VITAMIN EUPHORIA

Calciferol, known as vitamin D, is not a vitamin in the real sense since the body is capable of producing it itself. With the help of UV light from the sun, the body synthesizes it from cholesterol (7-dehydrocholesterol) in the human skin. Vitamin D, which acts rather like a hormone than a vitamin, facilitates the absorption and utilization of calcium and phosphorus, necessary for maintaining strong bones and teeth. Although vitamin D levels cannot be influenced through diet, the official nutritional textbooks speak of 2.5 µg daily requirement for adults. Babies and breast milk are supposed to have the biggest deficiencies in vitamin D, implying that nature made a crucial mistake when it invented breast milk. Mothers are warned that, without taking extra amounts of this important vitamin, their babies could risk rickets or bone deformation.

Yet mothers are rarely informed about the risks they take when they overuse vitamin D. Vitamin D poisoning leads to something very similar to rickets. Professor Dr Ernst Lindner from the University of Giessen in Germany has warned that if large amounts of vitamin D are given to a person, calcium is removed from the bones; and this can cause bone deformation. He also states that it is very risky to add vitamin D to food.

Bone deformation is more likely to occur in babies who are not breast-fed. Until the expensive vitamin D pill came on the market, rickets was effectively treated with breast milk, and I might add, for thousands of years.

Nature deemed it necessary to supply mother’s milk with only very little vitamin D. As studies have shown the vitamin D content in mother’s milk does not increase when the mother takes vitamin D supplements. This proves that a mother’s body filters out vitamin D to protect the baby from being poisoned (by the vitamin). A baby’s body easily synthesizes vitamin D from sunlight once it is exposed to it. It is, therefore, unnecessary to have this vitamin present in the mother's milk. The major cause of vitamin D deficiency among babies is keeping them in dark rooms with little or no natural light. But even with less than adequate sun exposure they are still capable of absorbing sufficient amounts of calcium from the blood necessary for the building of healthy bones. While being breast-fed, an infant receives plenty of milk sugar and phospho-caseins, both excellent transporting agents for calcium. If there is anything that could cause rickets in babies, it is lack of mothers’ milk and exposure to sunlight.

Adults are not as well protected against this vitamin as breast-fed infants are. One report issued by the University of Tromso in Norway showed that the long-term intake of vitamin D at the dosage of just slightly above the 400 IU recommended amount (many people take as much as 4,000 to 5,000 IU per day!) may trigger a heart attack and cause degenerative joint disease and arthritis. Another finding emerged from the New York University Goldwater Memorial Hospital, which suggests that large doses of vitamin D can cause magnesium deficiency in the heart tissue and cause heart attacks.

Pregnant women are particularly at risk. Dietary intake of vitamin D has led to kidney calcification and severe mental retardation in their offspring. Children born to mothers, who take extra vitamin D in their diet, may develop a certain type of congenital heart disease called supravalvular aortic stenosis and show extreme deformations of facial bones.

Taking vitamin D supplements can also contribute to arteriosclerosis and even be fatal. In 1991, several Americans died from vitamin D in cow’s milk. The supplement was added during the production process, but had not been churned properly. Milk enhances the potency of vitamin D by up to ten times, a fact that is routinely ignored by milk producers. Milk that has been enriched by 90 units of vitamin D is poisonous and can kill an adult person. But milk with added vitamin D just sells better. If you feel you need more vitamin D, then it is best to sunbathe regularly or go for regular walks. But avoid using sunscreens.

It is also a well known fact that too much vitamin A causes deformity in unborn children. For this reason, there is a law preventing the use of this vitamin in food. Yet this law does not apply to animal feeds even though it is well known that vitamin A is accumulating in the liver of farm animals. Pregnant women are warned not to consume liver to avoid damaging their babies. If taking extra vitamin A is considered poisonous for pregnant women or unborn babies, it cannot be considered safe for the rest of the population either.

B-vitamins

Pyridoxine or vitamin B6 is a combination of six substances. Since most parts of this vitamin occur in bound form, analytic methods fail to determine how much of it is contained in food. It is also not possible to make any reliable statements about how much of it we require. Still the nutritional textbooks suggest a 1-2 µg daily intake. What is known, though, are its side effects.

Vitamin B6 is often used as a drug. Its use is indicated for depression, pre-menstrual tension, schizophrenia, and child asthma. It was considered safe until 1983 when scientists discovered a syndrome accompanied by strong circulatory problems in the hands and feet of a number of patients who were given large doses of vitamin B6. The patients developed symptoms similar to the ones caused by the drug thalidomide (which recently has been reintroduced for specific disorders). Mothers who had taken large amounts of B6 during their pregnancy also reported deformities in their children’s bodies. It took a long time before the nerve damage was linked to vitamin poisoning. As it turned out, many patients, who had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, were poisoned by vitamin B6. There are many unsuspecting people taking vitamin B6 today without the faintest idea that they are gradually injuring themselves.

The statement that Cobalamins or B12 vitamins can only be found in animal foods, such as meat, fish, eggs, cheese, etc., is plain false. B12 has been detected in fermented plant foods and algae. A deficiency of this vitamin is thought to cause pernicious anemia and degeneration of nerve fibers of the spinal cord. The argument that people who don’t consume any animal foods must have a B12 deficiency and endanger their health is unscientific, unfounded and misleading. Apart from producing vitamins K, B1 and B2, as well as energy-providing short-chain fatty acids, the billions of beneficial bacteria residing in the large intestine produce more than enough B12. B12 is also made in our mouth. In addition, the liver can store B12 for many years and knows how to recycle this vitamin. This may explain why vegans (those who don’t eat any type of animal product) eating a balanced diet almost never suffer from B12 deficiencies (contrary to public opinion).

If the body for any reason required more of this vitamin, it would instinctively desire foods that would meet the increased demand. However, if the liver and large intestines are congested, a B12 deficiency may eventually develop, regardless of whether a person is a meat-eater, a vegetarian, or vegan.

Niacin is one of the most popular B-vitamins. Now added to a large number of manufactured foods, including breakfast cereals, niacin also is not without risks. After large doses of niacin (3g) had been given to patients suffering from psychiatric diseases, they developed hepatitis and other liver problems. Among other symptoms of niacin -poisoning are hot flushes, itching skin, arrhythmia, and nervousness. Illegal use of niacin in minced meat and hamburgers has often led to similar symptoms. The main reason for adding niacin to meat is to color it red and give it the appearance of being fresh. If you turn bright red, like a tomato, and get an itch right after eating meat, then you are likely to have been poisoned with niacin.

The B-vitamin Folic acid is also a common food additive, and potentially one of the most harmful ones. After researchers first discovered that people in malaria regions suffered from folic acid deficiency, they gave them this B vitamin in the belief that it would make their immune systems more resistant to the malaria bug. The children who were given this vitamin felt worse after the treatment and were found to have much higher concentrations of malaria-causing agents in their blood than before.

The explanation for this phenomenon lies in the understanding that the malaria bugs themselves require large amounts of folic acid to spread. People who have a deficiency in this vitamin are naturally protected from malaria infection. A British doctor in Kenya discovered that children who took folic acid developed malaria. He gave folic acid to one group of monkeys and compared them with another group monkeys who were folic acid deficient. All the monkeys with “normal” levels of this vitamin were infected with malaria whereas the ones with “abnormally low” levels stayed healthy.

Over 40 percent of the world’s population are is threatened by malaria today and it is no longer restricted to developing countries. Malaria is rapidly becoming the leading cause of death in the world. It is impossible to imagine the disastrous consequences that may have arisen from giving millions of healthy people vitamins to help their assumed vitamin deficiency. What is considered to be a vitamin deficiency for one person may be a life-saving response for another person. It is painful to know that many people have to pay with their lives because we so crudely interfere in the self-regulating mechanisms of nature and human physiology that protect us against disease.

Vitamin C

The most popular of all vitamins is Ascorbic acid or vitamin C, a deficiency of which is believed to cause multiple hemorrhages, slow wound healing, anemia, and scurvy (damage of blood vessels). It is in fact very easy to cure scurvy with red peppers, citrus fruits, or cranberries, all containing high concentrations of this vitamin. Since the Hungarian scientist Szent Gyoerkyi identified vitamin C in oranges to be an effective substance, it became common knowledge that vitamin C and orange juice must have the same benefits. But as it turned out, scurvy cannot be cured by vitamin C alone. Regardless how large a dosage of vitamin C you use the blood vessels will remain damaged. By contrast, eating a few oranges or red peppers cures scurvy quickly, without a trace of damage left.

Vitamin C-rich fruits contain another ingredient which is known as vitamin C2. Scurvy can only be cured if vitamin C and vitamin C2 are taken together. When Gyoerkyi studied vitamin C, he included both compounds of vitamin C. But as the years passed, the scientific community began omitting C2, and today nobody talks about it anymore.

When vitamins became popular in the United States, there was a sudden jump in the number of newly born babies developing scurvy. It was thought that scurvy was a disease eradicated a long time ago. As the mysterious development was investigated, it was discovered that the mothers of the affected babies had taken extra vitamin C preparations (without C2) in the belief that it was good for their babies. Dosed with the vitamin, the mothers’ bodies started eliminating more of it than they ingested. When the babies were born they also continued removing whatever vitamin C they had received from the mother, because this is what they had learnt to do whilst in the womb. Since their baby food did not consist of large amounts of vitamin C, they soon developed the dangerous baby scurvy.

The body of an adult, who consumes vitamin C regularly, may eventually produce a similar response. He may even develop scurvy because the body becomes programmed to eliminate vitamin C faster and in larger quantities than it is ingested or can be absorbed. Adults are known to develop further complications when after using this vitamin regularly, but suddenly stop taking it. It is also known that large doses of vitamin C can destroy another vitamin, that is, vitamin B12. There is too little research to tell what further damage large amounts of vitamins can do to us but experimenting with these powerful substances on the human body is similar to handling an explosive device.

A friend of mine developed a dangerous swelling of his kidneys after taking 2g of Vitamin C a day for several weeks. By taking him off the vitamins and giving him tea made from the herb Pau d’ Arco helped remove the excessive vitamin from the kidneys and restore them to their normal size and efficiency. Added to the current uncertainty and confusion about taking vitamins, there is no conclusive proof until this very day, that vitamin C protects you from infection, one of the main reasons why people use it.

Even if vitamin C were able to stop an infection, in many instances this could turn out the disastrous for the body. To prevent a cold from reaching its climax upsets the body’s cleansing efforts of removing accumulated toxins, and thus may become the first stage in a series of future illnesses. If the body is “toxic” because of an unhealthy lifestyle, diet, and stress, its most important primary response is a toxicity crisis that permits the body to cleanse itself. A cold is not a disease, and it should not be treated as one. It is very ill advised to stop the body from eliminating toxins and purifying itself.

Handing out vitamin C as a preventive measure against colds is a practice that may also be counterproductive. Although small doses of vitamin C may successfully initiate a cleansing response in the body, large amounts of vitamin C can interfere with an ongoing, and possibly life-saving cleansing process. The often-cited argument that all water-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin C and B, are harmless because the body can easily eliminate excessive amounts without a problem is unscientific and misleading. Cyanide is also water-soluble, but it can kill a person.

The 2004 November issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that according to new research older women with diabetes who take high doses of vitamin C for the sake of their hearts may be doing more harm than good. The study, which followed nearly 2,000 postmenopausal women with diabetes for 15 years, found that those who took heavy doses of vitamin C supplements – 300 milligrams (mg) a day or more – were roughly twice as likely to die of heart disease or stroke compared with women who took no supplemental C. Interestingly, high intakes of vitamin C from food were not related to a greater risk of death from cardiovascular causes.

The researchers of the study suggest that taking supplements to correct the lower blood levels of vitamin C commonly seen in diabetes is not necessarily the right choice. And although the research focused on older women, the findings may apply to men as well, according to the study's senior author. "Our results, if confirmed by other research, would suggest that diabetics should be more cautious than others about taking supplements," Dr. David R. Jacobs Jr., of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, told Reuters Health.

The current recommended dietary intake for vitamin C is 90 mg a day for men and 75 mg per day for women. While vitamin C is clearly necessary for good health, studies have garnered conflicting results on whether supplements help lower the risk of heart disease and stroke. According to Jacobs, vitamin C has been shown, in the test tube, to damage cell proteins in the same manner that high blood sugar harms diabetics' body cells. Jacobs also pointed to the complexity of the "antioxidant defense system." When antioxidants interact with free radicals, he explained, they become "pro-oxidants" that must be detoxified by other antioxidants. “It's possible,” Jacobs speculated, “that this detox process happens more slowly in diabetics -- both women and men -- and that under certain circumstances, the altered vitamin C molecules are able to harm body cells.” Jacobs said he and his colleagues favor getting vitamin C, along with the full complement of nutrients, from food rather than supplements.

Whereas the antioxidants in the food may be “balanced bio -chemically,” the researchers write, any vitamin pill would lack such balance. Taking high doses of a single antioxidant, they speculate, may "perturb" the body's balance of antioxidants and pro-oxidants. The findings follow study results reported recently showing that high daily doses of another antioxidant, vitamin E, may not extend life, and instead may slightly raise the risk of dying earlier.

It is not entirely clear, whether natural forms of vitamin E are harmful. I strongly suspect that the harmful side – effects are due to taking synthetic vitamins. There are numerous people who have derived great benefits from vitamin E. The problem is that the general population is not made aware of this important distinction. In fact, most people use the synthetic form, which can risk their health.

Conclusion:

The vitamin euphoria has hit the world’s population at a time when there are no reliable methods to determine if and when someone suffers from a vitamin deficiency. Reviewing the harmful effects caused by vitamin intake, it is likely that a deficiency, if it really exists, is either caused by an overtaxed digestive system and subsequent congestion of the capillary network or by overdosing the body with vitamins. Blood vessel wall congestion and intestinal trouble prevents vitamins from reaching the cells, tissues, organs and systems in the body. Taking extra vitamins in such a situation can actually trigger a defense mechanism that empties the body’s vitamin reserves.

Furthermore, it is not known how much of each vitamin each particular body-type requires to be vital and healthy, and it also not possible to find out how much of each vitamin the body is able to extract from the foods consumed. What’s more, it is erroneous to assume that by taking extra vitamins the body will automatically make use of them. We simply don’t know how much of the vitamins will leave the stomach unharmed, in what amounts they are going to be digested and how much of these are likely to absorbed by the blood and the body cells. There are no people on the planet with exactly the same vitamin requirements and absorption rates. What may be normal for one person may not be normal for another, which makes the “standardized vitamin requirements for all” questionable, if not potentially harmful.

The argument that our foods today are so depleted of vitamins that we need to take additional helpings of synthetically derived vitamins is only partially correct. Most of the foods consumed by most people in modern countries are highly acid-forming, which means that they damage blood vessels and deplete the body’s vitamins and minerals. The foods that the most acidifying effects in the body include milk, dairy products, meat and its products, tinned or frozen foods, white bread, pasta and pastry made from bleached and refined flour, refined sugar, alcoholic beverages, diet beverages, soft drinks, packaged fruit juices, preserved foods, processed breakfast cereals, chocolates, ready-made cakes, crisps, hydrogenated oils and fats, and most fast/junk foods. The exaggerated daily ratio of daily-required vitamins may apply only to the severely undernourished person. Fresh fruits, vegetables, pulses, and grain foods still contain more than enough vitamins to supply the body many times over.

Taking vitamin pills, which don’t contain much Life Force Energy, also known as Chi or Prana), does not substitute regular intake of healthy, fresh food. Vitamins that have been removed from their natural environment, i.e., fruits, vegetables, etc. can in fact upset both AGNI and the delicate balance of minerals and vitamins in the body. This especially applies to multivitamin preparations. Although there are conditions when taking extra vitamins may be beneficial, for example, before and after removing amalgam fillings from the teeth, they ought not to be taken in large doses and for more than 10-14 days at a time. This is best done under supervision of a health practitioner who is aware of the side effects that vitamins can have. In any case, synthetic vitamins should be avoided at all cost.

What about Taking Extra Minerals ?

Mineral salts found in the earth’s soil and rocks are classified as inorganic, and must be incorporated within the structure of plants in order to be useable by your body. Most mineral supplements are inorganic, and their consumption causes serious problems, as they commonly end up deposited in your various tissues. This can result in serious health problems including arthritis, Alzheimer¼s, and arteriosclerosis. Calcium supplements are notorious for this. Your best source of all usable organic minerals is fresh raw vegetables, with fruit providing your second best source. Some nuts and seeds are also abundant with minerals, such as in the case of sesame seeds, which supply a whopping 1160 milligrams of calcium per 100 grams.

Unlike vitamins, minerals cannot be synthesized by plants. Plants take up mineral salts (inorganic compounds) from the soil and convert them into colloidal minerals (organic compounds). The inorganic minerals, also called metallic minerals, are very difficult to be absorbed by a healthy digestive system, and even more so if the small intestine is impacted with toxic waste material. In the case of a very healthy adult, the absorption rate for metallic minerals is 3- 5%; the rest merely passes through the body system without benefit, but often not without causing harm. Although these minerals now come in chelated form, i.e., amino acids or protein are wrapped around them to improve assimilation, they are still inorganic and of very little use to the cells of the body. Ionic minerals, on the other hand, have an absorption rate of 98%, which indicates that only minerals in its organic (angstrom size) form are meant to be used by the human physiology.

If the soil is not replenished with minerals after harvesting, it becomes increasingly mineral deficient. Modern methods of agriculture don’t include putting minerals back into the soil. Before the era of continuous soil depletion, the topsoil consisted of as many as 90-100 different minerals. The great rivers such as the Nile in Egypt and the Ganges in India caused extensive flooding every year, bringing new minerals from the glaciers and mountains to the land, automatically fertilizing it. The people living in these areas were generally in perfect health and lived on average 120-140 years. The situation changed with the erosion of forests and building of dams. Today, there are merely 12-20 minerals found in plant foods.

Whatever is contained in modern chemical fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) may be sufficient to raise normal looking crops; yet the healthy-looking plant foods are short of minerals, which is reflected in their poor taste. This may cause some mineral deficiencies in the body. We are consistently missing out on the majority of minerals. And if the digestive system does not function efficiently, a health crisis may arise. Almost every disease today is linked or coincides with a deficiency of one or several minerals or trace minerals.

Taking supplements consisting of metallic minerals is not only inefficient because of their relatively low absorption rate but also because of their non-physiological value. Large quantities of metallic minerals can even be toxic to the body, as seen in people who, for example, take iron tablets. The iron may make them be sick, a natural response by the stomach against the toxic metal. Iron oxide is nothing other than “rust.” New research has shown that taking extra iron can triple one’s risk for heart attacks.

Taking calcium tablets may weaken the bones by causing zinc deficiency. High dosed mineral supplements consisting of metallic minerals can block the absorption of other bio-usable minerals, which can upset the body’s entire biochemical balance. Most of the metallic minerals are derived from oyster shell, limestone, soil, clay, calcium carbonate, and sea salts. In fact, taking metallic minerals can lead to serious mineral deficiencies.

It may be beneficial, on the other hand, to take extra ionic liquid minerals. Plant derived minerals are water-soluble, ionic and enzymatically active which makes it very easy for the body to digest and utilize them. The iron, contained in Lapacho tea, for example, is of ionic form and has an immediate positive effect.

Plant-derived minerals have no negative side effects, even if you overdose on them. If you feel that you need extra minerals, check out Eniva or Kornax (see Product Information ) for their ionic liquid minerals. But as is the case with vitamins, most serious mineral deficiencies occur because of inadequate nutrition, too many acid- forming foods and beverages, over-stimulation, dehydration, stress, etc. There is not much point in taking extra minerals when they are straight away removed or destroyed by one or more of these factors. So before you spend a lot of money on mineral supplements, try to eliminate the causes of the deficiency first.