Harold M. Silverman - The Vitamin Book

FACT : Many medications can cause vitamin deficiencies.
Find out how vitamin absorption can be jeopardized by laxatives, painkillers, contraceptives, and common prescription drugs.

FACT : Most herbal drug products lack quality control.
Learn how to tell if you are getting the dosages you need.

FACT : It is crucial that minerals are kept in careful balance.
Discover how taking one mineral supplement can cause a serious deficiency of anotherand how to avoid the health risks that accompany this common pitfall.

FACT : RDAs or DRIs may be too low to ensure optimal health.
Discover what recommended doses will offer
maximum benefits.

FACT : Even those on healthy diets often lack many essential vitamins and minerals.
Find out whyand what you can do about it.

FACT : A particular foods nutritional content can vary drastically depending on where it is grown and how it is cooked.
Discover how to buy and cook food to get optimal
nutritional value.

FACT : Alcohol, cigarettes, surgery, aging, and depression can change your nutritional needs.
Learn how to supplement wisely according to your individual conditions.

This book is intended as a reference volume only, not as a medical manual or guide to self-treatment. If you suspect you have a medical problem, we urge you to seek competent medical help. Keep in mind that nutritional needs vary from person to person, depending on age, sex, health status, and total diet. Information here is intended to help you make informed decisions about your diet and the nutritional and herbal supplements you choose, not to substitute for any treatment that may have been prescribed by your physician.

THE VITAMIN BOOK

A Bantam Book

PUBLISHING HISTORY
Bantam paperback edition / August 1985
Revised paperback edition / July 1999

All rights reserved.
Copyright 1985, 1999 by Harold Silverman,
Joseph Romano, and Gary Elmer.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information address: Bantam Books.

eISBN: 978-0-307-43128-8

Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words Bantam Books and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036.

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Vitamins, minerals, and herbals are a big part of nearly everyones life, as Americans spend billions of dollars on these products every year. Supplements continue to be a hot news topic; practically every day we read or hear about a new cancer cure, a miracle diet, a new approach to maintaining or improving health, or an amazing new vitamin, mineral, or herbal combination that will provide special benefits. What are these miracle remedies that are the source of eternal youth, beauty, and sexual prowess, these cures for the diseases that plague and endanger our lives? Do they really help?

Experts agree that vitamins and minerals are needed for everyday functions of the human body as well as to prevent deficiency conditions that occur when they are not present in the diet. But when you venture beyond the scientifically proven uses for vitamins and minerals, you enter a world of controversy and disagreement about how much of each vitamin and mineral you should take every day, what benefits these supplements can be expected to provide, and how to get these nutrients into your body. Some experts believe that you can, and should, get all the nutrition you need by eating a sensible balanced diet. Others feel that our calorie-counting, fast-paced lifestyles make it virtually impossible to eat enough of the right foods. Still others believe that doses of vitamins and minerals higher than the daily recommended amount can provide specific medical benefits, while others counter that there is no merit to the notion of treating disease with mega-doses of nutrients. Yet others see the mounting evidence for vitamin C, vitamin E, calcium, zinc, and other nutrients as the tip of a nutriceutical iceberg. The problem is, they say, we dont know enough about the important role played by these nutrients and how they can help us.

And the controversy continues to mount if you consider herbals, which, unlike vitamins, are not necessary for basic body function. Herbs have long been used as the sole source of medicine in many cultures, uses that pre-date the development of modern medicine. Millions of people around the world use herbs to supplement or replace modern medicines. How do they work? How do we know they work? How have the most popular herbals earned their reputations? Have modern herbal products been subjected to the same level of scrutiny and research as modern medicines? Are all herbal products the same? How can you know which herbal product to buy? Even though we now know more about herbal supplements than ever before, few of the products you can buy today could meet stringent federal criteria for approval as a drug product.

So how can you decide which vitamins, minerals, and herbals are right for you? Unfortunately, there are still few places for you to go for straightforward and scientifically based answers to the questions we most want answered about vitamins, minerals, and herbals. Most consumer-oriented books on the subject are written by vitamin or herbal advocates who hard-sell their product or program. These works are often based on scanty data and anecdotal evidence and may offer nonscientific advice on how to select the vitamins, minerals, and herbals you need to maintain your health.

Information in The Vitamin Book, however, comes from hundreds of scientific publications, and this revised and completely updated edition incorporates the most up-to-date research and information available. We have tried to dispel the myths, mysteries, and untruths commonly associated with these products. Here you will learn what vitamins, minerals, and herbals are, where and how they work in your body, when you need them, what they can do for you, how much to take, and how to select a vitamin, mineral, herbal, or combination preparation from the dizzying variety that are available in health food stores, pharmacies, and vitamin shops, as well as on the internet.

We believe that mostbut not allpeople can benefit by taking vitamins and minerals. In general, these supplements are not harmful, except perhaps when large doses are taken to modify the course of a disease. At these doses, vitamins and minerals are not being used as nutrients. They are being used as