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Fri, 02 May 2008

For Vegetarians and Vegans: Dr. Mirkin on Vitamins and Exercise

Dr. Gabe Mirkin always has interesting alternative, holistic health and nutrition info in his weekly ezine, especially about exercise, fitness, nutrition and weight loss. His comments and advice are often relevant and valuable to vegetarians.

In the May 4th 2008 issue of Dr. Mirkin's Health and Fitness Ezine, he has good advice for people who just realized how out of shape they are (seems to be a spring thing), and want to get fit immediately, if not sooner. The good news is, anybody can get fit. The bad news is, for the average unfit person, it takes WEEKS, even MONTHS, not days, to get fit.

"Start your new exercise program at very low intensity and low volume. Gradually increase your workload for several months before you try to run fast, lift heavy or exercise intensely. If you are just beginning to exercise, go at a relaxed pace until your muscles feel heavy and then stop. For the first several days or weeks you may be able to exercise only for a few minutes at a time. If your muscles feel sore the next day, take the day off. Increase the amount of time gradually until you can exercise 30 minutes a day at a relaxed pace and not feel sore. You may progress rapidly to the 30-minute goal, or it may take you two, four, six weeks or more. No matter how long it takes, don't get discouraged. Exercising too much or too hard, too soon will set you up for injuries."

In case you were thinking to skip the 'no-pain-no-gain' route to health, and just take a few vitamin supplements, Dr. Mirkin shoots that one down too. It isn't that he thinks vitamins aren't important - but that we're better off getting them holistically and synergistically - from food. I'm including his vitamin comments from the May 4, 2008 issue, because we all need to know this stuff:

"Most vitamins are parts of enzymes that start chemical reactions in your body. Each chemical reaction produces end products that are changed by further chemical reactions from other vitamins to other products that benefit your body. When you take a vitamin that has been isolated from the hundreds of other substances found in foods, that enzyme causes a chemical reaction that accumulates a disproportionate amount of its end products. If the substance that acts as an enzyme for the next chain of chemical reactions is not available, you can accumulate end products that may be harmful.

"For example, people who take niacin to lower cholesterol show a marked elevation of homocysteine, a major risk factor for heart attacks. Homocysteine levels are raised by a deficiency of B12, folic acid and pyridoxine. When you eat your niacin in whole grains, all of those components are present, along with many others whose functions we may not yet understand. Several of you asked for a link to the study I mentioned last week; it has been added to this issue."

My question is, "What about Vitamin B12? Vegans have a hard time getting this vital nutrient from food, and as people age, they tend to lose their ability to absorb it. So, if we take a B12 supplement, are we risking a heart attack? Or are the risks of B12 deficiency greater than the risk of taking an artifical and isolated vitamin?" Apparently.

I read several of Dr. Mirkin's posts about Vitamin B12 - One,   Two,   Three. I was reminded about the dire effects of Vitamin B12 deficiency. Dr. Mirkin recommends B12 supplements, especially for people over 60 and vegetarians - it's a cheap and easy way to prevent pernicious anemia, brain and nerve damage, and heart attacks.

Taking Vitamin B12:

• Supposedly, methylcobalamin B12 is absorbed more readily by the body, especially if you take it sublingually.
• BUT - the doses (1000 mcg is typical) are much higher than what our bodies need, which is a few micrograms a day, so you won't lose much by taking cobalamin and making your body convert it.
• You sure don't need 5000 mcg - go for 500 mcg if you can find that size. Most of it will still end up in the toilet.
• In my experience, once you're up to speed, you can usually take half a tablet every few days with no harm done.
• Plus, any B12 tablet can be taken sublingually - just let it dissolve under your tongue.
• Another point is that all B12 is made in labs, and is vegetarian by definition. Just watch out for non-veg gelatin capsules.