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The vitamin B complex consists of eight water
soluble vitamins. The B vitamins work together to
boost metabolism, enhance the immune system and
nervous system, keep the skin and muscles healthy,
encourage cell growth and division, and other
benefits to your body. Brewer's yeast is one of the
best sources of the B vitamins.
B1
Known as
Thiamine, serves as a catalyst in carbohydrate
metabolism and helps synthesize nerve-regulating
substances.
Deficiency can cause heart swelling, leg cramps, and
muscular weakness.
Rich food sources high in thiamine include liver,
heart, and kidney meats, eggs, leafy green
vegetables,
nuts, legumes, berries, wheat germs, and
enriched cereals.
Some believe thiamine helps protect against
alcoholism and that it is good for depression,
stress, and anxiety. It is also said to improve
mental ability and to help indigestion.
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is 1.5 mg.
B2
Known as Riboflavin, helps metabolize fats,
carbohydrates, and respiratory proteins.
The deficiency can result in skin lesions and light
sensitivity.
Riboflavins are abundant in
mushrooms, milk, meat,
liver, dark green vegetables, and enriched cereals,
pasta, and bread.
The vitamin is good for the skin, nails, eyes,
mouths, lips, and tongue, and it is believed to help
protect against cancer.
The RDA is 1.3 mg for adults.
B3
Also known as Niacin, vitamin P, or vitamin
PP—helps release energy from nutrients. It can
reduce cholesterol and prevent and treat
arteriosclerosis, among other benefits.
Too little B3 can result in
pellagra, a disease with
symptoms that include sunburn, diarrhea,
irritability, swollen tongue, and mental confusion.
Too much B3 can result in liver damage.
Food sources rich in niacin are chicken, salmon,
tuna, liver,
nuts, dried peas, enriched cereals, and
dried beans.
The RDA is 14-18 mg per day for adults.
B5
Or Pantothenic acid, has a role in the
metabolism of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.
Food sources rich in B5 are eggs, whole grain
cereals, legumes, and meat, although it is found in
some quantity in nearly every food.
Deficiency can result in fatigue,
allergies, nausea,
and abdominal pain. The RDA is 10 mg.
B6
Or Pyridoxine, helps the body to absorb and
metabolize amino acids, to use fats, and to form
red
blood cells.
Deficiency in the vitamin may result in smooth
tongue, skin disorders, dizziness, nausea,
anemia,
convulsions, and kidney stones.
Whole grains, bread, liver,
green beans,
spinach,
avocadoes, and
bananas are rich food sources that
are high in this vitamin. The RDA ranges from 1.3 to 2 mg depending on age and
gender.
B7
Also known as Biotin or vitamin H, helps form
fatty acids and assists in the release of energy
from carbohydrates.
There have been no cases of deficiency among humans.
The RDA is 30 µg.
B9
Or Folic acid, sometimes goes by the name of
vitamin M or vitamin B-c.
Folic acid enables the body to form hemoglobin. It
helps treat anemia and
sprue.
Good food sources include leafy green vegetables,
nuts, whole grains, legumes, and organ meets.
However, bear in mind that folic acid is lost when
foods are stored at room temperature or cooked.
Deficiency is rare, although folic acid is
particularly important in pregnancy. Consuming
adequate folic acid before and during pregnancy
helps prevent neural tube defects in newborns,
including
spina bifida.
The RDA for both men and women is 400 micrograms,
but women who are pregnant or planning to become
pregnant should consume 600 micrograms a day. When
breastfeeding, the recommendation is 500 micrograms.
B12
Also known as Cobalamin or
Cyanocobalamin,
assists the function of the nervous system and the
formation of red blood cells. If the body is unable
to absorb sufficient B12, pernicious anemia can
result.
B12 can only be found in animal sources such as
eggs, milk, fish, meat, and liver. Therefore,
vegetarians are strongly encouraged to supplement.
The RDA for adult males and females is 2.4 µg.
Diseases treated by the vitamin B complex
Mylagia
means
"muscle pain" and is a symptom of many diseases and
disorders. The most common cause for myalgia is
either overuse or over-stretching of a muscle or
group of muscles. Myalgia without a traumatic
history is often due to viral infections.
Longer-term myalgia may be indicative of a metabolic
myopathy, some nutritional deficiencies or chronic
fatigue syndrome
Bursitis
It is the inflammation of one or more bursae, or small
sacs of synovial fluid, in the body. Bursae rest at
the points where internal functionaries, like
muscles and tendons, slide across bone. Healthy
bursae create a smooth and almost frictionless
gliding surface. With hundreds of them throughout
the body they provide this surface for all motion,
making movement normally painless. When bursitis
takes hold, however, movement that relies on the
inflamed bursa becomes rough and painful. Movement
of tendons and muscles over the inflamed bursa
causes it to become more inflamed, perpetuating the
problem.
Tendonitis
(also
spelled tendinitis) is a painful disorder of a
tendon. Generally tendonitis is referred to by the
body part involved, such as Achilles tendonitis
(affecting the Achilles tendon), or patellar
tendonitis (jumper's knee, affecting the patellar
tendon). It was believed that tendonitis was due to
inflammation of a tendon, although this is coming
into doubt. Chronic overuse of tendons leads to
microscopic tears within the collagen matrix, which
gradually weakens the tissue.
Sciatica
is
sometimes severe pain caused by general compression
and/or irritation of one of five nerve roots that
are branches of the sciatic nerve. The pain is felt
in the lower back, buttock, and/or various parts of
the leg and foot. In addition to pain, there may be
numbness, muscular weakness, and difficulty in
moving or controlling the leg. Typically, the
symptoms are only felt on one side of the body.
Although sciatica is a relatively common form of low
back pain and leg pain, the true meaning of the term
often is misunderstood. Sciatica is a set of
symptoms rather than a diagnosis for what is
irritating the root of the nerve, causing the pain.
This point is important, because treatment for
sciatica or sciatic symptoms often will be
different, depending upon the underlying cause of
the symptoms.
Lumbago
is a term used to refer to low back pain. Such
pain may also be accompanied by symptoms that extend
to the buttocks, thigh (s) and leg (s) in either a
uni- or bi- lateral fashion (but usually only on one
side). If the primary symptom is leg pain caused by
a compressed nerve in the low back, then the
symptoms are usually called sciatica rather than
lumbago.
Lumbago may also be accompanied by other symptoms
and signs such as loss of sensation (usually the
sole of the foot and posterior aspect of the calf
region) and motor function (usually loss of plantar
flexion of the foot and toes as well as a diminished
ankle jerk reflex) in some areas and back stiffness
(pain and rigidity upon movement of the lumbrosacral
part of the spine). Other signs include reduced
ability to walk or raise one's foot once
straightened.
Toxic Neuritis
due to the action of a poison, such as alcohol,
lead, or arsenic.
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