What they're good for: Helps wounds heal, strengthens blood vessels, builds connective tissue, healthy gums, skin and promotes strong teeth and bones. May boost immunity.
Discussion: It wrought so well that if all the physicians of Montpelier and Louaine had been there, with all the drugs of Alexandria, they would not have done as much in one yere as that tree did in sixe days." Thus spoke French explorer Jacques Cartier in 1535 on his second voyage to Newfoundland after seeing Native Americans cure his men of scurvy with a strong sassafras tea. In 1747, a British Navy surgeon experimenting with sailors' rations showed that those given oranges and lemons each day were cured of scurvy. Throughout the following years, British naval surgeons' medicine chests included concentrated syrup of lemon juice (or lime, as the Brits called it, which is why British sailors are known as limeys). Another 173 years would pass before researchers extracted this antiscorbutic substance from orange juice and named it vitamin C. We now know that ascorbic acid is a particularly versatile VITAMIN. It's integral to the building and maintenance of collagen, a PROTEIN or "glue" that holds the body's cells in place. It's indispensable to bones and teeth (for much the same reason), to blood vessels, to the healing of wounds. Further, vitamin C helps metabolize several AMINO ACIDS and hormones. It's a powerful ANTIOXIDANT, too, helping the body rid itself of carcinogenic by-products of metabolism called free radicals. There's even strong evidence that vitamin C may raise blood levels of HDL, or "good"cholesterol, which helps flush fatty deposits from the arteries, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Or so studies at the National Institute on Aging and the USDA indicate. But researchers are quick to point out that beyond 345 milligrams of vitamin C per day for men and 215 milligrams for women, the HDL boosting stops.
Where you get it: Citrus fruits, strawberries, green and red peppers, collard and mustard greens, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, potatoes, kiwi, guava and parsley.
Standard Process™ Supplements: Cataplex® AC, Cataplex® ACP, Cataplex® C, Congaplex®, Cyruta®, Cyruta® Plus, Immuplex®, Collagen C.
RDA: 60 mg for adults.

What they're good for: Supports bones, teeth, muscle tissue, regulates the heartbeat, muscle action, nerve function, blood clotting.
Where you get it: Dairy products, calcium-fortified orange juice or soy milk, salmon with bones, and green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, kale, and collards.
Standard Process™ Supplements: Bio Dent®, Calcifood® Wafers, Calcium Lactate, Cal Ma Plus®, Calsol®, Min Chex®, Min Tran®.
DRI: 1,000 mg for adults.

What it is:  A unit of measure, like an inch or a pound. Calories measure the amount of energy your body gets from food. You need energy to be physically active and for your body to grow and function. Carbohydrates, fat and protein provide the energy from food.

What it is:  The body's most readily available source of energy. Each gram of carbohydrate provides 4 calories of energy. The main forms of carbohydrate are sugars and starches. Sugars are simple carbohydrates. Starches, such as breads, cereals and pasta, are complex carbohydrates. Detailed information can be found here.

What they're good for: Makes cell membranes, hormones. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is often called "bad" cholesterol because too much in your blood can cause heart disease. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is often called "good" cholesterol because it helps remove LDL .
Where you get it: Meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, and eggs.
DRI or RDA: None.
More Information: All about fats, The Cholesterol Myths, Glossary - Cholesterol.

What they're good for: Acts cooperatively with other substances to control insulin and certain enzymes.
Where you get it: Cheese, whole grains, meat, peas, beans and blackstrap molasses.
Standard Process™ Supplements: Cyruta®, Cyruta® Plus, Diaplex®, Cataplex® GTF.

Tidbit:An organic non-protein molecule that binds with the protein molecule to form the active enzyme. Several vitamins are components of coenzymes.

Tidbit: Coenzyme R denotes biotin.
RDA: see above.

What they're good for: Co-enzyme Q10, also known as ubiquinone, improves energy production within the heart and acts as an antioxidant. Patients with congestive heart failure, hypertension and angina show lower levels of CoQ-10 than those with no cardiovascular disease. It prevents lipid oxidation occurring in fat-soluble media such as cell membranes and is useful in the treatment of high cholesterol, high blood pressure and congestive heart failure. It is sometimes proposed as a complementary therapy to combat AIDS-related conditions.

Where you get it: The body makes CoQ10 from the amino acids tyrosine and methionine, and it is found in foods such as fish, wheat germ and vegetable oils. The therapeutic doses of the supplement range from 30 to 100 mg per day, levels 10-40 times that found in organ meat, the most concentrated dietary source of CoQ10. It has no serious adverse effects, but its safety in pregnancy has not been established.
Standard Process™ Supplements: Cataplex® E

Tidbit: Inorganic complement of an enzyme reaction, usually a metal ion.

What they're good for: Formation of red blood cells, pigment, bone health.
Where you get it: Nuts, black pepper, blackstrap molasses and cocoa.
Standard Process™ Supplements: Allorganic Trace Minerals B12®, Cataplex® C, Chezyn®, Copper Liver Chelate, Immuplex®.
DRI or RDA: None.

What they're good for: Calcium and phosphorus metabolism, aids bone growth and integrity, promotes strong teeth.
Where you get it: Fortified milk, egg yolks and fatty fish, like herring, kipper and mackerel.
Standard Process™ Supplements: Calcifood® Wafers, Cataplex® D.
DRI: 5-10 mcg for adults.

Dietary Reference Intakes: A joint collaboration with Canada and the US, DRIs are revised recommendations for vitamins and minerals from the Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, which will gradually replace the Recommended Dietary Allowances or RDA guidelines. DRIs are being developed for vitamins and minerals that currently have no RDAs.

What they're good for: Antioxidant powers protect cell membranes, essential for red blood cells, aids cellular respiration and protects lung tissue from pollution.
Where you get it: Vegetable oils, wheat germ, green leafy vegetables, seeds, nuts, seafood, apples, carrots and celery.
Standard Process™ Supplements: Cataplex® E, Cataplex® E2, For-Til B12®, Wheat Germ Oil, Wheat Germ Oil Perles Fortified.
RDA: Between 8 to 10 mg for adults

What they're good for: Make cell membranes, hormones, and prostaglandins.
Where you get them: Vegetable oils such as canola, flaxseed, walnut, corn, soybean, and safflower oils, fish, and fish oil supplements.
Standard Process™ Supplements: Black Currant Seed Oil, Chlorophyll Complex Perles Fat Soluble, Cataplex® F Perles, Cataplex F® Tablets, Linum B6, Wheat Germ Oil, Wheat Germ Oil Perles Fortified.
Tidbit Flaxseed oil is a great source of omega-3s, but not for cooking because heat destroys them.
DRI or RDA: None.

What it is:  A concentrated energy source. Fat provides 9 calories per gram, more than twice as much energy as protein and carbohydrate. Fat also provides essential fatty acids, is an important component of cell structure, and transports vitamins A, D, E and K.
More Information: Go here for detailed information about fats.

What they're good for: Lowers cholesterol and blood sugar levels, helps move waste through the intestines. Diets rich in plant fiber are related to a reduction of heart disease, colon cancer and diabetes.
Where you get it: Fruits, vegetables and whole-grains.
Standard Process™ Supplements:
Tidbit If you're upping your fiber intake, do it slowly to avoid stomach upset. Also, drink lots of water.
DRI or RDA: None.
More Information: Go here for detailed information about fiber.

What they're good for: Discovered only in 1945, this B VITAMIN is used by the body both to synthesize and break down AMINO ACIDS and to synthesize DNA/RNA-like nucleic acids, which in turn are needed to build new cells, especially new red blood cells. Its role in preventing two devastating birth defects — spina bifida (a condition in which the backbone doesn't envelop and protect the spinal cord) and anencephaly (a fatal malformation of the brain) — is so significant the FDA, to ensure that pregnant women receive sufficient folacin, aims to add it to the list of nutrients now being used to enrich flours, cereals, breads and pastas (140 micrograms folacin per 100 grams [3 1/2 ounces] food is the proposed amount). In addition to preventing these birth defects, folic acid may also protect against certain types of cancer (lung, cervical, colorectal) and coronary heart disease. Even so, nutritionists recommend getting folic acid from food, not vitamin pills. There is some concern, however, that too much folacin masks pernicious anemia and makes it difficult to diagnose.
Where you get it: Green leafy vegetables, dried beans, liver, poultry, fortified cereals, oranges and nuts.
Standard Process™ Supplements: Folic Acid B12.
DRI or RDA: 180 for women and 200 mcg for men.

What they're good for: Helps cells grow and divide, reduces risk of certain birth defects, important for red blood cells and crucial in creating amino acids.
Where you get it: Green leafy vegetables, dried beans, liver, poultry, fortified cereals, oranges and nuts.
Standard Process™ Supplements: Folic Acid B12.
Tidbit Pregnant women or women trying to conceive are often told to take folate.
RDA: 180 for women and 200 mcg for men.

What they're good for: Dental health.
Where you get it: Tea, fish eaten with their bones, processed foods, and treated drinking water.
DRI: Between 3.1 to 3.8 mg for adults.

Tidbit:Vitamin F refers to the Essential Fatty Acids, or EFAs. These are still accepted as being required by the human body, but are no longer denoted as a vitamin. The FDA outlawed this terminology when fast-food chains started claiming "vitamin enriched foods" based on the fact that frying food in oil adds EFAs.
RDA: Not established

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