NATURES VITAMINS & MINERALS

Where do they come from and what do they do?

When dealing with an auto-immune condition such as eczema, I believe that the health and strength of the Immune System is fundamental in the treatment of this disease. The degree of your disease is a good indic ation of the health of your immune system.  At those time in my life where my condition was in remission the health and condition of my immune system was strong and in relatively good health. 

By the time I collapsed in '02 my immune system was under great stress from the long term use of cortisones contributing to the breakdown of my endocrine systems and vital organs including the skin.  It has been my priority since then to nurture and rebuild my immune system so it is able to fight disease and infection, allergens and inflammation.  They idea of immuno-suppression to deal with an auto-immune disease such as this just baffles me!

The Immune system may seem a little illusive at times, after-all you cant see it, but you sure can feel it especially when it is under pressure and in poor shape.  How do you build and maintain a healthy strong immune system?  Adopt a healthy lifestyle, eat Whole Foods, exercise, and take time to relax. There is no single pill you can take, there are however pill(s) you can take to supplement and support your vitamin and mineral intake to restore strength to your new best friend - your Immune System.

We hear about vitamins and minerals on a daily basis these days.  We hear about it through product advertising as well as other media such as magazine articles, television and news reports and health professionals.  So what exact ly are these less than obvious and somewhat mysterious nutrients?  The term ‘nutrient' identifies substances in food that provide essential nourishment to maintain life. When you look at an orange you see orange coloured skin, white pith and fleshy, juicy, pulpy looking segments.  At face value you can't really see the all important vitamin C (amoung other nutrients) that it contains.  When you tuck into a hearty serving of leafy green salad, you don't see the folic acid, iron and potassium that it contains.  You've most probably been told, as a child to ‘eat your greens' and when you said ‘why? The answer has always been ‘because they are good for you'. 

‘BuT WHY aRe thEy gOoD fOr mE?'

Well I wanted to know WHY they are good for me.  All natural vitamins are organic food substances found only in living things and are absolutely necessary for proper growth, maintenance of health and prevention of disease.  With a few exceptions, the body cannot make its own vitamins; they must be supplied in the diet and/or by supplements.  Science searches to isolate these substances from the foods that heal, maintain health and prevent disease; but the true source of these substances is found in special combinations in the foods that we eat. 

For example, studies on beta-carotene supplements have shown that other carotenoids in combination with beta-carotene may be responsible for the anti-oxidant action associated with carotenoids.  Eating the carotenoid-rich food in its whole and natural form eliminates the guess work.  Sadly even our modern whole foods do not contain all the richness of the earth it is grown in due to deficiencies in our soils as well as the overuse of pesticides, herbicides, green harvesting, processing and storage as well as added chemicals, preservatives, added sugars and colours.  In addition, nutrients are also lost through over cooking. 

If your diet is poor due to bad eating habits such as irregular meals, excess of highly processed foods, fast foods and drinks; foods that are high in processed cane sugar or artificial sweeteners as well as high intake of preservatives and additives, artificial colours and flavours - vitamin supplements may not be as useful as you may expect.  They really do need to be taken alongside a well balanced diet that includes mostly whole foods.

MOTIVATION AND PATIENCE

Vitamin therapy does not produce results overnight. Regeneration of body chemistry necessary for the body to begin repair work takes weeks and in some cases months before the full benefits are felt.  My body responded quite quickly to the introduction of supplements.  I was already eating a well balanced whole food diet so my body responded within days and weeks to the introduction of further nutrients. 

After 6 months or so I experimented with myself to see how my body would react to having those extra nutrients taken away. Two and a half weeks later, I felt my condition deteriorating and by the end of the third week my body was responding with low energy, melancholy, headaches and the reappearance of rashes, inflammation and further itching.  It helped me to understand that even though I do eat a nutritious diet, it is not enough to maintain a healthy immune system and healthy endocrine functions for my eczema condition. 

My younger sister recently said to me "I don't know how you take your vitamins every day?' My answer to her was because they make me feel so much better.  My body is better able to cope with 21^st century living.  That is my motivation - feeling good!  I have a small regime of vitamins each day and with each meal or at least a little food in my stomach I take a them and spread out my intake over the period that I am awake.  If I am out or at work I can take my ‘little pot'o'pills' with me.  Many people will sit down with a collection of prescription drugs with their meal, for me, it's my vitamins.  I find that people are mostly curious and almost always accepting; so many people take vitamin supplements these days, so it is not that unusual. 

And, YES, there are days when I just don't feel I can swallow another pill.  On those days, I don't.  I let it go, let my body rest for that day and continue with it the next day.   I don't beat myself up about it, I don't stress over breaking a routine etc, I just continue on with it tomorrow.  I'm sure that because I take them on a daily basis my body has enough in reserve to let me off a day here and there. 

ESSENTIAL VITAMINS

As you start to gain a clearer picture of what all these vitamins and minerals and natural sugars mean to your health you may find that you are more willing to put the time and effort into making sure that you are receiving the most nutrition out of your diet and creating an eating plan that contributes to maintaining good health for the duration of your lifetime and contributing to the good health of your family. 

For this article I've put together a list of essential Vitamins; their action on the body and nutritional value and in which whole foods you will find each respective nutrient.  I've tried to keep it as simple as possible so as not to overwhelm you with too much information at once. If you want more information of course all you have to do is a little research; on the internet, at the library or even the health food shop.  I hope that this list will remain a reference point when you are in doubt about which vitamins and minerals and natural sugars that are beneficial to your eczema condition.

BE AWARE ...

It is possible to overdose yourself on vitamins and minerals.  Too much of some of these precious nutrients can be toxic to the human body.  For example too much Vitamin A can be toxic and result in symptoms such as night blindness, nausea and loss of appetite, dry flaky skin, bone & joint pain, headache, hair loss, cessation of menstruation and enlargement of the liver.  

Always take your vitamin dosage as directed by a health professional or never more than what is recommended on the label.

Because my body is hyper-sensitive, I have always started out by discussing it first with a health professional or taking only half of what the label says and then increase my dosage to the full amount prescribed or what my body can tolerate, over a period of days or weeks.  There are some supplements, for me, where the full dosage prescribed on the label can be a little too much for my sensitive system and my body will tell me when it's too much.  For example too much vitamin C will show as diarrhea; too much fish oil results in weight gain; and too much vitamin E can create an itch for me.  Fat- soluble vitamins such as vitamin A are stored by the body and can build up over a period of time, thus toxicity can occur.  Other vitamins are water-soluble and are excreted through sweat and urine so need to be added to the diet daily through food sources or supplementation.  Speak to a health professional, read the labels and very importantly listen to what your body has to say, trust your intuition.

This article we'll start off with a look at Vitamins, so as not to overload you with too much information.  We'll continue this discussion along the way with a look at Minerals, essential fatty acids and then natural sugars.

VITAMIN DEFICIENT HARVESTS

Sadly, even modern wholefoods, our veggies and fruits, do not contain enough of the nutrients we require on a daily basis.  This is due to a combination of factors.  Green harvesting is one issue, where the produce is picked before it reaches maturity and contains all its nutrients; cold storage for long periods can kill off nutrients; over exposure to light kills the goodness; herbicides and pesticides are just plain toxic; over farming of the lands the produce is grown upon and the soils depleted of nutrients through over use or neglect. 

The use of vitamin supplements allows us an opportunity to add to the nutritional value of our everyday diets.  For those of us allergic to whole food groups, supplements allows us to avoid food types without missing the all important nutrients available from that food,  for example, I am allergic to all dairy products, so a Calcium supplement is essential for maintaining bone structure (amoung other things) as I get older. 

SHAKE RATTLE & ROLL ...

If the above table sounds like an awful lot of pills to you, don't despair, go for a good quality Multi-Vitamin.  Check the label to find out exactly what is in your multi vitamin and the dosages.    Look for supplements that are dairy free, wheat free, egg free, preservative free, free of fillers, sugar free etc, and check that there are no ingredients that you are allergic to. If you are unsure, speak with someone at the Health Food Shop; they usually have a good idea as to quality etc.  Speak with a naturopath or nutritionist if you have any queries or worries in regards to supplementation. 

At least Get started on a multivitamin and perhaps down the track a little you may consider adding other supplements that will benefit the eczema condition such as fish oil or another essential fatty acid (omega 3-6-9) supplement if you are allergic to fish.  There are antioxidant supplements that are beneficial, magnesium which is a great anti-inflammatory and of course there is the pro-biotic for a healthy digestive system.

Give your condition, especially your immune system, nervous system and your skin a little extra to work with and I know you will see some great results in your condition as well as your general good health.