In the last post, we explored the four fat-soluble vitamins - A, D, E, and K - and their effects on the body. Today, we’re going to look at a more important aspect of these vitamins: how they interact with each other. Just as with omega-3s and omega-6s, too much of one and not enough of the other can cause problems.

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Calcification
Recall that vitamin D helps the body absorb and use calcium. That’s all well and good as long as there is sufficient vitamin K to regulate the system. Without adequate vitamin K, whether due to deficient …

Tags: fat-soluble vitamins, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K

Last week, we discussed some of the various diseases that can result from vitamin D deficiency. Today, I want to look at the other three fat-soluble vitamins - A, E, and K - and see how these four vitamins function within the body.

What Are The Four Fat Soluble Vitamins?

Vitamin A - The Vision Vitamin
Vitamin A is probably most well-known from your mother’s admonitions to “eat your carrots, so you can see well.” One of the many roles of vitamin A is eyesight, but this vitamin is also key for proper gene transcription, immune function, embryonic development, bone metabolism, and (Teenagers take note!) skin …

Tags: fat-soluble vitamins, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K

Today, we’re going to discuss vitamin D and its importance in the body.

What Is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. Because the body can create its own vitamin D, it is technically not a vitamin, but a pro-hormone, a precursor to the hormones the body needs to function. Vitamin D has no active role in the body other than to be converted to usable hormones by the liver and kidneys.

This vitamin (we’ll stick with vitamin since that’s how it’s known commonly) is responsible for maintaining blood levels of calcium and phosphorus, growing bone, and shoring up the immune system. Let’s have a look at a …

Tags: Alzheimer's, arthritis, cancer, Parkinson's, vitamin D

I’ve been neglecting the Skribit app on the sidebar and decided to hit that for a topic. Today, we’re looking at the following question with 533 votes:

How to correct a metabolism damaged during an eating disorder.

This seems to be a hot topic given the number of votes it has. I’ll go ahead and admit that this is completely new ground for me. I’ve never looked into this topic in the slightest, so take everything I say here with a bigger grain of salt than you already should. And I’m not even going to begin to touch on the psychological or possible societal issues driving these …

Tags: anorexia, bulimia, eating disorders, metabolism

I made the case before that high-fructose corn syrup really isn’t much worse for you than sugar. Further, I recently discussed two of the commercials from the corn lobby attempting to prove that high-fructose corn syrup is okay in moderation. Let’s open the book once again and look at high-fructose corn syrup again.

Why It’s Worse Than You’ve Heard
Because of the way that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is made, it’s sugar molecules are different than less highly processed sugars, including plain ol’ table sugar. In table sugar, the glucose and fructose molecules are paired in 1-to-1 fashion, bonded together. When sucrose enters …

Tags: agave nectar, fructose, fruit, HFCS, high fructose corn syrup, honey, sucrose, Sugar and Fake Foods