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Nutrition |
Water
As an adult you should drink half your body weight in pounds in ounces of good water. For 150 pounds of weight, that means 75 ounces of water! If you live in a city, I strongly recommend a good filter to remove chlorine and fluoride, at least from your drinking and cooking water. Ideally, you would remove it from your bathing water as well. Coffee and tea do not count as water, although any caffeine-free herbal tea will count as water intake. Fruit and vegetable juices also do not count as water, as they have many other substances that require the water content for metabolism.
Antioxidants
There are many natural antioxidants in nature, and if you eat at least 80% of your food as fresh fruits and vegetables, you will probably get enough. A list of important antioxidants follows:
Anthocyanins—these great red, orange, and blue colored fruits and vegetables—are tremendous and should be part of every diet.
Ascorbic acid—the essential in vitamin C—was discovered by the great scientist, Szent-Gyorgi, who took 10 grams daily. For adults, I recommend 2000 mg, best taken with 1000 mg of methyl sulfonyl sulfate, 60 mcg of molybdenum, and 3 to 6 mg of bet 1,3 glucan. This combination, found in my Youth Formula, helps restore DHEA. More about that later. For serious illnesses such as bad viral infections or cancer, I recommend up to 100 grams of vitamin C IV in a Myers cocktail. Of course, that requires a physician prescription and administration!
Vitamin A—the best known vitamin A comes from fish liver oil, most commonly cod liver. However, larger doses of vitamin A, even 10,000 units daily, can lead to severe brain swelling. You actually need no vitamin A, but you do need the family of carotenoids, the best known being beta carotene. This family includes beta carotene, astaxanthin, and lycopene. All are precursors to vitamin A and are safe at very high doses. I prefer 25,000 units of beta carotene and 4 to 10 mg of astaxanthin daily. Lycopene and lutein are other members of the family and are, interestingly, increased in availability by cooking the most common source—tomatoes.
CoQ10 (Ubiquinone)—one of the major immune supporters. I prefer a minimum of 100 mg daily.
Flavonoids—another fruit/vegetable family of antioxidants
Polyphenols—the final fruit/vegetable antioxidants
Essential Vitamins
Vitamin A—See above
The B Vitamins
B vitamins are essential for metabolism in general as well as production of energy and most importantly for brain and heart function. Despite the rather miniscule RDA’s suggestion, in today’s stressful environment, I think adults will be healthier if they take an average of 25 mg of the major ones.
B1, Thiamine—deficiency of B1 leads to beriberi, optic nerve damage, Korsakoff’s syndrome, peripheral neuropathy, and heart failure. Up to 1000 mg daily is safe. Thiamine is absolutely required for metabolism of carbohydrates and alcohol, excess of which lead to beriberi. Up to 400 mg daily is safe.
B2, Riboflavin—B2 deficiency leads to inflammation of skin, mouth, tongue, and lips and anemia.
B3, Niacin—B3 deficiency leads to pellagra, which was rather common in the early twentieth century, again because of excess carbohydrate intake. This deficiency has a broader neurological/mental harm than virtually any other B vitamin. However, even 100 mg may cause significant flushing and a burning feeling in the skin. Another form of niacin, nicotinaminde or niacinamide, is safe up to 1500 mg daily and may help arthritis symptoms and some schizophrenics.
B4—was once thought to be a vitamin, but it is “just” a critical component of DNA and RNA.
B5, Pantothenic acid—Pantothenic acid is primarily essential for energy, including proper metabolism of fat, carbohydrate, and protein In general, it is quite safe up to 25 mg daily.
B6, Pyridoxine is one of the most commonly deficient B vitamins, even those who take the so-called RDA. Carpal tunnel syndrome, menstrual problems, and coronary artery disease are all major diseases of B6 deficiency It is safe up to 100 mg daily.
B7, Biotin—B7 deficiency results from a really crummy diet and affects all aspects of mind and energy.
B8, Inositol is critical for function of brain, mind, and immune system. Up to 100 mg is safe.
B9, Folate (folic acid)—This is one of the most critical vitamins for function of mind, brain, and the integrity of the arteries. The RDA is ridiculously low, and it is safe up to 100 mg daily. Inadequate folic acid is a major contributor to homocysteinemia, a major cause of coronary disease, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer, as well as malformations of babies. Blood levels above 7.5 are increasingly dangerous, and most labs ridiculously consider up to 14 “normal.”
B10, PABA (Para amino benzoic acid)—B10 deficiency leads to many autoimmune diseases ranging from those affecting the skin, collagen system, and even the penis! It is safe up to 2000 mg twice a day and can help prevent sunburn.
B11, Salicylic acid—In general B 11 can be manufactured by the body if you have adequate intake of phenylalanine, an essential amino acid. It is essential for the entire DNA system.
B12, Cobalamine (also Methylcobalamine)—B12 deficiency is best known as the cause of pernicious anemia, which leads not only to anemia but also to damage to the spinal cord and brain. It is found only in animal protein! Vegans will inevitably develop B12 deficiency unless they take it as a supplement, and I like to remind them that it is still made by an animal—at the very least by yeast! Up to 5000 micrograms daily is quite safe.
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)—Vitamin C is as critical as Vitamin D in supporting immune health. The RDA of 60 mg is insanely low, and I believe adults with less than 1000 mg daily are at great risk.
Vitamin D3—80% of Americans are deficient in D3, largely because of the ridiculous advice of dermatologists to avoid sun and to use sun blocker. If you take no other advice from this book, take at least 5000 units of D 3 daily if you are an adult over 135 pounds. Children should take at least 50,000 units once a month after age