Chapter 66: Vitamin B page 372

Wednesday, September 03, 2025 05:21PM

From page 372-375:

"Go to the mirror, stick out your tongue and take a good look at it. Is it pearly pink and velvety smooth? Or is it rough with angry purple splotches? If there is a fuchsia hue, it may tell more about your health (or lack thereof) than any words that fall trippingly off your tongue. A purplish tongue, for example, can be one of the symptoms that indicates that you may need more of the B vitamin riboflavin. And, according to recent research, if you are not getting enough of the B vitamin in your diet, you may be more susceptible to a host of problems, from fatigue to cancer."

• FOLATE: "Birth control pills are thought to be associated not only with cervical dysplasia but also with folate deficiencies."
• "Folate is very much involved in DNA synthesis"
• DNA is a "cellular molecule that carries genetic information"
• "Many researchers believe that chromosome damage is an important part of the process that causes malignancy"
• "Folate deficiencies are not unusual, particularly in people whose bodies are under stress. If you smoke, drink alcohol excessively, take oral contraceptives or certain other drugs, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, if you are an infant or an adolescent whose cells are multiplying rapidly as you grow, if you are old, lonely, poor or sick, you may be particularly susceptible to folate deficiencies."
• "Oranges and orange juice are dependable sources" of folate.
• Other sources of folate include "asparagus, broccoli, lima beans and spinach."
• Additional sources of folate are "lemons, bananas, strawberries, cantaloupes....liver, potatoes, eggs, whole wheat bread, and peanut butter"

From page 375:

Vitamin B12 "and folate work hand in hand to prevent DNA damage"

Vitamin B12 and folate "help produce red blood cells in bone marrow. Without Vitamin B12, the body's production of red cells slows down and pernicious anemia can result."

"Scientists believe that red cells are hit harder than other cells by a B12 deficiency because B12 is needed in the process that churns them out faster than other cells. Cancer cells are produced at the same quick pace, which is why doctors sometimes induce a B12 (and folate) deficiency in certain cancer patients to slow the growth of a malignancy."

"There is some evidence that B12 in conjunction with vitamin C is effective against cancer"

Vitamins "may alter the membranes of malignant cells so that the T-lymphocytes, the body's disease-fighting 'killer' cells, recognize them as foreign and attack them."

Good sources for B12 are "meat, particularly liver, oysters, tuna, milk, cheese, and eggs."

Niacin = B vitamin

Niacin = nicotinamide

Nicotinamide "can inhibit the development of pancreatic cancer."

"...you should always take vitamins under the auspices of a physician who can take into account your complete health status and your nutritional requirements."