vitamin b

CoQ10 is also a micronutrient. However, its bioavailability is limited compared to that of other lipid-soluble antioxidants like vitamin E. We know that uptake of CoQ occurs in blood, blood vessels, liver, and spleen, but generally not in other organs, although some uptake has been reported in mouse kidney and rat brain. Interestingly, in cases of severe CoQ10 deficiency resulting from enzyme defects, muscular and organ functions are drastically improved by dietary CoQ10 supplements, suggestive of an effective uptake. It appears that the extent of uptake correlates with the degree of tissue deficiency. This view is supported by recent observations that oral supplementation of CoQ in rats for 2 months increased muscle and brain levels of CoQ in old but not in young rats. Also, there is evidence that oral supplements increase the concentration of CoQ in the hearts of patients suffering from cardiomyopathies and heart failure. During gastrointestinal uptake, dietary CoQ is efficiently reduced to the antioxidant-

Selenium is an essential trace element necessary to maintain good health. Laboratory animals reared in the absence of selenium show retarded growth, and farm animals raised on selenium-poor crops develop white muscle disease. Humans living in isolated regions with insufficient selenium in the food chain show susceptibility to cardiomyopathies. Pathologies reversed by nutritionally adequate levels of selenium are classified as selenium deficiency diseases. In modern societies there is sufficient selenium in the normal diet to prevent outright selenium deficiency disease. Nevertheless, accumulating evidence suggests that supplementing the diet with supranutritional levels of selenium has additional health benefits (see figure below). In laboratory animals, a high selenium diet results in a significant reduction in the frequency of several types of cancers. Selenium may also have cancer preventive activity in humans. An oft-cited clinical study published by Dr. Larry Clark in 1998 found that in patients who had

In those who consume typical western diets, the amount of arachidonic acid in cell membranes is much greater than the amount of EPA, resulting in the formation of more eicosanoids derived from arachidonic acid than EPA.

Vanadium (V), atomic number 23, is a trace element that is present at low levels (nanograms per gram or less) in most plant and animal tissues. The highest concentrations of vanadium in mammalian tissues are in kidney, spleen, liver, bone, testes and lung. The total human body content is believed to be between 0.1 and 1 mg. No specific biochemical function has been identified for vanadium in higher animals. In lower forms of life, vanadium is a component of several bromo- and iodo-peroxidases. In vitro vanadium has regulatory effects on numerous enzymes, including protein tyrosine phosphatases and kinases, and mimics insulin to a substantial degree. In vivo it may be needed for normal iodine metabolism and/or thyroid function. Vanadium at pharmacological (i.e., non-nutritional) levels is known to have hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects.

Today we recognize approximately 13 vitamins or vitamin groups, as well as 7 major minerals and 10 trace elements, and our understanding of these compounds continues to evolve as we become increasingly aware of their complex nature.