Vitamin A and B and MEAT

Vitamin B6 For Brain Health

What is vitamin B6?Vitamin B6, also called pyridoxine, is a water-soluble nutrient that is part of the B vitamin family. B vitamins help support adrenal function, help calm and maintain a healthy nervous system, and are necessary for key metabolic processes. Vitamin B6 acts as a coenzyme in the breakdown and utilization of carbohydrates, fats and proteins.Why is vitamin B6 necessary?Vitamin B6 helps in the production of neurotransmitters, the chemicals that allow brain and nerve cells to communicate with one another, ensuring that metabolic processes such as fat and protein metabolism run smoothly, and is important for immune system function in older individuals. It can also help address a number of conditions, including nerve compression injuries (like carpal tunnel syndrome), premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and some cases of depression and arthritis. It is often used to treat high homocysteine levels along with folic acid and vitamin B12. Memory loss, diabetes, asthma attacks, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), kidney stones, lung cancer, acne and atherosclerosis may also be treated and improved via vitamin B6 supplementation.What are the signs of a deficiency?Vitamin B6 deficiency can lead to nerve damage in the hands and feet. Cervical dysplasia has been linked to a low intake of several B vitamins including pyridoxine, and people with alcoholism, cirrhosis, hyperthyroidism and congestive heart failure may experience deficiencies more often. Some symptoms of a vitamin B6 deficiency include dermatitis, cracked and sore lips, inflamed tongue and mouth, confusion,depression and insomnia.How much, and what kind, does an adult need?According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for adult males between 19 and 50 years of age is 1.3 mg, and those over the age of 50 need 1.7 mg. Women between 19 and 50 years of age should take 1.3 mg, and those over 50 should take 1.5 mg. Pregnant women should take 1.9 mg and lactating women, 2 mg. Dr. Weil recommends 50 mg as part of a daily B-complex supplement that contains a full spectrum of B vitamins, including thiamin, B12, riboflavin and niacin.How much does a child need?The NIH suggests infants get 0.1 mg per day, children from 7 to 12 months get 0.3 mg; children between 1 and 3 years of age get 0.5 mg. Children from 4 to 8 years old should get 0.6 mg; from 9-13 years, 1 mg; teenage males 14-18 years old 1.0 mg per day, teenage females 4-18 years old 1.2 mg per day. Dr. Weil recommends 1 mg as part of a children's multivitamin, but you should always consult with your pediatrician.How do you get enough vitamin B6 from foods?Good food sources of vitamin B6 include brewer's yeast, bananas, cereal grains,legumes, vegetables (especially carrots, spinach and peas), potatoes, milk, cheese, eggs, fish and sunflower seeds.

What's New and Beneficial About Grass-Fed Beef

• Recent studies have underscored the large difference in carotenoid content between grass-fed and conventionally fed beef. Grass-fed beef may contain more than twice the amount of beta-carotene and lutein that is present in conventionally fed beef. This relationship appears to hold true even if the cows have been fed silage during the winter months and pasture-feed only during the summer. In addition, some researchers have suggested that the yellowish color of fat in grass-fed beef is a good way to determine the extent to which the animals have been pasture-fed.
• The cholesterol content of grass-fed beef has repeated been shown to be lower than the cholesterol content in beef from conventionally fed animals. The decrease in cholesterol that you are most likely to obtain when switching from conventionally fed to grass-fed beef is approximately 22–39%. Since a single 4-ounce serving of conventionally fed beef will typically provide you with 90 milligrams of cholesterol or more, and since the recommended limit from the American Heart Association is 300 milligrams per day (and only 200 milligrams if you are a person who has experienced heart disease or has an LDL cholesterol of 100 mg/dL or more), this 22-39% decrease in cholesterol from grass-fed beef could be very helpful to you in helping you keep your total cholesterol intake under the recommended limit.
• You'll find yourself getting 500-800 milligrams of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) from a 4-ounce serving of grass-fed beef. This amount is approximately two to three times greater than the amount found in non grass-fed beef. CLA is a fatty acid made from linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid commonly found in food. However, CLA is unique in its chemical structure, and this uniqueness is associated with an increasing list of health benefits, including immune and inflammatory system support, improved bone mass, improved blood sugar regulation, reduced body fat, reduced risk of heart attack, and maintenance of lean body mass. Grass-fed beef also contains greater amounts of vaccenic acid than conventionally fed beef. Various bacteria in our digestive tract are able to convert vaccenic acid into CLA once we've consumed grass-fed beef, and this process can further increase the practical amount of CLA that we receive from grass-fed animals.
• The omega-3 fat content of grass-fed beef varies widely, due to the wide variety of forage crops that can be planted in pastures (or that grow on pastureland in the wild); the age, breed, and health of cows; and seasonal plant cycles in pastureland. Some recent studies show up to 3.5 grams of total omega-3 fats in 4 ounces of grass-fed beef. That level would provide you with 100% of the daily requirement. In other recent studies, total omega-3s in grass-fed beef only reached 1 gram. Still, a single gram of omega-3s could make an important contribution to a person's health. Most of the omega-3 content of grass-fed beef comes in the form of alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA. However, grass-fed beef also typically contains small-to-moderate amounts of other omega-3s, including EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). The range we've seen in recent studies is 20-720 milligrams for EPA, and 10-120 milligrams for DHA. In all cases described above, grass-fed beef contained greater amounts of omega-3s (for ALA, EPA, and DHA) than conventionally fed beef.