Beta Carotene is Highly Beneficial

Beta carotene is an important nutrient that aids in the prevention of night blindness and other eye-associated problems. It also plays an important role in helping to prevent various skin disorders, to help enhance the functioning of the immune system, and it helps to guard the body against the effects of toxins and the formation of cancer. It can also help to prevent or fight common illnesses, such as colds, flu, and infections. It is a powerful antioxidant and it protects cells while inhibiting the aging process. Recent studies have shown beta carotene helps in preventing cancer. It is also integral in the formation of bones and teeth.

Beta carotene is a close relative of vitamin A, but there is one substantial difference. Large doses of vitamin A can cause serious health problems, whereas it is virtually impossible to take too large a dose of beta carotene.

Beta carotene is a very strong anti-oxidant and serves to bolster and enhance the immune system. As with many other supplements, beta carotene has some different qualities when comparing its natural and synthetic forms. Natural beta carotene is composed of two molecule types; synthetic beta carotene consists of only one of these. While most of the beneficial effects of beta-carotene can be obtained from both types, some people have argued that some of its properties, such as its antioxidant effect, are more powerful or effective in the natural type, but there is no scientific backing for this claim, at this point.

Beta carotene deficiency is generally rare, but most often occurs in people who do not ingest enough leafy, green vegetables. When supplementation is used, vitamin E supplementation is often also necessary in conjunction, as beta carotene has been shown to sometimes lower the level of vitamin E in the blood.

Potassium Rich Foods

It is vital to make sure that everyone consumes a diet which provides sufficient amounts of potassium. Potassium is an important mineral which is required to maintain the proper pH balance of our bodily fluids. It is also integral for regulating blood pressure, maintaining bone mass, proper nervous system functioning, good muscle function, as well as for healthy and proper functioning of the heart, kidneys, and adrenal glands.

A potassium deficiency can eventually result in a condition called hypokalemia. Symptoms of hypokalemia include raised blood pressure, heart irregularities, hypertension, muscular fatigue and weakness, cramping, and constipation or other digestive problems.

The best way to get potassium is through eating a balanced diet containing potassium-rich foods.  Following is a list of food containing significant amounts of potassium:

Apricots
Bananas
Beets
Brussel sprouts
Cantaloupe
Honedew Melons
Lima Beans
Milk
Nectarines
Oranges
Pears
Peanuts
Potatoes
Prunes
Raisins
Spinach
Tomatoes
Winter Squash
Yogurt

For more information regarding the health benefits of potassium, visit MedlinePlus.

Vitamin D Speeds Up Tuberculosis Recovery

Vitamin D may help speed up the antibiotic treatment of tuberculosis, according to a new randomized, controlled, double-blind research study. The study was conducted at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. The study was published in The Lancet.

In the research study, which was headed by Dr. Adrian Martineau of the Centre for Health Sciences at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, 146 study participants who suffered from a drug-sensitive form of tuberculosis were selected from 10 National Health Service Trusts in London and then randomly and evenly picked to receive either 4 doses of 2.5mg of vitamin D, or a sham treatment. All of the patients in the study were getting the standard antibiotic treatment for tuberculosis.

The mean time to recovery of tuberculosis from the lungs among all the patients was six weeks for participants who were getting standard therapy alone and five weeks for patients who were receiving additional vitamin D, although this difference is not big enough to achieve statistical significance. However, participants with a specific genetic type of vitamin D receptor were significantly more vitamin D responsive than the others and were clear of TB bacteria much faster if they took vitamin D in addition to the standard treatment.

Ninety-seven percent of the participants (122/126) did not have adequate levels of vitamin D at baseline. Vitamin D deficiency is often seen in TB patients - an attribute which may be due to lack of sun in the UK, or to diets which are low in vitamin D. It may be possible that tuberculosis can contribute to vitamin D deficiency by a mechanism which is not known at present.

Vitamin D is mostly known for its effects on bone - that it helps prevent rickets and osteomalacia - but it also has significant effects on the human immune system. High doses of vitamin D were used in the treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics were available, but previous clinical trials which have been performed did not find out how tuberculosis patients' genetic make-up could alter their response to a vitamin D supplement. The result that participants who have a specific type of vitamin D receptor are particularly responsive to vitamin D is a new one, and gives us information about how vitamin D could affect the immune response.

People Who May Need to Take a Magnesium Supplement

Healthy adults who consume a balanced-mixed and healthy variety of foods will not generally need to take any additional magnesium supplementation. Supplementation of magnesium is only usually needed in the presence of specific health problems or conditions which can cause an extreme loss of magnesium, or can result in the body being able to absorb a limited amount of magnesium.

A magnesium supplement might be needed by people who suffer from conditions which cause excessive loss of magnesium through urination, chronic malabsorption of magnesium, chronic diarrhea, and/or chronic or severe vomiting.

Diuretics, including Lasix, Bumex, Edecrin, and Hydrochlorothiazide, can increase the loss of magnesium through urination. Medications, such as Cisplatin, a widely used cancer treatment, and antibiotics such as Gentamicin, Amphotericin, and Cyclosporin, can also cause the kidneys to excrete excessive magnesium through urination. Physicians routinely monitor magnesium levels of people who take these medications and will prescribe magnesium supplementation if necessary.

Diabetes that is not well controlled, can increase the loss of magnesium through urine, and could increase a person's need for extra magnesium. A physician would generally ascertain the need for additional magnesium in these situations. Routine magnesium supplementation isn't generally needed for people who have well-controlled diabetes.

Alcoholics have an elevated high risk for magnesium deficiency since alcohol increases the level of excretion of magnesium in urine. Low blood levels of magnesium are tested in 30 to 60% of people who abuse alcohol, and in almosty 90% of people going through alcohol withdrawal. Also, alcoholics who tend to replace food with alcohol will generally have a lower intake of magnesium. Physicians routinely determine the need for additional magnesium in these cases.

Losing magnesium through both diarrhea and the malabsorption of fats can happen after intestinal surgery or infection, however it may also happen with chronic malabsorptive problems such as Crohn's disease, gluten sensitive enteropathy, and regional enteritis. People who suffer from these conditions may require additional magnesium. A common symptom of a problem absorbing fat, or steatorrhea, is passing greasy, bad smelling stool.

Vomiting, on occasion, shouldn't be enough to cause excessive loss of magnesium, but conditions which cause chronic and/or severe vomiting could cause a loss of magnesium substantial enough that supplementation is needed. In these types of situations, a physician would ascertain whether a magnesium supplement is needed.

For more information regarding magnesium deficiency, see Magnesium Deficiency (Wikipedia).