Phoenix Bites- LABS Cited sources and Articles: Vitamins
Vitamins are a group of substances that are needed for normal cell function, growth, and development. There are 15 essential vitamins. This means that these vitamins are required for the body to work properly. They are: • Vitamin A • Vitamin C • Vitamin D • Vitamin E • Vitamin K • Vitamin B1 (thiamine) • Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) • Vitamin B3 (niacin) • Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) • Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin) • Pantothenic acid (B5) • Biotin (B7) • Folate (folic acid or B9) • • Choline • Carnitine • • Vitamin A helps form and maintain healthy teeth, bones, soft tissue, mucous membranes, and skin. • Vitamin B6 is also called pyridoxine. Vitamin B6 helps form red blood cells and maintain brain function. This vitamin also plays an important role in the proteins that are part of many chemical reactions in the body. The more protein you eat the more pyridoxine your body requires. • Vitamin B12, like the other B vitamins, is important for metabolism. It also helps form red blood cells and maintain the central nervous system. • Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, is an antioxidant that promotes healthy teeth and gums. It helps the body absorb iron and maintain healthy tissue. It is also essential for wound healing. • Vitamin D is also known as the “sunshine vitamin,” since it is made by the body after being in the sun. Ten to 15 minutes of sunshine 3 times a week is enough to produce the body’s requirement of vitamin D for most people at most latitudes. People who do not live in sunny places may not make enough vitamin D. It is very hard to get enough vitamin D from food sources alone. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. You need calcium for the normal development and maintenance of healthy teeth and bones. It also helps maintain proper blood levels of calcium and phosphorus. • Vitamin E is an antioxidant also known as tocopherol. It helps the body form red blood cells and use vitamin K. • Vitamin K is needed because without it, blood would not stick together (coagulate). Some studies suggest that it is important for bone health. • Biotin is essential for the metabolism of proteins and carbohydrates, and in the production of hormones and cholesterol. • Niacin is a B vitamin that helps maintain healthy skin and nerves. It also has cholesterol-lowering effects at higher doses. • Folate works with vitamin B12 to help form red blood cells. It is needed for the production of DNA, which controls tissue growth and cell function. Any woman who is pregnant should be sure to get enough folate. Low levels of folate are linked to birth defects such as spina bifida. Many foods are now fortified with folate in the form of folic acid. • Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) is essential for the metabolism of food. It also plays a role in the production of hormones and cholesterol. • Riboflavin (vitamin B2) works with the other B vitamins. It is important for body growth and the production of red blood cells. • Thiamine (vitamin B1) helps the body cells change carbohydrates into energy. Getting enough carbohydrates is very important during pregnancy and breastfeeding. It is also essential for heart function and healthy nerve cells. • Choline helps in normal functioning of the brain and nervous system. Lack of choline can cause swelling in liver. • Carnitine helps the body to change fatty acids into energy
Harvard study- A high-fiber plant-rich diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes support the growth and maintenance of beneficial microbes. Certain helpful microbes break down fibers into short chain fatty acids, which have been shown to stimulate immune cell activity. What does that mean? Immune cell activity includes antibodies.
There is still much that researchers don’t know about the intricacies and interconnectedness of the immune response.
Immunity in action. A healthy immune system can defeat invading pathogens as shown above, where two bacteria that cause gonorrhea are no match for the large phagocyte, called a neutrophil, that engulfs and kills them (see arrows). Photos courtesy of Michael N. Starnbach, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
Harvard- There appears to be a connection between nutrition and immunity in the elderly. A form of malnutrition that is surprisingly common even in affluent countries is known as “micronutrient malnutrition.” Micronutrient malnutrition, in which a person is deficient in some essential vitamins and trace minerals that are obtained from or supplemented by diet, can happen.
NIH- Antibodies or immunoglobulins (Ig) play an important role in the immune system’s mechanisms of defense. They fight off extracellular pathogens, for instance, bacteria, and can neutralize viruses when they are in the bloodstream and other body fluids. Normal individuals have 5 classes of immunoglobulins, which are IgM, IgG, IgA, IgD, and IgE, and immunoglobulin subclasses including IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgA1, and IgA2.[1] Sometimes an antibody deficiency disorder takes place. It can happen due to several causes, including a genetic absence of an important enzyme in B-cell development that renders immature B cells that are unable to proliferate into mature Ig-producing B cells or may be caused when T lymphocytes do not signal B lymphocytes or are idiopathic.
PMC- Nutrition plays an essential role in the regulation of optimal immunological response, by providing adequate nutrients in sufficient concentrations to immune cells. There are a large number of micronutrients, such as minerals, and vitamins, as well as some macronutrients such as some amino acids, cholesterol and fatty acids demonstrated to exert a very important and specific impact on appropriate immune activity. This review aims to summarize at some extent the large amount of data accrued to date related to the modulation of immune function by certain micro and macronutrients and to emphasize their importance in maintaining human health. Thus, among many, some relevant case in point examples are brought and discussed: (1) The role of vitamin A/all-trans-retinoic-acids (ATRA) in acute promyelocytic leukemia, being this vitamin utilized as a very efficient therapeutic agent via effective modulation of the immune function (2) The involvement of vitamin C in the fight against tumor cells via the increase of the number of active NK cells. (3) The stimulation of apoptosis, the suppression of cancer cell proliferation, and delayed tumor development mediated by calcitriol/vitamin D by means of immunity regulation (4) The use of selenium as a cofactor to reach more effective immune response to COVID vaccination (5). The crucial role of cholesterol to regulate the immune function, which is demonstrated to be very sensitive to the variations of this macronutrient concentration. Credit to- Gombart A, Pierre A, Maggini S. A review of micronutrients and the immune system–working in harmony to reduce the risk of infection. Nutrients. (2020) 12:236. 10.3390/nu12010236
In experimental studies of cancer cells and of tumors in rodents, vitamin D has been found to have several biological activities that might slow or prevent the development of cancer, including promoting cellular differentiation, decreasing cancer cell growth, stimulating cell death (apoptosis), reducing tumor blood vessel formation (angiogenesis), and decreasing tumor progression and metastasis (5–9). Vitamin D was also found to suppress a type of immune cell that normally prevents the immune system from responding strongly to cancer (10). Credit to- Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin D and Calcium. Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D. Editors: AC Ross, CL Taylor, AL Yaktine, HB Del Valle. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2011.
Vitamin B12 deficiency Ralph Green, Lindsay H Allen, Anne-Lise Bjørke-Monsen, Alex Brito, Jean-Louis Guéant, Joshua W Miller, Anne M Molloy, Ebba Nexo, Sally Stabler, Ban-Hock Toh, Per Magne Ueland, Chittaranjan Yajnik
Vitamin B 12 (B12; also known as cobalamin) is a B vitamin that has an important role in cellular metabolism, especially in DNA synthesis, methylation and mitochondrial metabolism. Clinical B12 deficiency with classic haematological and neurological manifestations is relatively uncommon
Flow of theory- consume nutrient rich products and reduce other chemical interactions. Bulletproof the central nervous system. Emphasis on bone marrow as a central immune system. If the bodies capability of breakdown and absorption of the vitamins/minerals/nutrients present in the commodities discussed, as needed, then can the body build and maintain healthier bone marrow? Would this In turn provide an ability to produce stronger b and T cells. And if that happens. Will it produce stronger antibodies to be produced when activated by any new antigen? Then if that happens, will the antibodies attach and ride out accordingly to prevent any further development of the antigen-microbes present in cancers.
Flow of theory- consume nutrient rich products and reduce other chemical interactions. Bulletproof the central nervous system. Emphasis on bone marrow as a central immune system. If the bodies capability of breakdown and absorption of the vitamins/minerals/nutrients present in the commodities discussed, as needed, then can the body build and maintain healthier bone marrow? Would this In turn provide an ability to produce stronger b and T cells. And if that happens. Will it produce stronger antibodies to be produced when activated by any new antigen? Then if that happens, will the antibodies attach and ride out accordingly to prevent any further development of the antigen-microbes present in cancers.
Harvard study- A high-fiber plant-rich diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes support the growth and maintenance of beneficial microbes. Certain helpful microbes break down fibers into short chain fatty acids, which have been shown to stimulate immune cell activity. What does that mean? Immune cell activity includes antibodies.
There is still much that researchers don’t know about the intricacies and interconnectedness of the immune response.
Immunity in action. A healthy immune system can defeat invading pathogens as shown above, where two bacteria that cause gonorrhea are no match for the large phagocyte, called a neutrophil, that engulfs and kills them (see arrows). Photos courtesy of Michael N. Starnbach, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
Harvard- There appears to be a connection between nutrition and immunity in the elderly. A form of malnutrition that is surprisingly common even in affluent countries is known as “micronutrient malnutrition.” Micronutrient malnutrition, in which a person is deficient in some essential vitamins and trace minerals that are obtained from or supplemented by diet, can happen.
NIH- Antibodies or immunoglobulins (Ig) play an important role in the immune system’s mechanisms of defense. They fight off extracellular pathogens, for instance, bacteria, and can neutralize viruses when they are in the bloodstream and other body fluids. Normal individuals have 5 classes of immunoglobulins, which are IgM, IgG, IgA, IgD, and IgE, and immunoglobulin subclasses including IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgA1, and IgA2.[1] Sometimes an antibody deficiency disorder takes place. It can happen due to several causes, including a genetic absence of an important enzyme in B-cell development that renders immature B cells that are unable to proliferate into mature Ig-producing B cells or may be caused when T lymphocytes do not signal B lymphocytes or are idiopathic.
PMC- Nutrition plays an essential role in the regulation of optimal immunological response, by providing adequate nutrients in sufficient concentrations to immune cells. There are a large number of micronutrients, such as minerals, and vitamins, as well as some macronutrients such as some amino acids, cholesterol and fatty acids demonstrated to exert a very important and specific impact on appropriate immune activity. This review aims to summarize at some extent the large amount of data accrued to date related to the modulation of immune function by certain micro and macronutrients and to emphasize their importance in maintaining human health. Thus, among many, some relevant case in point examples are brought and discussed: (1) The role of vitamin A/all-trans-retinoic-acids (ATRA) in acute promyelocytic leukemia, being this vitamin utilized as a very efficient therapeutic agent via effective modulation of the immune function (2) The involvement of vitamin C in the fight against tumor cells via the increase of the number of active NK cells. (3) The stimulation of apoptosis, the suppression of cancer cell proliferation, and delayed tumor development mediated by calcitriol/vitamin D by means of immunity regulation (4) The use of selenium as a cofactor to reach more effective immune response to COVID vaccination (5). The crucial role of cholesterol to regulate the immune function, which is demonstrated to be very sensitive to the variations of this macronutrient concentration. Credit to- Gombart A, Pierre A, Maggini S. A review of micronutrients and the immune system–working in harmony to reduce the risk of infection. Nutrients. (2020) 12:236. 10.3390/nu12010236
In experimental studies of cancer cells and of tumors in rodents, vitamin D has been found to have several biological activities that might slow or prevent the development of cancer, including promoting cellular differentiation, decreasing cancer cell growth, stimulating cell death (apoptosis), reducing tumor blood vessel formation (angiogenesis), and decreasing tumor progression and metastasis. Vitamin D was also found to suppress a type of immune cell that normally prevents the immune system from responding strongly to cancer (10). Credit to- Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin D and Calcium. Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK56070/). Editors: AC Ross, CL Taylor, AL Yaktine, HB Del Valle. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2011.
Vitamin B12 deficiency Ralph Green, Lindsay H Allen, Anne-Lise Bjørke-Monsen, Alex Brito, Jean-Louis Guéant, Joshua W Miller, Anne M Molloy, Ebba Nexo, Sally Stabler, Ban-Hock Toh, Per Magne Ueland, Chittaranjan Yajnik- Vitamin B 12 (B12; also known as cobalamin) is a B vitamin that has an important role in cellular metabolism, especially in DNA synthesis, methylation and mitochondrial metabolism. Clinical B12 deficiency with classic haematological and neurological manifestations is relatively uncommo
Dr. Arden Andersen, has provided an excellent insider view to another way of handling life’s nutritional hurdles.
