Vitamin villains

Vitamins are important to us. We all know that. But what if they get corrupted? There are always two sides of the same coin. Are they truly as harmless as they seem?

Why do we need vitamins?

Molecules of vitamins are an extremely important part of all biochemical functions. They fight off bacteria, viruses, they take part in hormone synthesis and are even part of the reason we have the ability to see and procreate.

Vitamins are what their name suggests. Amins, vitally important for our survival. We get them from food and sunlight every day. So, having enough of them shouldn’t be a problem. However, sometimes they get ambushed and remelt into unusable junk. Why is that?

Antivitamins, what are they and how do they thrive?

Antivitamins are mostly enzymes, that split vitamins into useless compounds. They are created by the chemical industry, food industry, water/soil waste and even stress.

A prime example of antivitamins are hormonal birth control pills. They contain hormones, which attack the B group vitamins (B2, B6, B12) and vitamin E. A regular intake of laxatives or diuretics is also a great way to wash vitamins out of your body, before they even get a chance to be useful. Certain B vitamins can even get attacked by consuming egg whites.

Medication

Sometimes when we get prescribed antibiotics, we also get recommended probiotics. That is because antibiotics usually disturb the synthesis of vitamin K, which is vital for us. So, to avoid this problem, we should make sure to boost its production afterwards. Gaining back vitamin K is also done with lots of leaf vegetables, cabbage, kale, broccoli, spinach and so on.

How to help boost your vitamins?

Getting back most of the vitamins we need, is easily achieved with yeast, intestates – mainly the liver, dairy products, and legumes. None of which sounds terribly appetising, but sometimes we have to bite the bullet.

Risky food

Alcohol. Processing alcoholic substances takes up a lot of vitamin B. After consuming too much too often you would start to feel the effects of vitamin B deficiency. Which can include aphthae, eczema, fatigue, irritability. Coffee can have the exact same effect.

So, what should you do?

All in all, consuming too many vitamins, can do more harm than good, yet we should be mindful of the modern-day substances we ingest every single day and how they affect us.