Other
Vitamins to Supplement
B vitamins
Vitamin D
Vitamin K
B vitamins
The vitamin-B complex is a group of 11 separate nutrients: thiamine,
riboflavin, niacin (B3), pantothenic
acid (B5), pyridoxine (B6), folic
acid, biotin, paba-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), B12,
choline, and inositol.
Because they work together in many chemical reactions, you should
take them together as a B complex vitamin, even if you take additional
B vitamins individually.
Overall, they help with stress, mood and energy. They’re particularly
important when you’re emotionally stressed and your body loses valuable
B vitamins. That’s why they’re so helpful if you suffer from PMS.
Recommended daily intake:
Between 25 and 100 mg per day, taken as a single or divided dosage
Good to know: Take
B vitamins during the day, rather than at night, as they can be
too stimulating. These three B vitamins
are important players in preventing heart disease. They apparently
work by lowering levels of homocysteine, an amino acid in the blood
that studies suggest may be related to increased risk of heart disease,
stroke and peripheral vascular disease. In fact, nearly 40 percent
of those with heart disease have abnormal levels of homocysteine.
These three vitamins destroy homocysteine chemically, rendering
it harmless.
Vitamin B6 also helps
block clotting, lower blood pressure and improve blood cholesterol
levels. It can also regulate many PMS symptoms, including mood swings,
irritability, fluid retention, breast tenderness, bloating, sugar
craving and fatigue. In women who are prone to fatigue caused by
bacteria, viruses, candida or allergies, B6 strengthens your immune
system.
Folic acid also helps
prevent cervical dysplasia, a condition that can be a precursor
to cancer of the cervix, and plays an important role in the production
of red blood cells.
Helps with: Heart
health, bone health,
fatigue, normal cholesterol
levels, managing stress, brain and central nervous system function,
preventing breast cancer and cervical cancer, PMS
symptoms, heavy bleeding and
anemia.
Recommended daily intake:
Vitamin B6: 50 to 100 mg
Vitamin B12: If you have bone loss, eat little or no animal products,
or have heavy menstrual bleeding, take 100-500 mcg. Take 1,000 mcg
per day if you suffer from fatigue or low thyroid function
Folic acid: 800 mcg
Best food sources:
Brewer’s yeast, cereal grains, animal liver, oysters, salmon, whole
grains and green leafy vegetables
Good to know: Antibiotics
such as sulfa drugs and tetracycline can interfere with the production
of many B vitamins. Also, women on birth control pills and menopausal
women on estrogen replacement therapy are at risk of B6 deficiency.
Choline, Lecithin
and Inositol
Choline and inositol together make lecithin,
an important component in cell membranes, particularly liver cells.
These vitamins enable your body to move fats in and out of cells,
and helps your liver break down estrogen. Inositol is also a central
nervous system tranquilizer, which is why it’s often recommended
to calm premenstrual anxiety and irritability. Lecithin helps prevent
atherosclerosis, a form of heart disease.
Helps with: Heart
health, normal brain functioning, memory, liver function, PMS.
Recommended daily intake: Lecithin: 2 tbsp.
stirred into 4 oz. of water. Choline and inositol: 50 to 500 mg
each.
Best food sources: egg yolks, brewer’s yeast,
wheat germ, fish, peanuts, leafy green vegetables, and animal liver.
Good to know: Choline is a very sensitive
compound, easily destroyed by estrogen, alcohol, sulfa drugs (antibiotics),
and cooking. Your body stores large amounts of inositol, found in
whole grains, citrus and unrefined molasses. Drinking coffee depletes
these stores.
Niacin
Niacin dilates blood vessels, improves circulation to the arms
and legs, and reduces blood pressure. It also lowers total blood
cholesterol (a significant risk factor for heart attacks) and improves
your overall cholesterol profile by also increasing “good” HDL cholesterol.
Helps with: Heart
health, restful sleep. May have a mild tranquilizing effect.
Best form to use: Use niacinamide to avoid
the “niacin flush” women often feel when the vitamin dilates the
blood vessels, causing a sensation of warmth, itching, and making
your skin red.
Recommended daily intake: 25 to 100 mg in
single or divided dosages.
Helps with: Stress, PMS,
fatigue
Best food sources: egg yolks, brewer’s yeast,
organ meats and whole grain cereals.
Recommended daily intake: 50 to 100 mg as
part of a vitamin B complex for prevention and good general health.
For stress, PMS, and fatigue, take 250 to 500 mg once or twice a
day.
Critical for: Anxiety and stress, PMS
Recommended daily intake: 25 to 100 mg in
single or divided dosages.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is both a vitamin and a hormone. It’s
a vitamin because without it, we can’t absorb calcium. And it’s a
hormone because we manufacture it when our skin is exposed to sunlight.
Its most important role, however, is maintaining calcium blood levels
by increasing the amount of calcium we absorb from food, and reducing
the amount we lose each day. These days, because of sunscreens and
well-founded warnings to avoid sun exposure, we may have problems
getting enough vitamin D without supplementation.
Helps with: Bone
health, immunity, fatigue.
Recommended daily intake: 400 IU. If you
have osteoporosis, take 800 IU, regardless of diet or sun exposure.
Best source: Sunlight
Good to know: Vitamin D deficiencies are
particularly prevalent in strict vegetarians (vegans) who don’t
eat vitamin D-fortified dairy foods, the elderly, dark-skinned people,
alcoholics, those with liver or kidney disease, and those who live
in northern latitudes.
Vitamin K
This is a relatively obscure but important
vitamin. It’s fat-soluble, meaning it’s stored in our body, and is
produced by bacteria in the intestines as well as found in green leafy
vegetables.
Critical for: Proper blood clotting, bone
health.
Recommended daily intake: No more than 150
mcg a day
Best source: Green leafy vegetables, alfalfa
Caution: Vitamin K interferes with
the blood thinner Coumadin (warfarin). If you take this drug, don’t
take supplemental vitamin K.
To learn more about other nutrients, read on:
Essential Fatty Acids
Minerals
Antioxidants and free radicals