Outdated vitamin & mineral guidelines....

Today's post: Monday, 3-9-2009

I happened upon a news article with these statements.:

“Vitamins Can Be Dangerous In High Amounts” &
“Government Sets Tolerable Upper Limits”

The information in the article had several flaws.

1. Where several vitamins are listed on vitamin and supplement bottles in iu or “international units” each of these vitamins were listed in milligrams or micrograms.

That means that without knowing the conversion factors, the information, even if accurate, is useless. In addition, these conversion factors seem NOT to be online !!

As you’ll see below, I did manage to get the conversions. But it took some research.

2. Some of the information presented was accurate for some vitamins and slightly off for others; and one for one vitamin, vitamin D3, we now know that the Tolerable Upper Limit they list is about what the minimum daily requirement is while the optimum daily intake or allowance is about 50 % MORE than their Tolerable Upper Limit!

Since my time is limited as is yours to read this, here are the important items.

1. Vitamin A has two forms, retinol which comes from animal sources, and beta carotene, which is one of the many carotenes found in plants.

The daily value or RDA is 3,000 iu and 900 mg of retinol while the Tolerable Upper Limit of 3,000 mg is equal to 10,000 iu. Since you get some retinol in foods and you can begin to get bad side effects over 20,000 iu a day of retinol, staying at or under 10,000 iu of retinol from supplements is about right.

Since retinol does have toxicity in high doses and can build up over time as it is fat soluble, taking 5,000 iu or at most 10,000 iu as a supplement is about right; & 3,000 or 5,000 iu in supplement form plus getting more vitamin A by eating carotene containing vegetables is likely better for you.

Since beta carotene is water soluble the www.supernutitrionusa.com info sheet I got shows that you can take up to 40,000 iu a day of it. BUT, 5,000 or 10,000 iu a day in supplements and eating lots of different carotene containing foods does a dramatically better job of supporting your health and preventing disease than taking that much beta carotene. And taking more than 10,000 iu of it without eating the vegetables with the carotenoids may cause unbalanced nutrition and bad results. This did happen in one study that gave high doses of beta carotene only and not more vegetables with mixed carotenes also to smokers.

2. Vitamin D3 is listed as having a Tolerable Upper Limit of 50 mcg a day. That turns out to be 2,000 iu. Oops! We now know that our bodies will use 2,000 to 3,000 iu a day of vitamin D3 and, while your body can make up to 15,000 iu a day in abundant sunshine, our economy no longer has most of us outside everyday working as hunter-gatherers or farmers. In addition to the exercise we no longer get, most of us no longer get much vitamin D3 from sunshine. We work indoors and often spend our time off indoors`.

That means that 2,000 iu a day of vitamin D3 is the minimum daily requirement most people need and that the optimum daily intake or allowance is about 3,000 iu.

In addition, although 20,000 to 50,000 iu of vitamin D3 or more may cause some problems if anyone not badly deficient in it takes it for several weeks or more, there are no studies of which I’ve heard that find that 10,000 iu or more is a problem. So, I’ve been suggesting people take at least 2,000 iu and, unless they have had a blood test, showing deficiency of vitamin D3, less than 5,000 iu to be extra conservative. But clearly for something labeled the Tolerable Upper Limit, 10,000 iu is about right. Unfortunately, that is FIVE times what this report says the government set it at.

The evidence I’ve seen suggests this 2,000 iu Tolerable Upper Limit for vitamin D3 is so inaccurately low as to be incompetent. It might not be in small children. But in adults it’s a joke.

3. For Vitamin B6 they have the Tolerable Upper Limit about right from what I’ve read at 100 mg a day.

The www.supernutitrionusa.com info sheet I got says that 200 mg a day is safe and up to 450 might be; but I read that at levels of 150 to 300 mg many people begin to develop numbness from nerve damage in various parts of their bodies that wasn’t always reversible by discontinuing the excess B6. To put it mildly, nerve damage is NOT good. So, to be sure people avoid that, 100 mg a day is safe for everyone. To be fair, 200 mg is likely safe for most people. But the Tolerable Upper Limit SHOULD be set at the limit that is safe for everyone.

4. For folic acid, the synthetic form of the folacin that is in plants, they have a Tolerable Upper Limit of 1,000 mcg a day. 1,000 mcg a day plus 6 to 9 servings of foods high in the folacin form of folic acid is likely better for you than 2,000 mcg of folic acid.

But people who need to lower their homocysteine levels and should do so for avoiding the things that high homocysteine tends to cause, may need up to 2500 mcg of folic acid. So for this one, I think 2500 or 3,000 mcg is a better Tolerable Upper Limit than 1,000 while the www.supernutitrionusa.com info sheet has no reported problems up to nearly 400,000.

5. I’ve not seen the Tolerable Upper Limit for iron. But there is evidence that the RDA or daily value of 18 mg a day is likely to be about right for a Tolerable Upper Limit. And that is safer for people who are deficient or anemic and women who are menstruating and for people who take abundant antioxidants and eat abundant antioxidant containing fruits and vegetables. Excess iron in normal people can help cause heart disease and speed aging as it is an oxidant.

Further, some people have a condition where their bodies don’t remove excess iron and can build up dangerous levels of it.

So, 18 mg a day is likely the Tolerable Upper Limit for iron. And some people should simply not take any other iron than what they get in foods.

6. Copper is another oxidant mineral I’ve not seen a Tolerable Upper Limit for. But 3 mg a day may be about right. Like iron, some people find taking any copper at all toxic. That is unfortunate however since the body need copper to balance your zinc intake. AND, copper deficiency causes heart disease while adequate copper tends to prevent dangerous aneurisms where your arteries balloon in size and can split and rupture causing rapid death. So for most people 2 or 3 mg a day of copper is important. But also taking abundant antioxidants and eating abundant antioxidant containing fruits and vegetables is a good idea to combat copper’s oxidant effect.

7. Zinc has a listed Tolerable Upper Limit of 60 mg a day I think. That is about right. Up to 45 mg a day regularly plus 3 mg a day of copper to balance it, tends to keep your immune system strong, your body healthy including good sexual function, and keep your HDL high.

But, while taking about 30 to 60 mg extra zinc when you first come down sick can help, a daily intake of MORE than 60 mg a day of zinc on a regular basis WEAKENS your immune system. Plus it means to balance it you need more copper than is likely a good idea. So 30 to 45 mg a day is good while 60 mg a day might be OK and more than 60 is not.

8. Niacin, nicotinic acid, sometimes called vitamin B3, can cause liver problems in amounts of 1,000 mg a day or more. But there is good evidence that even though 300 to 600 mg a day in 300 mg doses is safe and is very effective in preventing heart disease and cardiovascular disease it does cause a “flushing” effect which feels like a mild but all over temporary sunburn if you take it on an empty stomach.

The 35 mg Tolerable Upper Limit listed is one that avoids this flushing sensation. But healthwise, it is nearly 30 times too low. If you know the flushing is harmless and may even be beneficial due to the stretching and expanding it gives your capillaries, 900 or 1,000 mg a day is the Tolerable Upper Limit for niacin that I think makes more sense. I suggest taking 300 mg once a day or twice a day after meals plus whatever you get in your multivitamin or B-complex of niacin or its nonflushing cousin niacinimide. And, 300 three times a day is likely safe for most people as liver problems tend to show up at 1,000 mg a day or more.

So this one they also got far wrong.

But niacin DOES have a real Tolerable Upper Limit at 1,000. If your HDL and LDL and triglyceride levels are all horribly bad, it may well pay you to take 1,000 mg a day or more of niacin. But it is only safe to do so if you get regular liver function tests and your doctor monitors you. (Note that while niacinimide has some real health benefits, it has none of the heart protective actions niacin has on LDL, triglycerides, and HDL. So, since I think most of us need those, I recommend taking both niacin AND niacinimide.)


Some of the other Tolerable Upper Limits I saw were a bit off. But these are 8 of nine that I think have real limits. And in two cases the stated Tolerable Upper Limit is way too low.

(The ninth one is vitamin E. But that one is a bit complex and less well tested. Plus I’m out of time. So, I’ll just say that 200 iu of natural vitamin E plus 30 or 50 iu of the man made alpha tocopherol acetate is likely safe while more than that may not be for everyone. It is also a good idea to eat some of the foods high in the whole vitamin E complex such as avocado, nuts, -- and wheat germ if your body processes wheat and gluten OK.)

2 more ways to increase your HDL to protect your heart...

Today's post: Tuesday, 2-5-2008

Yesterday, I posted a set of supplements that increase HDL and seven other ways to increase HDL that I found in a medical education article.

Since the medical education article included statins as one of their methods, that means our post yesterday had seven methods that do not use drugs. The supplements plus the 6 ways to boost HDL from the article equals seven methods in yesterday’s post that did not use drugs. And, since all of those seven methods had added health benefits instead of side effects, we think well of them.

Here are two more that give you outstanding heart protection and other health benefits.:

1. This morning, I got an email advertising free information from a doctor who uses similar methods in his practice.

Adding up to half a raw onion to your food each day can increase your HDL cholesterol from 20 to 30 %. That’s a very substantial boost. It’s inexpensive as well.

Plus, there is even better news on this one. Onions also lower triglycerides with the sulfur compounds they contain. And, their main flavonoid, quercetin, also keeps your HDL from oxidizing and keeps your blood platelets from getting too sticky.

That set of things means that onions are one of the most heart protective foods you can eat.

The increased HDL helps clean your blood vessels.

And, the other actions of onions reduce the amount of harmful cholesterol by cutting the amount of the dangerous small sized LDL; by keeping your HDL from oxidizing; & by helping you avoid excessive clotting and restricted blood flow.

That means that onions also make your LDL safer and less likely to become obstructive plaque in your blood vessels. In addition, eating onions will tend to lower your blood pressure & help prevent the blood clots that trigger heart attacks & strokes.

There may also be evidence that onions prevent cancer and reduce inflammation.

If you eat sandwiches, they will be better for you if you include onion slices.

And, diced onions are a very flavorful addition to salsas, salads, coleslaw, and chili.

Even better, onions are so potent a health protector, you can eat less of them than the half an onion a day and still get plentiful benefits.

The important thing is to eat them often unless you are allergic to them.

2. In a separate health information email this morning, I read another way to increase your HDL, that, like eating onions, also has abundant other heart protective benefits.

The worst effect of eating foods that contain hydrogenated vegetable oils, whether partially hydrogenated or fully hydrogenated, &/or any transfats from other sources is that they sharply increase the amount of the dangerous small particle LDL in your system. And, that means that they are quite literally heart attack starters, just like lit lighter fluid helps start BBQ fires. That happens because that kind of LDL sticks in the chinks in your blood vessel walls & builds up plaque deposits.

So, it’s really critical for your health to read labels & refuse to eat or buy food with that junk in it. Why pay money to give yourself a heart attack or a stroke?

The news I got this morning is that if you stop eating this stuff, your HDL cholesterol goes up also.

Conversely if you are eating these foods & continue, your HDL will be lower which helps prevent your artery plaque from being removed.

Unfortunately, these foods are not illegal world-wide or even in the United States as of now. And, they are or have been in shortening, almost all commercial baked goods, microwaved popcorn, some candy bars, some bread, most crackers, many other packaged snack foods – including some oil roasted nuts, & even ice cream.

Another benefit to boycotting these foods at the store & refusing to eat them is that most of these also have refined grains or sugars, so if you stop eating them, you’re likely to also lose fat.

7 ways to increase your HDL to protect your heart...

Today's post: Monday, 2-4-2008

I read a medical education article recently that listed seven different ways to increase your HDL & protect your heart.

Six of them do not involve supplements; so, if you also take choline & chromium polynicotinate & a good B Complex, plus about 35 mg of zinc & 400 to 600 mg of magnesium, you can boost your HDL enough to make a significant improvement in your heart health and lower your heart disease risk. (You get, I believe, a 5 to 20 % boost from that combination of supplements.)

In addition, other than the one method that uses drugs, which also have risks & side-effects, each of the supplements listed above & the other 6 of the 7 methods from the article have other health benefits, many of which are also heart protective..

The other good thing about the article that’s nice is that it gives you a good estimate of how much boost you will get from each one.

1. Exercise they list as increasing your HDL by 5 to 10 %. Dr Peter Wood at Stanford showed that vigorous exercise every week of 1500 calories a week or more was most effective.

Exercise also improves circulation & circulation to your heart; & it reduces the harmful small sized, LDL, so it gives you triple heart protection.

The one caveat if you have heart disease or very high risk factors, is to improve your risk factors in other ways & do less vigorous exercise until your risk factors improve & you have acclimated to exercise BEFORE you push the limits on vigorous exercise. People who try too hard without doing that have died of the heart attack they triggered.

I personally believe I get over a 10 % boost, based on how my HDL level goes down if I get somewhat less exercise, let alone not at all. (I know the other benefits of exercise & the abundant other penalties for NOT exercising. So, even when I’m sick, I usually manage some.)

2. Fat loss will boost your HDL by 1 % for about each pound of fat loss. So, if you are 15 pounds over fat & lose them, you’d get a 15 % boost. Clearly, if you are really fat, it will take longer; but you will get more boost when you are done.

(I suspect you get less than that if you were already exercising. But I suspect you get more if you also lost the fat weight in part by beginning regular exercise.)

3. Replacing transfats (aka trans fats); saturated fats from animal sources, & polyunsaturated oils like soy, corn, & safflower with omega 3 oils & with extra virgin olive oil, will boost your HDL up to 5%

In addition, this will help lower your blood pressure, &, just like exercise, it will reduce the harmful small sized, LDL. That means you get triple heart protection from this one.

4. Stop smoking if you smoke; & escape from second hand smoke if you are often exposed to it to the maximum extent you can.

They estimate this one at 5 to 10 % HDL boost.

But the health benefits & heart protection benefits are FAR greater than that. Cigarette & other tobacco smoke also make the HDL you still have less beneficial & effective in preventing heart disease. Even worse, it increases the amount of homocysteine in your blood which also tends to cause heart disease in other ways. This effect even hits younger smokers.

So, the heart & health protection for this one if you haven’t already done it, are much closer to 100 to 400 %.

5. Regular alcohol consumption from alcoholic drinks boosts HDL by 5 to 15 %.

But excessive or mismanaged drinking causes other health problems and the accident rate associated with that has a death rate. So, many doctors are wary of recommending that people do this one.

The best range for men for health overall seems to be between 6 & 12 drinks a week with it being rare to drink more than 2 a day.

The best range for women for health overall seems to be between 3 & 6 drinks a week with it being rare to drink more than one a day. (Women tend to be smaller & usually process alcohol at about half the rate of men.)

All alcohol seems to boost HDL & promote less blood clotting. But red wine & dark beer have other health benefits.

The higher end of that range boosts HDL the best but begins to increase other risks.

Be extra careful if you drink. And, stay home or wait a few hours before you drive or operate dangerous things once you drink alcohol.

6. Taking niacin often boosts HDL by 20 to 30 %.

It also lowers LDL cholesterol. Even better, beyond just protecting your heart, people who take niacin have a lower death rate from all causes than people who do not.

This one, like exercise, not smoking, moderate drinking & taking all the supplements we first list above, is a very powerful tool to use indeed.

Some cautions & tips are in order however.

If you take more than 1,000 mg a day, you need to have your doctor check your liver function regularly with the appropriate blood tests because higher doses sometimes cause liver problems.

Also note that, although inositol hexaniacinate may also boost HDL, that’s far less proven. And, since it is sometimes sold as No Flush niacin, if you want to try niacin, do NOT buy No Flush niacin or inositol hexaniacinate. (I take 600 mg a day of each & have had great HDL measurements.)

I take 300 mg of niacin after breakfast & another after dinner. I find that this minimizes or eliminates the flush reaction. However, taking it on empty stomach or after a small meal tends to give me the full flush reaction. I know the flush likely is helping to clean out my blood vessels; but it looks & feels like instant sunburn until it subsides, so I don’t recommend taking niacin on an empty stomach.

Also note that the version of niacin called niacinimide does not produce a flush but it doesn’t boost HDL or lower LDL either. However, I recommend taking some as part of a good B complex vitamin because it has other health benefits. And, I strongly suspect that if you take both niacin AND niacinimide, you get more HDL boost & LDL lowering from the niacin you take, since the niacinimide has some of niacin’s other functions already covered.

The last caution is that sometimes taking statins & niacin together causes bad side effects, so if your doctor prescribes both be sure they are checking you regularly & report any side effects quickly.

7. The article says that statins boost HDL by 5 to 10 %. They also decrease inflammation.

For most statins, the boost, I’ve read, is closer to 5 %. And, the statins have a less protective track record than niacin; they cost more; & they have side effects & risks. (They actually hurt your heart by lowering CoQ10 if you don’t take them with 90 to 100 mg a day or more of CoQ10.)

So, the better doctors I’ve read only use statins for their sickest, worst shape, patients -- & rely on the first 6 steps instead for most of their patients.

As you can see, that also works & can even work better if you do all of them.