Do sportsmen and woman need extra vitamins & minerals?
The idea that B vitamins can protect us against heart attacks may seem strange to most people. After all it's cholesterol that is supposed to be the killer. Or are there other dietary factors that play just as important a role in heart health? Today, I want to tell you more about a chemical called homocysteine, and 3 B vitamins that protect our heart against disease.
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1. What is homocysteine?
Proteins are made up of 'building blocks' called amino acids, and one of these amino acids is called methionine. When the amino acid methionine is metabolised in the body, a chemical called homocysteine is formed. Under normal circumstances homocysteine is metabolised by a series of chemical reactions and poses no problem to health.
Quite a while ago, scientists discovered that people who suffer from heart disease, often have raised levels of homocysteine in the blood. At first these raised homocysteine levels in the blood were regarded as incidental and no link between actual heart disease and homocysteine could be identified.
After a great deal of research, proof was discovered that showed that if you have raised blood levels of homocysteine you are at risk of developing a heart attack.
In fact it was found that even slight increases in homocysteine in the blood, increase the risk of heart disease considerably in a similar fashion to increases in blood cholesterol levels. Nowadays, a raised homocysteine level in the blood is regarded as an indicator that the patient is at risk of heart disease.
Once they had established a link between abnormal homocysteine levels in the blood and heart attacks, researchers started to look for factors that can help to lower and/or prevent raised homocysteine levels, and thereby also prevent heart disease.
2. Why B vitamins help to prevent heart diseases
Further studies showed that three of the B vitamins, namely vitamin B6 , folic acid and vitamin B12, all have a positive effect on keeping blood homocysteine levels normal, and thus play important roles in preventing heart disease.
Of these three vitamins, vitamin B6 is the most important when it comes to preventing raised blood homocysteine levels and heart disease. The reason for this is that the enzyme that helps to break down homocysteine in the body, needs vitamin B6 to be able to function properly.
The other two B vitamins (folic acid and vitamin B12) are also linked to homocysteine metabolism because when the levels of these 2 vitamins in the body decrease, the blood levels of homocysteine increase, which is an undesirable situation and may make individuals more susceptible to heart disease.
The message is clear: If you have a deficiency in one, or all 3 of these B vitamins, you run the risk of developing raised homocysteine levels in the blood, and most importantly, your risk of developing heart attacks increases.
3. How can we ensure that we are getting enough B6, B12 and folic acid?
Generally speaking most people don't get enough vitamin B6 and folic acid in their diets. Individuals who do not eat any foods derived from animals, such as meat, fish and eggs, are at risk of developing vitamin B12 deficiencies, because vitamin B12 does not occur in plant foods.
Studies with large population groups have found that the majority of people have what is called a 'subclinical deficiency' of vitamin B6, folic acid and vitamin B12.
4. Signs of B6, folic acid and B12 deficiencies
Someone with a vitamin B6 deficiency develops problems with amino acid and protein metabolism, has decreased enzyme activity and suffers from disturbances of the nervous system. Such deficiencies can occur very rapidly and body stores of vitamin B6 can fall to subnormal values within a week.
People with a folic acid deficiency tend to suffer from depression and may develop a type of blood disease, called pernicious anaemia. Women who are on a folic acid deficient diet are more prone to give birth to babies with neural tube defects.
A vitamin B12 deficiency leads to pernicious anaemia. Folic acid and vitamin B12 are both essential to prevent this type of anaemia.
5. How much B6, folic acid, and B12, do we need every day?
The Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for these 3 vitamins are:
Folic acid: 300 micrograms/day for adults;
400 micrograms/day for women before, and during pregnancy.
Vitamin B12: 3 microgram/day for adults
Vitamin B6: 3 mg/day for adults
6. Food sources of B6, folic acid and B12
The following foods are rich sources of these 3 vitamins:Folic acid: enriched breakfast cereals (containing about 400 micrograms/100 g); ox liver (about 290 micrograms/100 g); vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, cabbage and beans (90-130 micrograms/100 g); peanuts and hazelnuts (70-110 microgram/100 g)
Vitamin B12: found only in foods of animal origin, such as meat, liver, fish, eggs, milk and dairy products
Vitamin B6: liver (0.5 mg/100 g), cereals, meat, fruits, leafy vegetables like cabbage, and other vegetables (0.1 to 0.3 mg/100 g)
7. The role of vitamin B supplements
It is evident that many people suffer from deficiencies of these 3 B vitamins and in such cases the use of a good vitamin B supplement can prevent all the signs and symptoms of deficiency listed above, and help to prevent heart disease by lowering raised homocysteine levels in the blood.
Check that the supplement you buy contains these 3 B vitamins in amounts equal to the RDAs, namely 300 microgram folic acid (400 microgram if you are contemplating pregnancy, or are expecting a baby), 3 microgram B12, and 3 mg B6 per daily dose.
Eating foods rich in folic acid, B6 and B12 and/or taking a good vitamin B supplement can make a fundamental difference to your health and prevent you from developing heart disease.
Isn't it time that you stocked up on these 3 essential B vitamins?
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