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Nitrogen (N) (A Balancing Act)

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Nitrogen (N) (A Balancing Act)

Recently I’ve been reading about the biochemistry of humans. However, let me rewind for a second. Before getting involved in understanding biochemistry, years ago I got into the Paleo movement and quickly loved it and came to the conclusion that proteins were made by amino acids and that is the future of human nutrition. The biochemistry of Amino Acids was fascinating to me, but what really sticks out is that Nitrogen is a part of every amino acid, which are the building blocks of proteins. Amino acids are created from the gasses, Nitrogen, Hydrogen, Oxygen and the building block of organic life, Carbon. Carbon is at the backbone of all life when combined with the three previously mentioned gasses found around the Earth. Amino Acids are created with ammonia molecules, which contain Nitrogen. These guys dictate everything in the human body. They are the workers of the human body. Nitrogen is involved with protein production, enzymes, vitamins, skeletal/muscular development, fat and carbohydrate utilization, and hormone production. Clearly you can tell this an important chemical regarding nutrition and food. If we eat complete protein sources of meat, seafood and eggs in variety, we can obtain all essential and non essential amino acids that dictate our health and immune system. Although nitrogen is a part of amino acids and has a good effect on the body due to its relaxing effect in Nature, it can also be too toxic when humans cannot eliminate it properly causing an ammonia toxicity and then a wide array of illnesses including brain and nervous system abnormalities. That ultimately creates too much Nitric oxide in the body, since nitrogen and oxygen join to create nitric oxide and causes the body to break down and succumb to illness. With that said, if Nitrogen or Oxygen is out of balance, animals (including humans) are out of balance. Life will not exist if there is one without the other. By eating whole foods such as fruits, vegetables and a variety of meats, seafood, and eggs our bodies have an amazing ability to regulate itself and maintain optimal health to age gracefully. When exposed to too many toxic chemicals such as cleaning products and having poor elimination channels, we constantly tax our immune system and ultimately degrade, degenerate and decompose our own physical bodies. I use the word “tax” purposefully, because most of us, maybe all of us, hate being taxed on our money and lives, so what makes you think it is OK to do that to your immune system? Bottom line here: let’s clean up our lifestyles, get more daily sunlight, listen to our circadian (night-day) rhythm, drink sufficient amounts of water daily, eat plenty of vegetables and fruits, and most importantly get a surplus of meats, seafood, and eggs so our body knows how to manage its nitrogen balance and survive a long and healthy life.

Oxygen (O) (Burn It Up)

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Oxygen (O) (Burn It Up)

This element is absolutely amazing. Oxygen itself is everywhere on this planet and usually comes in a compound with the minerals or rocks of the Earth. For example, Iron rusts due to its strong affinity to oxygen creating the compound, Iron Oxide. This element is involved in just about every process in the human body, including all proteins, fats, sugars, and DNA. Because of this involvement, it makes humans aerobic creatures as opposed to anaerobic creatures. Aerobic means “with Oxygen.” Therefore, anaerobic naturally means without Oxygen. Without Oxygen, we do not exist. Without plant life, animal life does not exist and it works in reverse as well. Plants use carbon dioxide and water to replenish the Oxygen on the Earth through the process of photosynthesis so animal life can thrive, and animals utilize oxygen to release energy, or heat, from the breakdown of food sources. This breakdown and release of energy is carbon dioxide and water. As you can tell there is a continuous cycle here that makes life work the way it does. Many years ago, the concentration of Oxygen in the atmosphere was greater than it was today. Today it is roughly at 21%.

By nature, Oxygen is explosive, constructive, destructive, corrosive, degenerative, and regenerative. Clearly it covers all aspects of build up and breakdown. In the presence of Oxygen, something will literally “burn” and leave an ash. This is how humans can utilize the nutrients from our foods. We eat, and due to Oxygen coming in through respiration, our lungs make it available so we can transport it through the bloodstream and can then “burn” our food to release energy or heat. It would make sense then that without Oxygen we would die. The other extreme exists too that with too much Oxygen we will burn up and die as well. The human body has an incredible ability to utilize Oxygen to create what we call life. As you now know, Iron combines with Oxygen. In the body, this occurs through a blood protein known as hemoglobin. This protein is critical to life. People that are Iron deficient, or anemic, naturally do not have a good ability to use Oxygen and the signs are very clear. They are pale, weak, fatigued, injury prone, and dis-ease prone, more so than healthy humans with sufficient Iron and Oxygen levels. When Oxygen combines with Carbon and Hydrogen, we get sugars and fats. When a sugar combines with ammonia, we get amino acids. When amino acids combine we get proteins and therefore a living organism.

Animals, including humans, need sunlight in order to absorb Oxygen. Most importantly, our eyes are the windows to the soul. When sunlight hits our eyes and Oxygen comes in through the lungs, this amazing element goes to work and allows you to do what you do best. This creates a potent energy know as “Qi” to the Asian countries or what I know as the “vital force” that yields vibrant health and a life worth living. It allows humans and other animals to move about the Earth to explore. Many humans take this whole process for granted. When we have plenty of Oxygen we feel lively, young, and healthy. Let’s keep it this way! The more you eat, the more Oxygen you need to burn up those foods and honestly there is only so much Oxygen you can utilize (the size and health of our lungs dictate that amount). This is why we feel sick after eating too much. It is also why we must continue to move. Oxygen is constantly moving, never stagnant. Ultimately, humans need to move as well so we can bring in more Oxygen and get our vibrant health back!

 

Hydrogen (H) (Simple, But Powerful)

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Hydrogen (H) (Simple, But Powerful)

Hydrogen is a pretty interesting element. It is the most basic in the periodic table of chemical elements being the first one on it because it contains just a single proton and a single electron. Hydrogen, which is a gas by nature, is extremely powerful due to its explosiveness. Ever heard of a hydrogen bomb? Quite a few years ago, the United States harnessed its powerful effects and unloaded on the Japanese, wiping out a huge portion of them in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the universe, hydrogen can reach unimaginable temperatures and eventually create the next element, Helium, through a process called nuclear fusion. Continuing this process will yield the rest of the elements in the table up to a certain number. So how does hydrogen have an effect on humans you might ask? When hydrogen combines readily with another gas, Oxygen, we get water. Now you get it? I could stop here, but there’s more to learn. It can also join with Carbon to create methyl derivatives. Another option is for it to pair up with yet another gas, Nitrogen, and create ammonia. N and H together are how we get amino acids and ultimately every protein in the human body. You are merely the product of lots of combinations of these elements in the periodic table that when struck by the light of the sun, creates a physical presence known as the human body. When mother nature joins the 3 elements of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen we create sugars. Voila! One of which is a 5 ring sugar known as ribose. This sugar is how we get DNA and RNA. Are you seeing the picture now? Good! Hydrogen is mostly known as a moisturizer when it comes to human nutrition and health. Hydrogen is found in all living organisms in abundance, but very often it is easy to become de-hydrogened. OK I made that word up so you would better understand. The real word should have been dehydrated. Now that you follow, I’ll carry on. Proper hydrogen, or hydration levels make ALL cell processes much more efficient and ultimately create a healthier you. Maintaining optimal water levels, a minimum of 80oz everyday no matter what, will help tremendously with digestion, absorption, assimilation, and elimination. In fact, I’ll bet you right now that if you start drinking more water every day, you’ll relieve your constipation at least a little bit and probably more than just a little. If you add in eating green leaves with the water every day, I guarantee you’ll be shocked at what comes out. I’m serious too! Try me if you don’t believe me. Here is my challenge: 100oz of good filtered water along with green leaves like spinach, kale, chard, dandelion, etc. 2-3 times per day and every day for 1 month. I bet the majority of you all out there won’t do it cause you don’t like either greens or water. You’d rather eat sugar rich foods and drink tea, coffee, soda, or alcohol. Don’t fool yourself. OK back to hydrogen. Hydrogen, or water, will help relieve stress levels, it will create better cell to cell communication, it will calm the over exhausted nervous system it will help cleanse both the liver and kidneys, among many other things in the body. When most of the world, roughly 7 billion humans, which by the way is way too many humans for this Earth to sustain, lives in a chronically dehydrated state, there’s no wonder why most of us are dying earlier or getting ill or struggling with many diseases. To conclude this report on hydrogen, I find it is in everybody’s best interest to drink a minimum of 80oz of filtered water every day and eat lots of fruits and vegetables everyday since they contain more hydrogen, water, than any other food out there. This will create a more alkaline (opposite of acidic) internal environment and allow all cells to work optimally and efficiently and create a more invigorating life that is free of many, if not most or possibly all illnesses and diseases known to man.

 

 

Carbon (C) (The Foundation of Life)

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Carbon (C) (The Foundation of Life)

I’m sure you know a little bit about this all too important element of the Earth, carbon. I could probably write a few pages about it, but you won’t read it all because you probably don’t have the time. So unless you really want to change your lifestyle, and if so let’s chat, keep reading to learn the basic characteristics of this element. Carbon is the builder of life on Earth and possibly of the universe. Due to the recent probe, Philae, that landed on a comet and discovered the presence of carbon, we can reasonably conclude that this element is why life on Earth even exists to this day. Carbon can join with other carbon atoms and form things like diamonds. Ooo diamonds! Guys, they really do mean a lot to your girlfriend or wife so get her one if she means that much to you that you want to show her off and tell everyone you found your person. Carbon can also join forces with hydrogen atoms to form many different molecules, such as methyl derivatives (some combination of C and H atoms). In regards to human nutrition and food, carbon is attached to 3 other atoms of hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, to create food. It is literally the backbone of all food sources. All proteins, fats, and carbohydrates contain carbon plus some combination of the other 3 atoms just mentioned above. Carbohydrates consist of exactly what it sounds like, hydrated carbon, or water logged carbon. Stop and think about that… I just said water logged carbon. How many of you are overweight, even slightly? Or how many have edema, or swelling of the body? Maybe diabetes? Am I painting a picture for you? I should be painting a clear one for you… Stop eating carbohydrates if you want to lose weight and regain your immunity! The liver knows PRECISELY how much sugar the body needs to keep it efficient and working optimally. Any more and you “build” yourself up too much which ultimately causes illness, dis-ease, inflammation, or worse, death. On the other hand, don’t freak out too much, because carbon is necessary. It can build things for you as mentioned, but only in the correct amount. When the body digests carbon, it has an affinity for oxygen, which when combined, form by products that are very easy to eliminate. These by products are water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2). There is a line to be drawn though. When crossed and we start consuming and absorbing more carbon, it naturally prevents absorption of other minerals like calcium, iron, and potassium, leading to deficiencies. This road leads to all sorts of issues, including diabetes, arthritis, inflammation, and exhaustion of the nervous system, among many other possibilities. One last thing I feel I should point out is that excess carbohydrates, or sugars, leads to an imbalance in our electrolytes (magnesium, calcium, potassium, and sodium) but most importantly, it leads to an acidic environment. Parasites, bacteria, and viruses all thrive in a sugar filled, acid dominated environment. I don’t know about you, but that’s enough motivation for me to consume more high quality, complete proteins and good fats and to reduce carbohydrate intake. This simple change, as well as other lifestyle changes, will help restore the amazing and unique immune system that is crucial to our well being. A great immune system will allow you to live your life to its fullest!

 

Zinc (The Body’s Battery and Healing Force)

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Zinc: The Body’s Battery and Healing Force

I think this element has something special to it and intuitively I cannot explain what it is, but there is definitely a necessity that zinc provides to the human body that is essential to human life. Without zinc, in my opinion, human life is a long and stressful battle that you cannot win. Yeah, that’s pretty bold and I’m pretty confident in making that statement considering Zinc’s effects on protein building, DNA replication, healing, and immunity. Let’s start with protein building. Zinc is a metal from the Earth that can be found in a wide range of foods, but only a few of them allow humans to extract zinc and utilize it’s healthy benefits. Zinc is very often coupled with Copper to produce a battery like power source to energize our cells as a battery would do for the inanimate objects of the world. When humans are outside getting some necessary sunlight the light or energy from the sun, known as photons, provides the electrical spark for zinc and copper to do their thing. Grass fed beef and seafood are great sources of zinc that humans can utilize and reap the benefits. Once digested and absorbed, which needs to be a significant amount every day, zinc is involved with numerous biochemical reactions one of which is the production of proteins which also involves vitamins B9 and B12. It helps amino acids form the necessary proteins for daily living. On the topic of daily living, let’s segue into DNA replication. Along with some of the B vitamins, zinc is used in the DNA process to make sure it runs smoothly, efficiently and without errors that cause mutations and therefore illness or decreased immunity. Which takes us to another function of zinc – immunity and healing. An easy sign of zinc deficiency is checking the fingernails for white spots. If you see even one on any of your nails, you should be cautious but not too concerned because that can be fixed. Something to note is that zinc, when combined with oxygen, forms the compound Zinc Oxide which protects our cells from ultraviolet radiation and therefore is used as a protective cover for our DNA and our all too important skin cells. With an excess of zinc, you will see your wounds heal in half the usual recovery time. I say “usual” because it’s estimated that nearly 2 in 7 people worldwide are deficient in zinc, and I’ll bet you it’s even more than that, so most people probably don’t know what the true healing time should be for wounds. Along the same lines as wound healing, our immune system uses zinc daily to fight off pathogens. This yields me to believe zinc is used in the manufacturing of or in conjunction with our macrophages and white blood cells of our immune system. Outside of meat and seafood, 2 of the best sources of zinc are ginger root and by far the best source are oysters with way beyond 100% of our daily value. My ultimate advice is to move to the beach where you can find oysters and zinc shouldn’t be an issue for you, but I can understand if that’s not an option cause you can’t afford a beach house or oysters for that matter. If that’s the case, then I would suggest cleaning up your eating habits and lifestyle and incorporate a little more ginger root in your diet and life won’t be as much of a health struggle as it is for nearly half of the Earth’s current population.

 

Vitamin K (K for Clotting)

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Vitamin K (K for Clotting)

Anyone know anything about Vitamin K? Not too many people do as it is often forgotten or neglected in regards to its importance. Because of that there is not much research out there on it so let’s just dive right in and back out in a quick paragraph. If you want a great quick read with some good humor to it, keep reading. Vitamin K has 3 different subscripts to it similar to that of the vitamin B family with K1, K2, and K3. All 3 forms help mostly with blood clotting, but K1 helps with bone development and formation by helping some of the bone proteins bind to each other. This could be why vegetarians have low rates of osteoporosis, but being a vegetarian can still create osteoporosis due to other reasons such as phytic acid and numerous other proteins that cause malabsorption in the intestinal lining. But getting back to vitamin K though, I personally feel like it’s super important for clotting the blood. I’m not trying to bleed to death over some paper cut. Vitamin K1 is also known as Phytonadione and is abundantly found in dark leafy greens such as kale, broccoli, spinach, watercress, and turnip greens. An interesting second way to obtain vitamin K2 is via the intestinal bacteria. Those guys are pretty damn good synthesizing vitamin K2, also known as menaquinone. If you have plenty of vitamin K1 and 2 then K3 will be sufficient since it is simply a derivative. The bonus of having lots of this vitamin K is that your microbiome and it’s bacteria will be extremely helpful in keeping your immune system in top shape plus all those green leaves will provide plenty of magnesium and fiber and therefore keep your poops looking just the way they should. So do yourself a favor and eat as many dark green leaves as you can. The fortunate side to vitamin K is that it is fat soluble so we have storage for it as humans, but let’s be honest, nothing beats the feeling of an awesome bowel movement every day. Here’s a true story: I had been visiting my friends the other day and was getting on him for needing to change his eating habits. When he had received some news from his doctor a month prior it scared him a bit so he made a simple change. I told him to quit eating his cereal bran due to the garbage it is made from including wheat (contains gluten) and to eat a lot more dark green salads. After 2 days with no bran and an increase in dark green leaf consumption he proceeds to walk into his roommates room and waits patiently for him to wrap up what he was doing. The roommate turns and says, “Yes? What’s up?” and his response… “I have an announcement. I just had the best poop I’ve had in 6 months!” Hahaha. A priceless moment, that couldn’t be more accurate. Your poop tells all. Lesson learned? Eat your leaves!

 

Vitamin A (I Can See Clearly Now)

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Vitamin A (I Can See Clearly Now)

Vitamin A is an interesting vitamin due to its ability to protect our vision. Dating back almost 2.5 million years ago when humans started roaming the Earth they realized one of our most important features was our vision in order to protect ourselves from predators. Basically it’s a survival mechanism. For hundreds of thousands of years humans have been eating foods high in fats such as animal meats, fish, and avocados because we realized that fat meant survival. But food sources of vitamin A such as sweet potatoes, squash, egg yolk, kale, carrots, and spinach to name a few aren’t fatty foods. So where’s the connection since those food sources have no fat? Great question. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and when those food sources are eaten in a salad with fish, red meat, or avocados, the vitamin A absorption increases greatly. Another way to get it in a concentrated amount is by eating a sweet potato and putting some grass fed butter on it. Yum! That also increases vitamin A absorption in the human body. Moving on to problems associated with vitamin A deficiency. Most people with eye troubles, whether it be cataracts, glaucoma, or even macular degeneration, all suffer from a vitamin A deficiency. Now I’m not saying that if you increase your vitamin A intake you will correct any eye issues you may have. However, I can promise you it won’t hurt (as long as it’s not in too much excess) and it could possibly help in reversing some of your vision problems. Some of you may recognize the words retinoids and carotenoids, both of which are a previtamin A, or nutrients that can be converted into vitamin A for further utilization. Retinoids and carotenoids are plant compounds known as phytochemicals. Vitamin A is considered a strong antioxidant and therefore a significant necessity to our wellbeing. As mentioned in the vitamin D post, when vitamin A and D are both sufficient in the body, we can best utilize both of these vitamins as opposed to getting them separately in which their absorption rates decrease. Vitamin A is used in many different biochemical reactions in the body outside of eye protection. It helps with our skin, immune function, and normal growth and repair. Personally, I can tell you that when I cleaned up my eating habits and lifestyle habits, my skin cleared up very quickly due to my vitamin A and D absorption rates increasing significantly. In the end, if you want to increase your chances of better looking skin, better vision, and most importantly, better chances of survival in this heavily toxic and polluted world, you better start cleaning up your eating and lifestyle habits to yield higher absorption and higher utilization rates of vitamin A.

 

Vitamin E (Why Fat Is Friendly)

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Vitamin E (Why Fat Is Friendly)

Vitamin E is another extremely essential vitamin to the human body, but very often neglected probably because there isn’t much research on it when comparing it to others such as vitamin C or vitamin B. It is a fat soluble vitamin so we must eat good healthy fats in order to store this much needed nutrient. The body knows how to recycle vitamin E, but like everything else recycling only takes you so far. We need to replace it with food intake. Food sources such as spinach, asparagus, swiss chard, broccoli and kale are wonderful sources of this nutrient but you’ll notice they are vegetables and have no fat. If you eat this in your salads be sure to have some fats with it such as olive oil in your homemade dressing and an avocado on top of the salad and you will be sure to absorb and utilize vitamin E. The olive oil and avocado actually have some vitamin E that we can extract from them so it makes sense to eat salads. Other sources of vitamin E are tomatoes, shrimp and the best of all food sources by far are sunflower seeds. Back to what this nutrient actually is and its role in our body. Similar to the vitamin B complex, the vitamin E family consists of two groups known as tocopherols and tocotrienols. The most well known is alpha tocopherol because it is the most active subunit of the family. However recent research is starting to provide evidence that some of the lesser known ones such as gamma tocopherol may have more potency in regards to human health. The primary role of vitamin E in the human body is to protect our fats from getting oxidized which could cause potential damage to our cells since every cell has a membrane made from fats or lipids. Most importantly it prevents oxidized LDL (low density lipoprotein), which is an important protein needed to transport cholesterol to and from the liver for proper use. Yes I said it, we need LDL. It is not bad! It becomes bad when we have too much of it and not enough HDL(high density lipoprotein) that cleans up the oxidized LDL and not enough vitamin E. Most of America if I had to guess have too little HDL and are not eating or better yet not absorbing enough vitamin E. There is a big stipulation in all of this however. Vitamin E works best when its best friend is in abundance, Selenium, which can be found in fatty fish and Brazil nuts. I don’t know about you, but this is making me want a big salad with dark leafy greens, a homemade olive oil based dressing, sliced avocado, topped with a nice piece of salmon, and sprinkled with some unpasteurized goat cheese and chopped strawberries. Yum!

Copper (Cu) (Small But Mighty)

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Copper (Cu) (Small But Mighty)

Copper is one of my favorite minerals and honestly I can’t explain why. Maybe it’s the name, Copper. Or possibly it is because, from deep in my heart and soul, Copper’s element symbol is Cu and I did go to Clemson University… But as I said I can’t really explain why. It is also a pretty cool looking metal and is very much a necessity to the human body. Enough of me, let’s get to viewing Copper on a microscopic scale. Copper is not needed in significant amounts on a daily basis, but it is needed nevertheless. A few sources of copper are Brazil nuts, spinach, kale, chard, sunflower seeds, shiitake mushrooms and shrimp. Copper is kind of like the third wheel in the bone formation process. It is the less than 1% portion of our bone make up with the other two minerals calcium and phosphorus making up the greater than 99% portion. Without it though, you will literally fall apart. Bones won’t remain together because copper is needed as the core metal ion to an enzyme (lysyl oxidase) that allows for the mature production of collagen(1). Ah, collagen. Yes you probably know of that word. It is the fibrous protein that gives great tensile strength to our bones and tendons. So what I really just said is that it is the glue that keeps us standing upright and allows us to use our most primal self defense mechanism, mobility. Interesting metal huh? So how many of you either take statin drugs or know someone who takes them? There are quite a few people who do and it is pretty much for one reason, high cholesterol. Remember, cholesterol is a good thing so what the hell are you doing blocking the synthesis of it? I’ll bet there’s a good possibility it is from a copper deficiency. Here’s how this works. With a copper deficiency we have an increased rate of the cholesterol synthesizing enzyme HMG CoA reductase (hydroxymethylglutaryl Coenzyme A reductase)(1). Did I lose you yet? This enzyme basically regulates how much cholesterol gets produced. So at the end of the day when we have a copper deficiency, we then have increased cholesterol production, which causes us to freak out and go visit our doctor, who in turn prescribes us a statin drug to reduce cholesterol because his/her drug rep pushed it on them to prescribe so everyone can get paid. Wow, what a vicious cycle that is. Why not focus on increasing copper intake and absorption and solve your cholesterol problem? What a brilliant idea! Switching topics slightly now. Copper and Zinc both compete for the same absorption pathway to bind to enzymes. We need roughly a 1:8 ratio of copper to zinc in order for Vitamin A to work as a protective antioxidant. Remember, if we don’t have sufficient vitamin A then vitamin D can’t do its job very well (please refer to the Vitamin D post for more information). So if we have too much zinc, then we become deficient in copper and hop on that vicious cycle. Let’s not go down that road. Copper is also one of the key minerals working as a cofactor to the enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD), which helps manage the by-product of oxidized subatrates. Without it, the excess oxygen by-products would severely damage our cell’s DNA. Lastly, copper is central to the absorption of iron and therefore paramount in the production of the hemoglobin and myoglobin proteins. Ultimately, as you can see, copper has its hand in many chemical reactions in the human body and must be treated with respect so make sure you eat all those healthy foods discussed not just in the nutrient spotlight sections, but most importantly in all of Morgan’s delicious recipes.

Sources Cited:

(1) Lippincott’s Illustrated Reviews: Biochemistry 5th edition. Richard Harvey, Denise Ferrier. 2011.

 

 

Vitamin B Complex (One Big Happy Family)

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Vitamin B Complex (One Big Happy Family)

Unlike the other vitamins, Vitamin B is a complex in both senses of the word. It’s a complex complex. If that sounds funny, read it a few more times. The reason they call it Vitamin B complex is due to the numerous B vitamins that are contained within its family, most labeled with a subscript. Without one the rest don’t work, so it is very important not to EVER take a multivitamin that doesn’t contain the whole family. I dont suggest taking multivitamins at all though. Get them from whole foods produced by Nature. It’s kind of like a big Catholic family with 7 kids. My dad would appreciate the Catholic humor having grown up in a Catholic family of 6 kids. Every B vitamin is water soluble, which means the body does not store them. It also means you must be fully hydrated to absorb and utilize them. Better stay hydrated! Vitamin B1, known as Thiamine, is part of TPP (thiamine pyrophosphate) and is used in the metabolism of carbohydrates. It is critical in the production of energy as well as in the functioning of our nerve cells. With even the slightest deficiency you will start feeling fatigued and depressed. Severe deficiency of B1 is known as Beriberi, which can be prevented by eating most nuts and seeds. Vitamin B2, Riboflavin, is one that is harder to come by but just as important. I have personally had a troubled experience with severe Riboflavin deficiency. I can promise you it is not fun or pretty. In fact it’s extremely painful. Signs of it are a burning of the eyes, lips, mouth and tongue. An inflamed, sensitive left side of the tongue (beefy red appearance) and cracked corners of the mouth will lead to a life of misery because you feel like you can’t eat anything. It hurts to open your mouth to the point of you feeling depressed. And since it is involved in energy production there is a good chance of that occuring. This is the vitamin that gives urine it’s yellow-green appearance when it is in excess. It can be obtained in almonds, sunflower seeds, mushrooms, kale and broccoli to name a few sources. Vitamin B3, Niacin, can be made in the body provided there is enough protein in the diet. The amino acid Tryptophan is used to create Niacin, but you may want to be safe and consume some swordfish, eggs, sesame and sunflower seeds, or almonds to get enough of this important vitamin. It is the building block of the coenzymes NAD and NADP. Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide and Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate respectively. These two are involved in many different chemical reactions on a daily basis. This vitamin is also used in the production of energy as well as in fat and carbohydrate metabolism. Vitamin B5, or Pantothenic Acid, plays an important role in energy production along with its brothers B1, B2, and B3. It is also a component of Coenzyme A (CoA), which is involved with the utilization of fats and carbohydrates. The most important role for B5 though is probably it’s use in the manufacturing of erythrocytes, or red blood cells. This vitamin can be obtained from animal livers if your up for that, or from more reasonable sources such as mushrooms, pecans, sunflower seeds, cashews, avocados, broccoli, kale and cauliflower. The next family member goes by the name Pyridoxine, or Vitamin B6. This brother is extremely important for a few reasons so please don’t mistreat him. B6 is crucial in maintaining immune function and hormone balance as well as being used in the production of proteins, including DNA, chemical transmitters and red blood cells. To earn this guy’s respect, you must consume some bananas, kale, spinach, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, walnuts, sunflower seeds, or avocados. Vitamin B9, known as folate or folic acid, works side by side with Vitamin B12 in the synthesis of DNA. I’d say that’s pretty critical! It is needed for cell division especially for the red blood cells and cells of the gastrointestinal tract. It got its name from the word “foliage” because it is found in high concentration in most dark green leaves like spinach, kale, and swiss chard. It can also be found in cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, almonds, pecans, and avocados. Last of the immediate family is Vitamin B12, cobalamin. The center piece of B12 comes from the metal Cobalt, which has a bright blue tint to it. B12 is used to activate its brother B9 so they can team up for their use in cell division and the production of DNA. This vitamin creates havoc for vegans and vegetarians because it is only found in animal products such as eggs, salmon, tuna, sardines, trout, beef, oysters and clams. At the end of the day, this huge family is needed everyday if you want to live a healthy and happy life.

Biotin

Sometimes it is referred to as vitamin H and I have heard others relate it to the vitamin B complex so I will give it it’s own small write up. Biotin helps the body to manufacture and utilize both fats and amino acids. It also aids in fatty acid formation and can promote normal functioning and development of the nervous system, sweat glands, skin and hair. It can be synthesized from our own healthy intestinal bacteria so it’s not often talked about, but you can find it in cooked eggs, walnuts, pecans, almonds, cauliflower and mushrooms.

Choline

Choline to some could be part of the vitamin B complex, but it deserves its own write up because it is a reach to include it in the vitamin B family. Choline can be formed from either of the amino acids methionine or serine. It works together with some of the B vitamins in the metabolism of fat which is why some people would potentially include it as part of the big vitamin B complex. A deficiency can cause problems in the liver known as fatty liver disease. It is the precursor to the neurotransmitter Acetylcholine, which is released in the synaptic gap between two nerve cells to make sure nerve impulses get fired correctly. It is also a major component of cell membranes so that many nutrients can permeate into and out of our cells during proper transmission. Sources of choline are egg yolks, preferably in a liquid and not solid state, red meat. It can also be obtained in much smaller amounts from potatoes, cauliflower, kale, cabbage and oranges. This is why foods should be consumed in a variety rather than eating the same foods on a routine basis.