b vitamin reminder

[jenjen]

hi guys, i just wanted to share/remind everyone about the importants of insuring you're regularily consuming a good source of food for all the b-vitamins.

i've been sooooo tired lately, thought it was some sort of detox, then remembered i hadn't had my regular supply of either bee pollen, nutrional yeast or b-vit supplement. i used to have one or more of these a day. so i loaded up yesturday and i am BACK to feeling awesome again.

i'm studying each of the b-vit in school right now and i really think these are something that everyone should spend an hour or so reading up on as they are soooo critical for energy, nerve function and much more.

just thought i'd share in case anyone is going through what they think is a detox when it might actually be that they're not getting a daily dose of all their b-vits (if you go without b's for a long enough time, there can be real damage to your bod). meat eaters get a fairly adequate supply, so remember...us veggies need to make a bit more of a conscious effort!

all the best!
j

[Amberly]

I sometimes have Kombucha for B. Never really have kraut. Don't do much fermenting. What are some other good foods for B?

[jenjen]

hi! bee pollen and nutritional yeast are good sources for a fairly complete range of b's. seaweeds are good but don't contain all of them.

make sure your nutritional yeast has b12 added. and when buying bee pollen, make sure it's raw (not always labelled properly) and that the grains are soft and easy to squish with fingers and are a mix of dark ones, blackish ones, grey/greenish ones, yellow ones and creamy ones. this mix of colour signnifies quality.

j

[ladypeace82]

that reminds me, I am out of b- supplements....

[rawstrength]

According to a study published in The American Society for Nutritional Sciences, 38% of raw foodists are deficient in vitamin b12. I'm wondering whether the subjects took supplements or not (it didn't mention it in the article). Anyway, I thought it was a pretty fair and interesting study and it talked about a lot more than just b12. Here's the link.
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/135/10/2372
Make sure you get your b12 because deficiency can cause severe neurological symptoms.
I would take a food source such as nutritional yeast, even if nut. yeast technically isn't raw, over supplements that are made in China and could contain cement :eek: .
Nutritional yeast is just a fungus, so eating it is like having a bowl of very lightly steamed mushrooms. It is heated just to the point of killing the yeast. Besides, it's cheesy and delicious :D .

[Riiiya]

so sauerkraut is another good source for b vitamins? ... i love it so so much and eat it almost every day :rolleyes:

[rawstrength]

Not only does saurkraut provide some b12 (because of the bacteria that live in it, though not all saurkraut has the kind of bacteria that make b12, so it's not a completely reliable source) BUT it also helps with detoxification and fights breast cancer! Here's some interesting info about raw cabbage from www.whfoods.org . For some reason I just love it when scientific studies confirm what people have already known for thousands of years and now have often forgotten. Eat your traditional raw foods like saurkraut and be happy, healthy and beautiful!

Promote Women's Health

Much research has focused on the beneficial phytonutrients in cabbage, particularly its indole-3-carbinole (I3C), sulforaphane, and indoles. These two compounds help activate and stabilize the body's antioxidant and detoxification mechanisms that dismantle and eliminate cancer-producing substances. I3C has been shown to improve estrogen detoxification and to reduce the incidence of breast cancer. In one small human study, researchers found that after I3C was given for 7 days, the rate at which estrogen was broken down through the liver's detoxification pathway increased nearly 50%. In addition, recent research is showing that it's not only how much estrogen a woman has that puts her at risk for breast cancer, but how her estrogen is metabolized. The route of estrogen metabolism via 2OH (2-hydroxylation), 4OH or 16OH pathways determines how active and possibly mutagenic a woman's estrogen actually is. I3C has been shown to promote the formation of the most benign estrogen metabolite, the 2OH form.

A case control study published in the journal Cancer Research confirmed that women who eat more Brassica family vegetables have a much lower risk of breast cancer. In this study of over 300 women in Shanghai, China (where Brassica vegetables such as Chinese cabbage are frequently consumed), the women's urinary levels of isothiocyanates (a type of beneficial compound found in Brassica vegetables) directly correlated with their breast cancer risk. Those women with the highest isothicyanate levels (i.e., those women consuming the most Brassica vegetables) had a 45% lower risk for breast cancer compared to those with the lowest levels of isothiocyanates.

This significant protective effect is not all that surprising considering that the isothiocyanates provided by Brassica vegetables, such as cabbage, are capable of numerous breast cancer-inhibiting actions including:

-inducing the production of Phase II enzymes in the liver, which bind to potential carcinogens and remove them from the body
inducing apoptosis, the self-destruct sequence the body uses to eliminate old or cancerous cells
-beneficially affecting the way in which steroid hormones, including estrogen, are metabolized and the way in which the estrogen receptors on cells respond to the hormone
-and preventing excessive cellular proliferation

Sulforaphane, potentially by altering gene expression, increases the production of antioxidants and detoxification enzymes, both of which help eliminate carcinogenic compounds, thus preventing tumors. In laboratory animals, sulforaphane has reduced breast tumor occurrence by more than 40%. One of the ways in which sulforaphane works its protective magic is by stimulating the production of glutathione, one of the body's most important internally produced antioxidants which plays a significant role in several liver detoxification pathways. An in vitro study published in the Journal of Nutrition suggests that sulforaphane can even help stop the proliferation of breast cancer cells in the later stages of their growth.

Cabbage's role as a staple vegetable in Polish cuisine may be why the breast cancer risk of Polish women triples after they immigrate to the U.S., rising to match that of U.S.-born women, suggests research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's 2005 annual cancer prevention meeting in Baltimore, MD.

The study included hundreds of Polish women and Polish-born women in the U.S. who are part of the Polish Women's Health Study, a case-control breast cancer study. Participants were given a food frequency questionnaire that assessed their cabbage consumption when they were 12 to 13 years old and as adults.

Compared with women who ate only one serving or less of cabbage per week during adolescence, those who ate four or more servings were 72% less likely to develop breast cancer as adults.

In Poland, women typically eat an average of 30 pounds of cabbage and sauerkraut per year, while American women consume just 10 pounds per year. Polish women also traditionally eat more raw cabbage and sauerkraut in salads or as a side dish.

Although the lowest rate of breast cancer was found among women who consumed high amounts of raw- or short-cooked cabbage during adolescence, high consumption during adulthood also provided significant protection even among women who had eaten little cabbage during adolescence.

[cherries]

That's fascinating about the cabbage, 30 pounds a year for the Polish women, but what was even more surprising was that American women ate 10 pounds a year. The question is in what? I live on the west coast and I rarely see cabbage in anything, maybe it is more popular on the east coast where things are more European.

If you supplement with B12 it is important to know that there are two types of B12, methylcobalamin and cyanocobalamin and you want to buy the better one, methylcobalamin.

Wikipedia says cyanocobalamin is not even found in nature (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanocobalamin) "vitamin B-12" is the name for a whole class of chemicals with B-12 activity, and "cyanocobalamin" is only one of these. Cyanocobalamin usually does not even occur in nature, and cyanocobalamin is not one of the forms of this vitamin which is used in the human body (or that of any other animal)

Methylcobalamin is so much better, it helps with mercury detox. (http://www.howweheal.com/vitaminb12.htm) 12) Inorganic mercury is known to accumulate on the BBB. It is thought that it oxidises the cobalt atom in methylcobalamin, making it far less able to cross the barrier. Inorganic mercury is thus a creator of deficiency of B12 in the nervous system and symptoms usually attributed to mercury toxicity in the brain and nerves are due to its effect on B12. Inorganic mercury exposure is most commonly from mercury amalgam dental fillings and vaccines. Psychiatrist John Dommisse in the USA claims to have reversed 100% of his pre-Alzhemiers patients with the use of methylcobalamin as well as many cases of depression. Methylcobalamin is highly recommended by the Swedish Association of Dental Mercury Patients. It has been used successfully in the treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia - more than 60% of these patients have tested for low levels in the cerebrospinal fluid. It has been used successfully as part of treatments in Autism, Schizophrenia and Multiple Sclerosis and has great potential in Parkinson's Disease and Muscular Dystrophy as well as other neurological or psychological disorders. In such cases intramuscular injections or sublingual liquids or lozenges of methylcobalamin are maximally effective in combating deficiency symptoms since they by-pass the complex absorption process in the intestines. There is no evidence for toxicity of methylcobalamin. Up to 40mg per day has been used therapeutically in some cases. Large doses have been used since it must overwhelm the effect of any mercury on the BBB.

[hibisanpo]

i always have nutritional yeast on hand, but i forget about it because i'm not quite sure what to make of it. can it be added to smoothies? what does one do with it?

[veganman]

I have recently discovered raw chestnuts to be a pretty good source of B vitamins, especially if you don't eat grains.

Regarding B12, there is a pretty good thread here:http://rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=34899

[Riiiya]

wooohooo go sauerkraut!!! :D

[rawstrength]

hibisanpo - Nutritional yeast has a cheezy flavor, so I wouldn't add it to smoothies. You can use it like parmesan and sprinkle it on top of your raw pasta or you can add it to blended nuts to make raw cheese. It's also good for coating foods like a breading and then dehydrating them to make crunchy, salty snacks.

[hibisanpo]

thanks rawstrength- i usually only use the yeast to make nut cheese, but since i don't make it every week, i need other ideas. i started sprinkling it on salads too!