1. In 1911, scientists isolated Thiamin
in the brown husk part of brown rice.
Before this, they only knew that there must have
been something in it that was beneficial to the
body. For about 110 years, people were
getting a disease called BeriBeri, a Singhalese
word for "I can't, I can't". By
the way, Singhalese is spoken in Sri Lanka. When
you don't get enough Thiamin, you become tired,
forgetful, yada, yada, yada, but when you don't
get any, you can't really function at all
and could even die. Well, this happened in
Asia, in the1800's. Asia began to
"polish" the brown rice, making it
white rice, at the same time, they were removing
the Thiamin from it. It took about 90
years to realize what had happened, since in
other areas where people ate only brown rice,
people did not get "beriberi".
As I mentioned, in 1911 (110 years later) they
isolated Thiamin. Beriberi is very
uncommon, except in some less developed areas of
the world, but we can get a deficiency from it,
even though only about 2 - 6 mgs per day are
necessary. If you drink a lot of alcohol
or tea, or wine, you may need to take more
supplements of Thiamin. Alcohol destroys
Thiamin, so do the tannins in teas and wine.
Also, if you are on any type of metabolic
stimulant, you should consider higher doses of
Thiamin. Since your metabolism is higher, you
will process your vitamins faster and thus need
more of them through-out the day. Vitamin
B's are water-soluble, so you need not worry
about any toxicity from taking too much.
Finding Thiamin in your food. This is not
difficult. Obviously brown rice, but all
grains and wheat germ, and nuts and seeds. Whole
wheat breads, oatmeal, milk, potatoes,
cauliflower, asparagus, raisins, oranges, peas,
and beans. Beef liver and pork are also
good sources of Thiamin, though there is some in
all beef and chicken.
A good rule for your dose is around 0.5 - 1.0mgs
per 1,000 calories you eat, with a minimum of
1.0 mgs per day. If you are taking them in
the form of a supplement, it should be taken
with meals for best results.
Thiamin
In Food |
Food
Amount |
Thiamin
in mg |
Asparagus,
steamed |
1
cup |
0.12 |
Bagel |
1 |
0.21 |
Beans,
black |
1/2
cup |
0.21 |
Beans,
black |
1/2
cup |
0.14 |
Beef,
lean |
3OZ |
0.05 |
Beef
liver |
3OZ |
0.23 |
Bread,
whole wheat |
1
slice |
0.09 |
Cashews |
3OZ |
0.08 |
Chicken,
roasted |
3OZ |
0.06 |
Corn |
1/2
cup |
0.18 |
Green
peas |
1/2
cup |
0.21 |
Ham |
3OZ |
0.82 |
Milk,
nonfat |
1
cup |
0.09 |
Oatmeal |
1
cup |
0.26 |
Orange |
1 |
0.13 |
Peanuts |
3OZ |
0.36 |
Pecans |
3OZ |
0.27 |
Pork,
roasted |
3OZ |
0.52 |
Potato |
1
medium |
0.22 |
Raisins |
1
cup |
0.21 |
Rice,
brown |
1
cup |
0.20 |
Wheat
germ |
1/4
cup |
0.55 |
Functions
of Thiamin: Energy, Brain functions, Nervous
System, Moods.
Riboflavin, B2; this is very important
for releasing energy from the foods you eat as
well. It is also important for regulating
red blood cells, and hormones, as well as your
growth and development. Since B2 helps in the
production of red blood cells, it therefore adds
increasing energy to your day and workout.
Much of what riboflavin does is in conjunction
with other B's. Basically, it leads to
higher energy on cellular levels, but leads to
better health from lining your membranes and
producing cells that lead to a better immune
system, respiratory system, and digestive
system. Your RDA is about 2.0mgs per day, but a
good dose is around 0.6 - 1.5 mgs per 1,000
calories you eat. Riboflavin is found in
many foods, mostly meats and dairy foods.
Sunlight destroys Riboflavin, so keep your
breads, pastas, grains, milk, and cheeses in
opaque containers and out of sunlight (though
why would you have your milk or cheese in the
sun? Just mentioning it). Most flour and
cereals are enriched with riboflavin. Some meats
that have Riboflavin are beef liver, ground
beef, chicken breasts, roasted pork, salmon;
canned, and turkey breasts. Milk and
cheese are very high in Riboflavin.
If you exercise a lot and hard, you will need to
take more Riboflavin, but this is true with any
and all vitamins. Since you are
metabolizing and burning more energy at
increased levels, it only makes sense that you
will need to replenish your nutrients more.
Some athletes report that taking Riboflavin
supplements helped them during workouts with
more energy, but also that it reduced the
resting period or that they seemed to recover
better and faster. Now, if you are taking
something like Clenbuterol or Triacana, or
perhaps Dermalean (a Tiratricanol product), you
will need to think about supplementing your
nutrients since these are all metabolic
stimulants. Some things that Riboflavin
helps with; energy, migraines, and eye-strain.
If you are taking it in the form of supplements,
it should be taken with meals for best results.
Functions
of Riboflavin: Energy, Energy, Energy, Red Blood
Cells, Immune System, making all other B's work.
Niacin, B3; A very important VITAMIN as
it contributes to more than 50 processes in your
body, from releasing energy, making hormones,
regulating cholesterol, and detoxification, your
body needs Niacin.
There
are two ways to get your daily intake of Niacin,
by actually getting Niacin in foods or by
converting the protein into amino-acids, one of
the amino-acids is Tryptophan. Tryptophan
is one of the nine essential amino-acids.
You can only get it from your food. Eat a
lot of proteins and you will get a lot of
Tryptophan. Your body uses about half of
the Tryptophan for making some of the more than
50,000 proteins you need. Only about half
of your Niacin comes directly from the food you
eat, the rest comes from Tryptophan. It
takes about 60mgs of Tryptophan to make 1mg of
Niacin. You need around 6.0 - 10.0 mgs of
Niacin per 1,000 calories of food you eat, but
at least 13 mgs per day. The average
healthy male should have about 20mgs per day.
NIACIN |
AMOUNT |
NIACIN
IN MGS |
Almonds,
roasted |
1
oz |
.08 |
Asparagus |
1/2
cup |
1.0 |
Avocado |
1/2
medium |
1.5 |
Bagel |
1 |
1.9 |
Beef,
ground |
3
oz |
4.0 |
Beef,
liver |
3
oz |
10.0 |
Bread,
whole wheat |
1
slice |
1.0 |
Chicken
Breast |
3
oz |
8.5 |
Turkey
Breast |
3
oz |
8.5 |
Cottage
Cheese, Low Fat |
1
cup |
0.3 |
Cream
of Wheat |
3/4
cup |
1.1 |
Flounder |
3
oz |
2.5 |
Milk,
low fat |
1
cup |
0.2 |
Mushrooms,
cooked |
1/2
cup |
3.5 |
Nectarine |
1
medium |
1.3 |
Peanut
butter |
2
tablespoons |
3.8 |
Peanuts,
dry roasted |
1
oz |
3.8 |
Tuna,
canned in water |
3
oz |
11.3 |
Pork,
roasted 3 oz |
1
medium |
5.5 |
Potato,
baked |
1
medium |
3.3 |
Rice,
brown |
1
cup |
3.0 |
Rice,
white |
1
cup |
3.0 |
Rice,
wild |
1
cup |
2.1 |
Salmon,
canned |
3
oz |
5.0 |
TRYPTOPHAN
IN FOODS |
AMOUNT |
TRYPTOPHAN
IN MGS |
avocado |
1
medium |
45 |
Banana |
1
medium |
14 |
Beef,
ground |
3
oz |
243 |
Black
Beans |
1
cup |
181 |
Beef
liver |
3
oz |
301 |
Cheddar
Cheese |
1
oz |
91 |
Chicken
Breast |
3
oz |
326 |
Turkey,
without skin |
3
oz |
267 |
Cottage
Cheese, Low Fat |
1
cup |
312 |
Dates,
dried |
10 |
42 |
Egg |
1
large |
76 |
Flounder |
3
oz |
230 |
Milk |
1
cup |
113 |
Oatmeal |
1
cup |
84 |
Peanuts,
dry roasted |
1
oz |
64 |
Pear |
1
medium |
17 |
Tuna,
canned in water |
3
oz |
243 |
Niacin
helps lower blood pressure levels, in fact, if
you are on medicine for high blood pressure, do
not take any Niacin supplements, it will drop
your pressure way too low. There are two
types of Niacin supplements to buy, Niacinamide
and Nicotinic acid. Choose Niacinamide if
you really think you need a supplement (you
really should not though), but don't take too
much. Even 100mgs can cause heartburn and
nausea and headaches. Nicotinic acid is
used mostly by doctors for high blood
cholesterol patients.
Functions
of Niacin: Lowers blood pressure, works with all
other B's, converts proteins, and even helps
women with PMS headaches (which could in turn be
healthy for the guy as well!).
Pantothenic acid, B5; this
vitamin works in close proximity to the other
B's in the breakdown process of fats, proteins,
and carbohydrates into energy. It also
makes vitamin D as well as red blood cells and
some hormones.
This
one is simple. It does it's job of
converting food into energy, making red blood
cells, and vitamin D. It doesn't do a lot
more and you get the 2 - 4 mgs per day easily in
almost everything you eat.
Pyroxidine, B6; very important to
bodybuilders. It's main function is to
appropriate all of your amino-acids to make the
more than 5,000 proteins that your body needs in
order to run properly. Not only that, it plays a
role in making more than 60 different enzymes.
Remember enzymes? They are those little workers
that speed up all of your chemical reactions,
like what a Mallory Ignition does to your 350
big block, now we're cook'n with grease!
Proteins and enzymes, yeah baby, yeah!
With
a mere two milligrams per day, you will make
more than 60 different enzymes, help your immune
system, produce red blood cells, and keep your
nerves healthy. That's just two milligrams
a day! Add a little more and just think of
what you could do. Doubling your
Pyridoxine intake could make a big difference in
the health of your heart, your immune system,
even asthma and diabetes! Hey, it will
even help with PMS in women!
What
Pyridoxine does on the cellular level is very
important. It is needed to convert the
proteins in your food into the proteins your
body needs and to convert carbohydrates from the
kind you store into the ones you need and use
for energy. The daily intake should be
around 0.020 - 0.050 mgs per gram of protein you
eat. The average person eats somewhere
between 120 - 150 grams of protein per day which
would make your Pyridoxine intake about 2.4 -
7.5mgs per day.
PYRIDOXINE
IN FOOD |
AMOUNT |
PYRIDOXINE
IN MGS |
Apricots,
dried |
10
halves |
0.06 |
Avocado |
1/2
medium |
0.40 |
Banana |
1
medium |
0.66 |
Beef,
ground |
3
oz |
0.17 |
Beef
liver |
3
oz |
0.78 |
Black
Beans |
1
cup |
0.12 |
Cheddar
Cheese |
1
oz |
0.02 |
Chicken
Breast |
3
oz |
0.34 |
Cottage
Cheese, Low Fat |
1
cup |
0.15 |
Flounder |
3
oz |
0.20 |
Mango |
1
medium |
0.28 |
Milk,
Low Fat |
1
cup |
0.10 |
Pork,
roasted |
3
oz |
0.39 |
Potato,
with skin |
1
medium |
0.70 |
Prunes,
dried |
10 |
0.22 |
Raisins,
golden |
2/3
cup |
0.32 |
Rice,
brown |
1
cup |
0.28 |
Rice,
white |
1
cup |
0.19 |
Sweet
Potato, baked w/ skin |
1
medium |
0.28 |
Tuna,
canned in water |
3
oz |
0.30 |
Turkey
breast, w/skin |
3
oz |
0.28 |
Wheat
Germ |
1/4
cup |
0.38 |
Yogurt,
low fat |
8
oz |
0.11 |
Navy
Beans |
1
cup |
0.30 |
Functions
of Pyridoxine: A healthy, healthy, heart, a
strong immune system, helps with depression,
morning sickness, and converting stored sugar
into energy.
Biotin, B7; sometimes called vitamin H,
it is yet another vitamin that leads to energy
release from the food we eat. Biotin is
found in many foods, but mostly in Beef liver,
egg yolks, nuts, and whole grains. There
is no RDA for Biotin, you can easily get what
you need.
BIOTIN
IN FOOD |
AMOUNT |
BIOTIN
IN MCGS |
Banana |
1
medium |
6 |
Beef
liver |
3
oz |
82 |
Brewer's
yeast |
3
oz |
73 |
Eggs |
1
large |
10 |
Oatmeal,
cooked |
1
cup |
9 |
Peanut
Butter |
2
tablespoons |
12 |
Rice,
brown |
1/2
cup |
9 |
Rice,
white |
1/2
cup |
2 |
Functions
of Biotin: Hair loss, Biotin helps hair loss
only if you are losing it due to a lack of
Biotin. Some hair shampoos and
conditioners have Biotin in them, though, it
really won't do anything. If you are
losing hair because of a Biotin deficiency, it
will grow back when you take in more Biotin, but
if you are losing it because of your traits,
tough luck.. It helps make your
fingernails stronger, and of course works in
conjunction with all the other B's for energy
and conversions of protein.
Folic acid, B9; another very important
vitamin as it number one, grows and divides your
cells properly, preventing birth defects. It
also leads to what your moods are, what your
appetite is like, how well you sleep, and is
vital for keeping your arteries clean and open,
thus lowering your chance of a heart attack. A
definite for a bodybuilder, a good appetite and
sleep regimen is a must.
You
might not know that your body replaces millions
of red blood cells and other cells such as skin
cells and mucous membrane cells every day,
but it does. Folic acid is important in
replacing all of these cells for a healthier
body and to fight off sicknesses. The RDA
for Folic Acid is 200mcgs per day, but this is
really much too low. A person should take
800mcgs per day, if you are nursing,
breastfeeding, drink a lot of alcohol or smoke,
you will definitely want at least 800mcgs,
probably more.
FOLIC
ACID IN FOOD |
AMOUNT |
FOLIC
ACID IN MCGS |
Asparagus |
1/2
cup |
132 |
Avocado |
1/2
medium |
56 |
Banana |
1
medium |
22 |
Beets,
cooked |
1/2
cup |
45 |
Black
Beans |
1
cup |
256 |
Black-eyed
Peas |
1
cup |
123 |
Bread,
whole wheat |
1
slice |
14 |
Broccoli,
cooked |
1/2
cup |
39 |
Brussels
sprouts, cooked |
1/2
cup |
47 |
Cantaloupe |
1
cup |
27 |
Collard
greens, cooked |
1/2
cup |
65 |
Lima
beans, baby |
1
cup |
273 |
Beef
liver |
3
oz |
200 |
Chicken
liver |
3
oz |
660 |
Lentils |
1
cup |
358 |
Kidney
beans |
1
cup |
229 |
Navy
beans |
1
cup |
255 |
Orange |
1
medium |
47 |
Peanuts,
dry roasted |
1
oz |
41 |
Romaine
lettuce |
1/2
cup |
38 |
Spinach,
raw |
1/2
cup |
54 |
Spinach,
cooked |
1/2
cup |
131 |
Wheat
germ |
1/4
cup |
82 |
Chick
peas |
1
cup |
282 |
Functions
of Folic Acid: Replenishing and replacing your
body's cells, working with all other vitamin B's
for better health.
Cobalamin, B12; The necessity of B12 is
the processing of carbohydrates, proteins, and
fats in your food into energy. It also forms the
protective covering of your nerve cells and
keeps your red blood cells healthy, and helps
prevent heart disease. Cobalamin prevents
anemia since it produces fine, healthy rounded
red blood cells which carry your oxygen and
nutrients around your body. It also
produces all the cells in your immune system
along with your white blood cells. You
need around 500 - 1,000 mcgs per day, though the
RDA will say much less.
COBALAMIN
IN FOOD |
AMOUNT |
COBALAMIN
IN MCGS |
Beef,
ground |
3
oz |
2.1 |
Beef
liver |
3
oz |
68.0 |
Cheddar
Cheese |
1
oz |
0.23 |
Chicken
leg |
1
medium |
0.35 |
Chicken
liver |
3
oz |
16.6 |
Clams,
steamed |
3
oz |
84.06 |
Cottage
Cheese, low fat |
1
cup |
1.43 |
Egg |
1
large |
0.56 |
Flounder |
3
oz |
2.13 |
liverwurst |
1
slice |
2.42 |
Milk,
low fat |
8
oz |
0.90 |
Swiss
Cheese |
1
oz |
0.48 |
Tuna,
light |
3
oz |
2.54 |
Yogurt,
low fat |
8
oz |
1.28 |
|
|
|
Functions
of Cobalamin: Healthy red blood cells, healthy
linings to your immune system, nerves, and inner
membranes.
That was a list of the "official B's",
as you noticed, not all the little numbers were
present in order. The "unofficial B's"
are as follows.
Choline;
This vitamin is used by your
brain in storing memory. It is being introduced
for treating depression and hepatitis.
Inositol;
this vitamin also helps in
maintaining healthy cell membranes and messenger
chemicals. It also helps repair nerve damage
from diabetes.
PABA; (Para-AminoBenzoic Acid) This you
may or may not know, is found in many sun
blockers. It is a powerful anti-oxidant that
protects your skin form sun damage.
Lipoic acid; this helps vitamins B 1, 2,
3, 4, and 5 convert carbs, proteins, and fats
into energy. As well, it is a powerful
anti-oxidant and recycles vitamin C and E.
That's it for the B family. You may be wondering
why B4, B8, B10, and B11 were not mentioned by
number. Well, the first B vitamin to be
discovered was called "water soluble"
and meant that it was only the second vitamin
ever identified (the first being fat soluble).
Riboflavin was discovered next, so
"water-soluble B" became
"B1" and Riboflavin became
"B2". Later, researchers realized that
B1 was actually two vitamins, Thiamin and
Niacin. Thiamin kept the B1 name, B2 was already
taken, so Niacin became B3. Research continued
and scientists found many substances they
thought were new B vitamins, some turned out to
be the same as the B's that were already
discovered and some not to be vitamins at all.
These unofficial B's are the ones thought to be
"new vitamins" and also have no RDA
value.
None
of the "unofficial" B's have an RDA.
back
to top
VITAMIN
C:
What
doctors use to scoff at, they now endorse with
all their might. Twenty years ago, Vitamin
C had many claims; protection against cataracts
(while on DNP?), heart disease, cancer, and many
other medical problems, not to mention over all
health against common colds and such.
Since
Vitamin C is responsible for more than 300
purposes in your body, everything from being the
top anti-oxidant, producing collagen, keeping
your immune system in top shape, curing some
male infertility problems, lowering blood
pressure, fighting allergies and asthma, and
relieving stress, it only stands to reason to
take it as a supplement (maybe more so if on
steroids).
One
good point I made above, Vitamin C produces
Collagen. Collagen is essentially the
"adhesive" that holds your body
together. It is the connective tissue that
holds your muscles to your skeleton, your skin
to your muscles, and thus, keeps you together.
This may not mean much to you, but it also is
needed to heal injuries faster. Getting
your attention now? If Collagen will help
heal sprained joints, broken bones, cuts, and
other injuries, then would it not make sense
that it will mean a better and faster muscle
recovery after a workout? And what about
all those days we are too sick to go to the gym?
Vitamin C fights these sicknesses and
strengthens your immune system. If you are on
steroids, your blood pressure may go up
significantly right? Vitamin C will help
keep it low (as will the B's, remember?).
Another good point is asthma. Number one,
Vitamin C helps lower your histamine levels,
which, if high enough, will trigger an allergy
attack and thus introduce an asthma attack.
Secondly, it is the best anti-oxidant around, so
it will help protect your lungs and airways
against dust, pollen, and pollution through the
elimination of your free radicals. Vitamin
C is also said to protect against cancer and
Parkinson's Disease, but we will not dwell there
as it doesn't pertain to your life as a body
builder. Gingivitis though, is another problem
that taking some extra Vitamin C can help with,
this means when you are nice and huge, your
mouth will be kissable to all the babes.
The last point on vitamin C I will make is
somewhat of a big one. Men, how's your
sperm count? We know that taking steroids
can lower it, or maybe you just have a low count
as it is. Vitamin C can significantly
raise your sperm count by taking care of all
those free radicals that destroy your cells and
because there is more higher levels of Vitamin C
in your seminal fluid than there is in your
blood, thus protecting it. Though it may not
help raise your levels so much when your
testosterone production is low, it will save the
ones that you do produce. This Vitamin is
water soluble, so it is necessary to take it
daily. How much to take is the question at
hand now. The RDA is a mere 60mgs, Doctors
and nutritionists believe that is far too low, I
agree with them. The docs and
nutritionists say 250 to 500 mgs per day is what
you should have, but I think for body builders,
that 1000 - 2000mgs per day is appropriate.
Remember, it is water soluble, so any extra will
just wash out of your system with your fluids.
VITAMIN
D:
Vitamin D is the eccentric uncle of the vitamin
family-it does things its own way. To get all
the other vitamins, you have to eat them. To get
Vitamin D, all you have to do is go outside.
That's because you actually make Vitamin D when
the sun shines on your skin. How? Basically, the
ultraviolet light in the sunshine makes a type
of cholesterol that's
found just under your skin turn into something
called Vitamin D 3 or cholecalciferol. The
Vitamin D 3 gets carried to your liver, where it
gets changed into a more active form; from
there, it goes to your kidneys, where it becomes
even more active. Some of the Vitamin D 3 stays
in your liver and kidneys, where it helps you
reabsorb calcium from your blood. Some goes to
your bones to help them hold on to their
calcium. The rest goes to your intestines to
help you absorb calcium from your food.
Even eccentric uncles act normal sometimes,
though-and so does Vitamin D. It's found
naturally in a few foods, but in a slightly
different form called Vitamin D., or
ergocalciferol. Your body can use this just as
well-in fact, it's the form that's used in most
Vitamin
D supplements.
VITAMIN
D
IN FOOD |
AMOUNT |
VITAMIN
D IN UI'S |
BUTTER |
1
PAT |
2 |
CHEDDAR
CHEESE |
1
OUNCE |
2.8 |
COD
LIVER OIL |
1
TEASPOON |
460 |
EGG |
1
LARGE |
25 |
HERRING,
FRESH |
3
OUNCES |
270 |
BEEF
LIVER |
3
OUNCES |
26 |
MACKEREL,
FRESH |
3
OUNCES |
943 |
MARGARINE |
1
TABLESPOON |
21 |
MILK |
8
OUNCES |
100 |
SALMON,
FRESH |
3
OUNCES |
350 |
SARDINES,
CANNED |
3
OUNCES
|
1,000 |
If
you spend a lot of time outside, your body will
automatically stop making Vitamin D after it has
stored up enough. Vitamin D is fat
soluble, so remember it is stored. You
can't overdose or have too much Vitamin D on
your own since your body will stop producing it,
but you can take too much with supplements and
doing that with Vitamin D is dangerous. You can
build up calcium in your blood and increase your
risk of a heart attack or kidney problems.
Spending ten minutes in the sun a day during
summer is quite enough, but if you spend every
day in the sun for a long time, you will easily
store up enough Vitamin D for the entire winter.
However, if you don't spend a lot of time in the
sun, even in the summer, you could be low on
Vitamin D. Most people get between 50 and
70 IU's per day in their diet, but if you don't
spend much time in the sun (your office window
doesn't count, glass blocks ultraviolet rays)
then taking a Vitamin D supplement would be a
good idea. If you do this, keep your
intake below 1,000 IU's per day, the RDA is 200.
Vitamin
D's most important function is to regulate how
much Calcium you absorb from your foods.
Remember the importance of Calcium? Well,
it won't work with out Vitamin D. Are you
starting to realize the importance of taking all
of your Vitamins yet? They all seem to
work very closely with one another, eh?
They indeed are very important, all of them.
back
to top
VITAMIN
E:
Vitamin E is pretty simple to go through. It
really is an antioxidant, which works with
Vitamin A and C in ridding your body of the
cellular vandals running around in there. It is
very good for heart condition too, as it will
reduce the risk of heart disease and heart
attacks. That is really what it does, so this
one is a short one. The RDA is about 10mg, but
really depends on how big you are, how much fat
you have in your diet, etc.. since Vitamin E
breaks down fat and also breaks down the
platelets in your arteries that cause heart
attacks (those platelets come from high
cholesterol and fat). So that is Vitamin E in a
nut shell, in fact it is, Vitamin E is found in
nuts; almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, and sunflower
seeds (well, they're in a shell).
VITAMIN
K:
This one too is simple to cover. Vitamin K is
what makes your blood clot and stop pouring out
of you. So, while you are cursing, swearing, and
punching things when you get hurt, your body is
doing it's job with Vitamin K, and of course all
the others, in healing your injury and getting
you back on the road. There really is no
shortage or deficiency of Vitamin K, the RDA is
around 65 to 80 mcgs. It is found in plant
foods.
AMINO
ACIDS:
Amino Acids are a much talked about subject, but
what is being said? Take them and you will get
big? Do we really know what they are? Lets find
out and see why we need them in our diets and
workouts.
We know the body is so very complex, making
millions of cells, hormones, antioxidants,
enzymes, and chemical messengers every second of
every day. So, how are all of these made? They
are made or "built" from the
"building blocks" called Amino Acids.
There are twenty-two of them total, but do such
an array of different functions and make
thousands of these enzymes, hormones, etc... by
forming different combinations with one another.
Where do we get Amino Acids? From the protein in
our food, which in essence, are long chains of
Amino Acids. Every cell in your body is made
from Amino Acids. Everything but your teeth and
bones is made from the different combinations of
Amino Acids. If you can't believe that just
twenty-two Amino Acids can make every cell,
hormone, enzyme, antioxidant, and messenger in
your body, think about our entire language being
made from just 26 letters. Well, it's that
simple.
Now, out of these twenty-six Amino Acids, you
have essential aminos and non-essential aminos.
There are nine essential aminos; Histidine,
Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine,
Phenylalanine, Thronine, Tryptophan, and Valine.
The non-essentials are; Alanine, Arganine,
asparagine, Aspartic acid, Carnitine, Cysteine,
Glutamic acid, Glutamine, Glycine, Proline,
Serine, Taurine, and Tyrosine. You know how the
receptors work in receiving steroids, right?
Remember, like a "lock and key", well,
that's how these work. Your DNA tells your body
which Amino Acids to put together for a specific
protein, this could mean two or three
combinations or a thousand combinations, but
when it is made, it comes together with other
proteins and only those of which it was made to
go with, like a lock and key. Once aminos are
linked together, they form proteins or chains, a
"peptide" for example takes two or
three aminos. Another example you can relate to
is Arganine combined with Methionine and Glycine
forms "Creatine". So we can dispel the
theory of creatine in the fact that your body
can only use so much of it and most people are
low in these Amino Acids. So, the results people
see are true enough, but it is only because they
are supplementing their aminos with this
creatine and taking a lot of it will not do
anything. In fact, you could go to your health
store and pick up some "free form"
Amino Acids and take them with better results
probably. Another good combination is Carnitine,
made from Lisine and Methionine, it helps your
heart work more efficiently. In fact, your heart
contains more Carnitine than any other part of
your body. It converts fatty acids into energy
in the mitochondria. This protein is very
helpful to those with angina or heart failure.
It also helps with "Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome" and depression, giving you more
energy and a better sense of well being.
Something we all want, right? It also lowers
your LDL (bad cholesterol) and raises your HDL
(good cholesterol). Very important stuff here.
Remember, Proteins come from animal foods, meat,
eggs, milk, etc... In fact, these are complete,
meaning they contain all nine essential aminos.
You can get aminos from plant foods, but it is
incomplete or only has a few of them and not all
nine essentials. Go to your health food store
and check out the free form Amino Acids and make
a good "stack" for your workouts.
There are many many important things that Amino
Acids do, from muscle gains to quality sleep to
a better immune system. CHECK THEM OUT!!