Search Results for: blog why does my body need vitamin b1

Tinnitus Hope?

I have always loved music and I love to have it loud. Back when I was younger, it was a matter of just liking it loud. Nowadays, it is more a matter of not being able to hear it. Yes, apparently all those years of loud music and even louder concerts have taken their toll on my rapidly aging ears and given me tinnitus. Tinnitus (I like to call it Pete Townshenditus because The Who guitarist suffers from it) is a ringing in the ears. It can be anywhere from slightly annoying to debilitating. It can be caused by loud … Continue reading →

Improving the Reputation of “Bad” Veggies

You’ve heard the whispers. Carrots are all sugar. Iceberg lettuce is nothing more than crunchy water, nutritionally speaking. But are these bad vegetables all bad? Even veggies that don’t make the A-list of superfoods aren’t worthless. Iceberg lettuce does have lots of water… but it also has important nutrients like vitamin A (which helps protect your eyes) and vitamin K (which can help protect your bones). Nutritional experts also point out that it’s better to eat iceberg lettuce than no lettuce at all. Celery is another veggie that gets a bad rap because of all the water involved. This vegetable … Continue reading →

Sores in the Corners of the Mouth

The last few winters have brought me a new problem: the corners of my mouth dry out and crack open. It’s painful, it looks ugly and makes me self-conscious, and I’m having a hard time healing it. If I open my mouth too wide (like for a yawn), anything that has healed cracks open again. It’s very frustrating! You know what that means: time to do some research and write an article. There are a few names for this sort of problem. According to Columbia University’s Go Ask Alice health site, this is known as angular cheilitis, angular stomatitis, or … Continue reading →

Eleven Citrus Fruits (and Why You Should Love Them!)

Don’t just limit yourself to oranges when it comes to citrus fruits. There’s a whole world of citrus fruits out there! Citrus fruits are in season through the beginning of spring — so go get your citrus boost now! Citrus fruits aren’t just conveyors of immune-boosting vitamin C. They also come with a ton of other health benefits. And speaking of vitamin C — remember that your body doesn’t store this vitamin. You need to eat it every day to replenish your stores. Blood oranges: the bright red flesh that gives this fruit its name also gives this fruit healthy, … Continue reading →

Treating Alcoholism

Let me say this up front: success in treating alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence is strongly linked to admitting that there is a problem and wanting to stop drinking. If you don’t want to stop drinking, all the treatments in the world aren’t going to do much good. Most alcoholics need to stop drinking completely. Initially, treatment will focus on stopping drinking and relieving symptoms of withdrawal. Some people can stop drinking on their own. Some can’t. Talk to your doctor — you may need anti-anxiety and/or anti-seizure medications to help you get through the withdrawal. Severe withdrawal symptoms like … Continue reading →

Biotin for Nail Strength

The things we eat can have a huge impact on our bodies inside and out. If your nails are weak, brittle, and prone to splitting, you can give them a boost from the inside out with a biotin supplement. Biotin is a B vitamin that is found naturally in foods like eggs and liver. However, the amount of biotin in a serving of eggs or liver may be too low to make a difference with your nails! Eggs contain 25 mcg of biotin per serving; liver contains 27 mcg per serving. A Columbia University study found that a daily biotin … Continue reading →

Sugar and Your Skin

Sugar can be good for your skin on the outside — in the form of an exfoliating sugar scrub. However, the sugar you eat may be ruining your skin! Sugar in your bloodstream can attach to protein molecules to form advanced glycation end products (or AGEs). The more sugar you eat, the more AGEs that form in your bloodstream. As these AGEs accumulate, they damage nearby proteins — think of dominoes. Knock one down, and the rest start to fall. The proteins that are most vulnerable to damage from AGEs are collagen and elastin — the protein fibers that keep … Continue reading →

Why Does My Body Need Vitamin B1?

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The B family of vitamins is a large one! Vitamin B1, also known as thiamin, helps your body fight off illness and diseases of the nervous system. But that’s barely the beginning. Vitamin B1 was discovered in the search for a cure for beriberi. It is a key element in the chain reactions that provide energy for the body. It helps your body convert food, manufacture fat, and metabolize protein. Thiamin is also beneficial for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other mental degeneration and impairment. It may also help improve the mental function of people who suffer from epilepsy. Most … Continue reading →

How Do Vitamins Work?

Lately, I’ve been looking at different vitamins and what they do for the body. Vitamin A helps your vision; vitamin D helps build strong bones. Other vitamins promote healing (like vitamin C and vitamin E) or energy production (the B-complex vitamins). Every vitamin does something different… but how do they work? There are two different types of vitamins. Some vitamins are fat soluble — like vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K. This means the vitamins are stored in the fat tissues in your body — especially in the liver. They wait until your body needs them, and … Continue reading →

Why Does My Body Need Vitamin B12?

Vitamin B12 is a little bit different from other vitamins. If you don’t have a certain substance in your digestive system, you can’t absorb vitamin B12! Your stomach produces a substance called intrinsic factor. This substance has to be in the intestinal tract in pretty large amounts for your body to be able to absorb vitamin B12. If you don’t have intrinsic factor in your digestive tract, you’ll eventually develop a vitamin B12 deficiency called pernicious anemia. Liver is probably the number one source for vitamin B12 — but any and all animal foods contain this vitamin. In fact, people … Continue reading →