Vitamins literally are the sparks of life. Vitamins are not made inside the body, except for vitamin D, maybe not a true vitamin but a hormone, and a little bit of vitamin K. But vitamin K is produced outside the body in the intestinal tract by bacteria. Yes, vitamin K1 can be converted into K2 in the body, but it was already a vitamin.
Since vitamins are necessary for life, why is there so much controversy surrounding them?
First, here is how some vitamins function in the body, especially the B vitamins. They combine with other nutrients such as minerals to form co-enzymes that are needed to help enzymes function. In fact, the functions attributed to some vitamins are really the functions of the enzyme that co-enzymes help. Vitamin B1 is known to prevent beriberi, a nervous system disease. How? Vitamin B1, thiamine, combines with pyrophosphate to form TPP. TPP also contains sulfur and nitrogen as well as phosphate. TPP is a necessary coenzyme for many enzyme functions to produce energy, digest carbohydrates, and for nerve cell activities.
Folate forms a derivative called tetrahydrofolate which is a cofactor in the metabolism of amino acids and nucleic acids. Biotin, known as coenzyme R, is essential for the formation of fatty acids and glucose. A vitamin B12 derived element forms a coenzyme to aid an enzyme involved in extracting energy from fats and proteins and in the production of hemoglobin for red blood cells.
VITAMIN as COFACTORS Exploitation
A common thread used to enhance the value of vitamins in whole foods uses marketing to play up the fact that whole food vitamins come with all their co-enzyme parts which it is claimed are part of what makes a vitamin a vitamin. Well, the story sounds good, but logic is lacking, plus science is nowhere in sight. Ascorbic acid is vitamin C. The form vitamin C takes in the body is to form a mineral asscorbate, ascorbic acid with a mineral, such as calcium with ascorbic acid to form calcium ascorbate. That's it pure and simple. Yes, there are sort of like family members that have similar related functions and also protect vitamin C functions. These include elements like bioflavonoids and rutin which are related family members but not vitamin C.
HOW NATURE PACKAGES CO-FACTORS
Nature does not always package all the necessary co-factors to form enzymes and co-enzymes in every food. That is why Nutritionists recommend a variety of different foods and food categories to fulfill these enzyme cofactor nutrients, especially fruits, vegetables, and other whole foods. Plus, many of the other cofactors may already be present in the body from earlier meals or by becoming available again through a re-use process. Some are actually made by the body. It is vitamins that actually need to be supplied on a more or less steady basis. but not necessarily every day since the body does store some B vitamins for a few days, some about a week, with B12 much longer than that. But, it is generally recommended to get some daily. And, of course, the fat soluble vitamins, A, D, E, & K, can be stored in fat for some time. Availability does vary here somewhat in different size people.
BRIEF PEEK at VITAMIN D on Magnesium
A number of people do not understand how vitamin D works and look for immediate results. Vitamin D supplements build up the storage form of vitamin D over time. From this stable storage form, the body builds the 1000 times stronger acting but short lived hormone form of vitamin D when directed. The hormone form is quick acting, but it is not related to supplement vitamin D intake. A lower level of calcium in the blood is the director for PTH from the parathyroid gland to initiate and build hormone D. See vitamin D facts for full picture.
Magnesium is important as a cofactor for vitamin D conversions. ref Without magnesium, vitamin D conversion might not happen from the storage form of D to the hormone form. ref Just taking magnesium as a supplement increases the hormone vitamin D levels since the conversion process is now occurring at a normal rate. This of course, has a positive effect on bone health as well as cardiovascular health. Plus this explains the past observations that magnesium helped bone strength even without taking extra calcium. Magnesium and calcium do have a vital and synergist role to play. Magnesium with the help of vitamin K2 keeps calcium out of arteries and in bone. Nutritional tables reveal that most of the non-dairy foods in nature have almost a one to one ratio of calcium to magnesium. Well, actually it varies form 4-1 to a 1-6 ratios. Since numerous foods make up the diet, when these ratios are added together they average closer to almost a 1 to1 ratio. chart
While broccoli and oranges at 4 to 1 are an exception, they most likely are not consumed in any quantity nearing those of milk and dairy products as a source of calcium over magnesium. Milk has a 10:1 ratio. This reference tells why this is not a healthy ratio, and what ratio is the best.
High doses of calcium may inhibit magnesium absorption, such as occurs with dairy foods. The average ratio of calcium to magnesium in the US is about 3 to 1. Over the last 30 years, calcium consumption has increased 2 times while magnesium has remained constant. This is potentially very troubling. It is mentioned that a ratio of 2:1 is best. It has to be pointed out that current studies have to first contend with the fact that the average is already at 3:1, so testing either magnesium or calcium separately or together needs to address and include this beginning level for valid interpretation of results. Remember, if the amount of calcium in the average diet is 1000 mg, and the magenium ratio is 1/3 of this amount, or 333mg, to get to a 2:1 ratio would require either a reduction in calicum to under 700 or an increase in magnesium of 167mg. This is why just increasing magnesium without any extra calcium helps bone and many other health conditions.
OK! Now to See why Vitamins are often Controversial
Vitamin studies looking at amounts just supplied from foods resulted in many favorable associations to health. Theories were developed to explain these observations. To test these theories, Scientists used the new synthetic vitamins or some isolated and concentrated natural vitamins, like vitamin E out of vegetable oils, and discovered that the results did not mirror the vitamins in food health associations. In fact, the studies were not always favorable. Rather than correctly post as the Scientific method dictates, the Scientists went right to the conclusions that vitamins are not effective. The correct result would be that the synthetic forms or the isolated natural forms tested were not effective and in some cases, detrimental. The forms not tested should not have been lumped in together with these results. Articles on this website will explain in detail this concept. Detrimental studies that need to be explained include the SELECT study, the Vitamin E mortality study, and the Beta Carotene study on Finnish smokers.
Many Scientists to this day do not recognize that some synthetic vitamins are not equal to their natural counterpart in food, or even natural isolated forms. article article