Vitamins in winter, prevention of flu and colds

Of course, carrots will not help improve your vision if you have severe myopia. But it can save from the real blindness. Lack of vitamin A leads to a terrible disease – food blindness: first, a person stops seeing at dusk, and then completely loses his sight. The first sign is discomfort and dry eyes in bright sunlight. Then these symptoms begin to appear in the evenings. The ability to moisturize the cornea gradually disappears, which, due to a lack of lubrication, becomes covered with dead cells, becomes rough and dry, and ultimately ulcers appear on it. Due to the critical lack of vitamin A, the cornea can become cloudy and blindness will come in one day!

Council. Take vitamin A in sufficient quantities (as a vitamin or eat meat, drink milk, fish oil) so that there is no vitamin deficiency. Interestingly, food blindness is treated as quickly as it occurs: one or two vitamin capsules are enough – and after a day the illness is gone.

Almost all vitamins known today, which are contained in food, are destroyed by heat treatment (for example, during cooking) or if they are stored for a long time. So last year’s lemon will not become the guardian of ascorbic acid. Vitamins are lost when heated, due to high humidity and outdoors, in the light, or simply because a long time has passed. It is especially difficult to store vitamin C: almost everything is harmful to it.

Council. Give preference to fresh vegetables and fruits and store food correctly: in a cool dry place and without access to light (in a pantry, closet or refrigerator).

During the Second World War, a so-called natural experiment took place on tens of thousands of people, which is impossible to organize for ethical and moral reasons. In the winter of 1944, the Netherlands had a cold winter, and since there were power interruptions due to the war, a terrible famine began. But scientists, even in such a situation, did not abandon science and kept detailed records. As a result, today we have the most valuable material that proves: poor nutrition during pregnancy is the cause of schizophrenia, depression and nervous diseases, diabetes, heart and vascular diseases that can develop in a fetus.

Vitamin B9, or folic acid, plays a huge role in closing the neural tube of the embryo, which contains both the baby’s brain and spinal cord. If at the time of conception the woman has a B9 deficiency, the tube will not close completely, which will damage the nervous system and even death of the fetus. In addition, during pregnancy, you also need to maintain the level of this vitamin in order to prevent other defects.

Council. Women who are going to give birth to a baby in the near future need to take enough vitamin B9 and consume foods containing it: greens, beans, meat, nuts, citrus juice. During pregnancy, you need to consult a doctor: if necessary, he will prescribe vitamins and dietary supplements with folic acid.

According to statistics, more than 2 billion people on the planet suffer from latent starvation: they get enough calories (and may even be fat), but nutrition still does not provide them with nutrients. Almost a third of the world’s population lacks nutrients due to a poor or improperly organized diet: for example, if you consume 2000 calories per day (the norm for an adult), but all of them are taken from rice and tea, as in poor Asian countries, then the need for useful vitamins and minerals will not be satisfied.

Council. Make sure that your diet is balanced: in proteins, fats and carbohydrates, in vitamins and minerals. You cannot eat only sweet or only meat all day – you need harmony.

Despite all their benefits, antioxidants (beta-carotene, from which the body synthesizes vitamin A, as well as vitamins C and E) are potentially dangerous for smokers. Several major studies have confirmed this. 30 middle-aged smokers took supplements with these vitamins, and after 000-5 years it turned out that men began to get lung cancer 8% more often, and mortality increased by as much as 16%! In another study, the proportion of cancer patients increased by 8%, and among women who smoke, the likelihood of dying from lung cancer and other diseases jumped by 26-35%.

Council. Modern science does not yet have accurate data, there are only suggestions that high doses of vitamins A, C and E can be dangerous for smokers. However, we would not advise you to test this for yourself.

In order for vitamins E, D, K and A (or beta-carotene, from which vitamin A is synthesized) to be absorbed in the body, they must be consumed with oil, since they are classified as fat-soluble. A 2002 study found that our bodies absorb only 3% of beta-carotene from carrots eaten raw, 21% from raw carrots, 27% from mashed potatoes, and 39% if pureed with butter.

Council. Make a salad of carrots and other fresh vegetables with a vegetable oil dressing, preferably olive oil.

Vitamin B12 is involved in a huge number of processes in the human body: in the synthesis of DNA and the creation of red blood cells (erythrocytes), the work of the nervous system. Its deficiency leads to depression, hallucinations, dementia, anemia (anemia), inability to maintain balance, numbness and tingling in the limbs, as well as disorientation in space.

In people over 50 years of age, vitamin B12 is less well absorbed, and in old age, from 10 to 30% of people suffer from low absorption of B12. In addition, the main source of B12 is animal food (meat, milk and dairy products, fish, liver, kidneys, oysters), so its deficiency is almost always observed in vegetarians and vegans.

Council. If you are in your 50s or are trying not to eat meat, take vitamin B12 supplements. However, it is better, of course, to get it naturally – from food.

PS The life and health of people largely depend on vitamins, which we ourselves cannot synthesize, but we must constantly receive them from the outside. Scientists and nutritionists unanimously say that the optimal doses of vitamins and nutrients are found in natural food, so most often you just need to eat normal food, and not stuff yourself with mountains of pills. However, in some cases – for example, in the autumn-winter period, when fresh vegetables and fruits are difficult to get and they are expensive – you need to take vitamins and biologically active additives (dietary supplements) that will help preserve beauty, health and well-being.

Based on the book “Vitamania”.