Vitamins

A vitamin is an antioxidant which cannot be manufactured by the body, and is essential for good health. Some of the vitamins are water soluble, and others are fat soluble. Examples of water soluble vitamins are vitamin C and the B vitamins. In contrast vitamins A and E are fat soluble. One important difference between the two is that the fat soluble vitamins are stored in the body for a long time, whereas the water soluble ones circulate in the blood, where they act as antioxidants throughout the body, fighting free radicals. However they are not stored, so they are either used up in cells or passed out of the body in the urine.

How much is too much?

Because the fat soluble vitamins are stored it is possible to overdose on these. There seem to be at least two schools of thought regarding vitamins. The official story is something like "You only need vitamins if your diet is deficient", and that larger doses of vitamins should never be consumed. However a number of alternative healers use much higher doses of vitamins than the recommended daily allowance for therapeutical reasons. This school sees the stance of the AMA and the FDA as restrictive because it does not acknowledge the ability of vitamins in larger doses to cure certain conditions.

Vitiligo

I am currently experiencing a situation like this. Seven weeks ago I decided to declare war on several related conditions from which I have suffered for five years. Due to a traumatic experience in my life I suddenly contracted vitilgo which manifested as a white patch on my left eybrow. At exactly the same time my hair became grey especially on the same side of my face. It is known that there is a link between vitilgo, premature greying and hyperthyroidism.

It is well known that all of these conditions are stubborn, and only really smart practitioners are able to find a solution approaching a cure.

All the same there are numerous practitioners of ayurveda, Chinese medicine and nutrition who offer practical advice that works.

I have been taking more B vitamins than recommended daily with two tablespoons each of brewer's yeast and mollases, and have seen a 20% improvement both in the vitiligo and the gray hair in seven weeks.

My conclusion is that "Just taking your RDA isn't enough". For therapeutical purposes you need to be focused. You need to research what works, overcome laziness and stick to your program.

Westerners who follow their doctor's advice (or not) or observe the food pyramid or generally just eat the nasty processed food on the shelves are digracefully sick, as so many diseases appear to be almost inevitable.

I know that my list of supplements included mainly natural products rather than vitamins, but brewer's yeast and mollasses in such large quantities with an extra large dose of vitamins isn't exactly your average meal either.

Niacin

Another example of using large quantities of vitamins for a specific purpose is where one healer claimed to cure schizophrenia using larger doses of niacin. I have experimented a lot with niacin in its active form. Even taking 100mg can cause the body to flush as in the case of sunburn. Again opinion is divided regarding this practice, as some see it as poisoning (people have suffered liver damage just from taking a gram of niacin). However some therapists claim that the flushing which is due to a release of histamine is very healthy, as the capillaries (the small blood vessels at the surface of the skin) are barely wide enough to allow blood cells to pass. During the flush the vessels dilate greatly which is excellent for the health of the skin. After all blood is life.

Recently I read an article in a magazine regarding the ability of vitamins to remove wrinkles. The article claimed that the value of vitamins for that purpose is exaggerated with the exception of vitamins A, E, C and niacin. Niacin is fairly cheap, and can be applied to the skin with a cream or water, or taken internally.

Vitamin C

We can probably thank Nobel Prize laureate Linus Pauling more for the increasing acceptance of alternative therapies and antioxidants by the medical profession, rather than the vitamin C therapy with which he was so obsessed. That is not to say that there is no value in taking large doses of vitamin C. Creams containing high of vitamin C can remove wrinkles. The skin is the body's largest organ. If such miraculous improvements are visible, why don't you judge for yourself what large doses of vitamin C could do for cartilage and bone which are also collagen? Just about anything can produce side effects in very large quantities. However vitamin is is reasonably safe, and of course it is not stored in the body.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E has also been used in large quantities. I personally have taken 17g at once. I do not recommend that you try it. However vitamin E is also relatively safe in large doses. Because Vitamin E inhibits vitamin K (the blood clotting agent) vitamin E increases the risk of internal bleeding and stroke. Large doses taken over an extended period could also deplete your body of vitamin A (but you could supplement that also). In any case taking more than the RDA can be therapeutic in the case of injury and illness. The natural form D-Alpha-Tocopherol is twice as good though twice as dear. Vitamin E supplementation may prevent heart disease. It has also been shown to prevent damage to skin by ultra violet light, and can actually reverse skin damage. Take this as an other example of what a vitamin in somewhat larger doses could do to heal your entire body.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is another vitamin which if applied in super concentrated form to the skin (retinol) can remove wrinkles. In this case the minumum toxic dose is fairly clear (although it has to build up with time). I supplements with vitamin A by taking cod liver oil. I am currently taking one tablespoon a day. I would not consider taking more than two tablespoons a day. While supplementing with cod liver oil I am also getting vitamin D. The warning regarding toxicity is fairly similar, and again the dose that I am taking is appropriate. Vitamin D is the calcium hormone. If you were taking as much cod liver oil as me plus a teaspoon of calcium citrate you would salivate more. Why is that? Because saliva contains the mineral apatite (calcium carbonate) of which teeth are made. The more calium the more saliva. The more saliva the less cavities! Calcium has a lot of other benefits too like preventing osteoporis, maintaining mental health and in weight loss.

Conclusion

Take larger doses of vitamins after researching both the symptoms of poisoning and the minumum dose to have caused poisoning previously. Use commonsense, and try to maintain a sense of balance. After all often supplements compete with each other. All the same larger doses than the RDA have been used successfully in therapies which can be of great benefit and can "cure" various conditions. Not allowed to use that word. Medical science after all offers "treatment" - for life.