Vitamins, herbs & Spices, and nutritional supplements

1. Vitamins, herbs & Spices, and nutritional supplements HW499 Kaplan University 2014 Rachel Grenon

2. Your Health is in Your Hands Live well, Be Well. Choose Health, Choose Life, Choose You. We eat and drink because our bodies tell us to; our stomach grumbles, our mouths get dry, we may feel faint or get a headache if we lack food or drink. What about when we have constant migraines, chronic pain, weak immune systems, recurring infections, etc.? Is that not our body trying to tell us something as well? Your body may be calling out for help, it needs vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. Feed your body what it needs, not what it doesn’t. The following information is provided so that you may become more aware of what your body may be telling you it needs. Vitamins are crucial to our survival. Herbs & Spices have healing and soothing properties. Supplements aren’t as beneficial to us as media makes them seem, but with the proper professional guidance, we will be pointed in the right direction.

3. Nutrition • To nourish; involves the food people eat and how it enriches their lives physically, socially, and personally. • Good nutrition promotes health and reduces the risk of a variety of diseases and problems. • Food supplies energy to carry out body functions such as inhaling and exhaling, maintaining body temperature, and engaging in physical activity; food also nourishes the human spirit. Schlenker, E.; Roth, S. (2011). Nutrition and Health. Williams’ Essentials of Nutrition and Diet Therapy (pp. 6-7). St. Louis, MI: Elsevier Mosby. [ISBN: 978-0-323-06860-4]

4. Vitamins To be classified as a vitamin, a compound has to meet several criteria: • Must be an organic dietary substance that is not energy producing, as are carbohydrate, fat, or protein. • Needed in very small quantities to perform a particular metabolic function and prevent an associated deficiency disease. • Body cannot manufacture it, so must be supplied in food or by supplement. • Individual vitamins are multifunctional. • One vitamin cannot substitute for another vitamin. • Vitamins work together in carrying out body functions. • Vitamins function best when all are present in the appropriate proportions. Schlenker, E.; Roth, S. (2011). Vitamins. Williams’ Essentials of Nutrition and Diet Therapy (pp. 95-98). St. Louis, MI: Elsevier Mosby. [ISBN: 978-0-323-06860-4]

5. With few exceptions, the body cannot make its own vitamins. They must be supplied in the diet or by supplements, but eating wholesome foods cannot be stressed highly enough. • Vitamins are usually distinguished as being water soluble or fat soluble • Water-soluble vitamins, B-complex vitamins, vitamin C, and the compounds termed bioflavonoids, are usually measured in miligrams. • Fat-soluble vitamins –D, E, and K –are measured in units of activity known as International Units (IU) or United States Pharmacopoeia Units (USP). Kirschmann, K.; Nutrition Search Inc. (2007). Nutrients. Nutrition Almanac (pp. 21-52 ). New York, NY: McGrall-Hill.

13. http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Listing_of_vitamins.htmhttp://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Listing_of_vitamins.htm

14. Herbs & Spices • Herbs are the fragrant leaves of various plants. • Spices are derived from the bark, buds, roots, fruits, seeds, and stems of various plants and trees. • Many culinary herbs and spices have healing or soothing properties, and spices. Kirschmann, K.; Nutrition Search Inc. (2007). Food, Beverages, and Supplementary Foods. Nutrition Almanac (pp. 104-106). New York, NY: McGrall-Hill.

15. Many culinary herbs and spices have healing or soothing properties. • Salt (sodium chloride) – essential body mineral in its proper proportions. • Allspice – digestive aid, relieves pain in muscles and joints, local anesthetic and first-aid agent for tooth and gum pain. • Anise – cough remedy and digestive aid, promotes milk production in nursing mothers, and may relieve the pain of menstruation. • Basil – good for intestinal parasites and acne, and immune system stimulant that aids in fight infection. • Bay leaf – good for stress, and infection (bacteria and fungi); crushed bay leaf around kitchen will repel cockroach. • Caraway – digestive aid and an antispasmodic that soothes the digestive tract and aids in menstrual cramps. • Celery seed – diuretic that is good for weight loss, PMS, high blood pressure, and congestive heart failure; contains a substance that acts as a sedative; chemicals in celery seed have been used to treat psoriasis. • Cinnamon – helps those with type II diabetes and has mild anticoagulant activity. • Cloves – anti-inflammatory and help rheumatoid arthritis; help with toothache and other mouth pain when oil of close is applied topically. • Coriander – digestive aid, prevents infection from minor cuts; kills bacteria, fungi and insect larvae that attack meat; anti-inflammatory that may help arthritis; may help reduce blood sugar levels. • Dill – good for digestion and urinary tract infections, and may reduce blood pressure.

16. Continued healing or soothing properties… • Fennel – digestive aid, may be used for infant colic, promotes menstruation, promotes milk production, aids in menopause. • Ginger – used for nausea and motion sickness, prevents headaches helps rheumatoid arthritis, is an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory, boosts HDL and lowers LDL, anti-clotting; contains an antidepressant ingredient. • Majoram – digestive aid and antispasmodic for menstrual cramps, and it inhibits growth of herpes and cold sores. • Mint – used medicinally as digestive aid, an anesthetic for the skin, a decongestant; fights infection of herpes, cold sores and wounds; allays pain and spasms of both the stomach and bowel and is an effective treatment for motion sickness; good for cramps and menstrual promotion and should not be used by those who are pregnant. • Mustard – seeds aid in digestion, treats chronic constipation; black seed is a classic remedy for asthma, backache, and bring relief to congestion; antibacterial, metabolism booster. • Oregano – cough remedy, expectorant, digestive aid; can also expel intestinal worms. • Parsley – diuretic that helps such conditions as high BP, congestive heart failure, and PMS; high in antioxidants so it is good for treating cancer; breath freshener, stimulates the uterus to promote menstruation, inhibits allergies, and lowers fevers; pregnant women should eat only culinary or cooking amounts. • Saffron – lowers cholesterol, increases oxygen in the blood, reduces BP, and stimulates the uterus.

17. Continued healing or soothing properties… • Thyme– antiseptic and digestive aid and may relieve menstrual cramps; large amounts are used as stimulant, expectorant that helps with coughs and colds. • Turmeric – contains curcumin which is an anti-inflammatory agent and thus is useful in disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, eases stomach acid, prevents blood clotting, arrests poisonous toxins before they reach the liver, lowers blood sugar and cholesterol, prevents and treats cancer. • Sage – antiperspirant, helps heal wounds and stop infections, and is used as a preservative; digestive aid, reduced blood sugar, soothes sore throats, and aids bleeding gums and canker sores. • Tarragon – anesthetic used for toothache and infections in cuts and wounds (fresh), and may prevent narrowing of the artery wall, fighting heart disease. Kirschmann, K.; Nutrition Search Inc. (2007). Food, Beverages, and Supplementary Foods. Nutrition Almanac (pp. 104-106). New York, NY: McGrall-Hill.

18. Supplements • Taking a vitamin or mineral supplement may be desirable because, although awareness is growing, many people still do not eat adequately balanced meals on a consistent basis. The elderly are especially vulnerable, since they not only lose some ability to taste but also lose some of the bodily processes necessary to digest, absorb, and assimilate food. • Unfortunately the nutrient content of the soil that our food is grown in affects the quality and quantity of the vitamins that are in the food we eat. Insufficient nutrient levels result in nutrient-deficient foods –another reason to supplement, but we must be careful. • “Most of the products are herbs, botanicals, food extracts, enzymes, and diet or fitness formulas that have barely been investigated; if at all. Some may have been used as traditional remedies for millennia, but almost none has been studied with anything like safe levels of intake, or the ability to alleviate symptoms of illness. Most supplements will note ‘has not been evaluated by the FDA, and the product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease’”, (Nestle, 2003). Nestle, M. (2003). Science Versus Supplements. Food Politics (pp. 222-224). London, England: University of California Press. [ISBN: 978-0-520-25403-9]

19. Supplements Caution: Recommendation: • Supplement trade associations go to great lengths to defend the safety of vitamins and minerals over a wide range of doses, arguing that nutrients rarely produce adverse effects except when consumed at exceedingly high levels. • Any vitamin or mineral in moderately high doses can create imbalances that adversely affect the absorption or metabolism of other nutrients causing toxic symptoms. • Many benefits are suggested and hypothesized by supplement makers but none of them are tested or proved. The FDA does investigations and have yet to prove truth to the claims. • Before purchasing a supplement, you should consult with a physician and be sure to read labels for ingredients, the reliable companies will have all listed ingredients whereas other companies will not list all ingredients. • Before taking supplements, you should first try taking in the foods that carry those vitamins and minerals; when all else fails then consult with physician about supplements. Also ask your physician which brands are more reliable than others and in what doses are best for you specifically. • Do thorough research! Nestle, M. (2003). Deregulating Dietary Supplements. Food Politics (pp. 278-280). London, England: University of California Press. [ISBN: 978-0-520-25403-9]

20. Vitamin Supplements Natural Synthetic • Organic, carbon-containing compounds. • Low potency • Can be called organic as long as a molecule in the formula has at least one carbon atom. • Higher potency, stabilizes or standardize the amount of nutrients in a batch. Once a container is opened, it should be stored tightly closed in a cool, dry place. If the container is not stored properly or air gets it, the potency will decrease.

21. Suggested Reading! • Fuhrman, J. (2011). Eat to Live. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company. [ISBN: 978-0-316-18320-8] • Greatist. (2014). 60 Must-Read Health, Fitness, and Happiness Blogs of 2014. Retrieved from http://greatist.com/health/must-read-health-fitness-blogs • Kirschmann, K.; Nutrition Search Inc. (2007). Nutrition Almanac . New York, NY: McGrall-Hill. • LOVE FOOD. (2010). 100 Best Health Foods. Bath BA1 1HE, UK: Parragon. [ISBN: 978-1-4075-6445-6] • National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine. (2013). Dietary and Herbal Supplements. Retrieved from http://nccam.nih.gov/health/supplements • Nestle, M. (2003). Food Politics. London, England: University of California Press. [ISBN: 978-0-520-25403-9] • Schlenker, E.; Roth, S. (2011). Williams’ Essentials of Nutrition and Diet Therapy . St. Louis, MI: Elsevier Mosby. [ISBN: 978-0-323-06860-4]

22. References • Schlenker, E.; Roth, S. (2011). Nutrition and Health. Williams’ Essentials of Nutrition and Diet Therapy (pp. 6-7). St. Louis, MI: Elsevier Mosby. [ISBN: 978-0-323-06860-4] • Schlenker, E.; Roth, S. (2011). Vitamins. Williams’ Essentials of Nutrition and Diet Therapy (pp. 95-98). St. Louis, MI: Elsevier Mosby. [ISBN: 978-0-323-06860-4] • Kirschmann, K.; Nutrition Search Inc. (2007). Nutrients. Nutrition Almanac (pp. 21-52 ). New York, NY: McGrall-Hill. • http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Listing_of_vitamins.htm • Kirschmann, K.; Nutrition Search Inc. (2007). Food, Beverages, and Supplementary Foods. Nutrition Almanac (pp. 104-106). New York, NY: McGrall-Hill. • Kirschmann, K.; Nutrition Search Inc. (2007). Food, Beverages, and Supplementary Foods. Nutrition Almanac (pp. 104-106). New York, NY: McGrall-Hill. • Nestle, M. (2003). Science Versus Supplements. Food Politics (pp. 222-224). London, England: University of California Press. [ISBN: 978-0-520-25403-9] • Nestle, M. (2003). Deregulating Dietary Supplements. Food Politics (pp. 278-280). London, England: University of California Press. [ISBN: 978-0-520-25403-9]