The inspiration for the page                                                       

I visited the health food store one day to buy vitamins. I came home empty handed but full of unanswered questions! Some of my questions included:

• What Vitamins do I need?
• In what combinations should I take the vitamins?
• Which form is best for each vitamin? For instance, should I buy the Vitamin E with mixed tocopherols or the one with added selenium?

And the list goes on!

Knowing that I needed a project for my anatomy/physiology class, I decided to create this page in answer to all my questions above and more. Of course, the grade I receive for the page is less important than the life-enriching health lesson from knowin g how to take vitamins. yada-yada-yada (Hi Dr. Pendleton!)

The Nitty Gritty

This page provides very general information about vitamins. For each vitamin, I've stated how the body uses it, the most absorbable form if applicable, the RDI*, and deficiency/overdose information. I've also provided information about medicinal uses for the vitamin and interactions with other drugs.

And the fun part! (It was for me, at least) Each vitamin article includes a section providing references to recent, interesting medline articles and studies that allude to fascinating new discoveries pertaining to vitamins. For instance, for Vitamin A, I referenced a study which showed that frequent consumption of tomato sauce and raw carrots is associated with lesser incidence of ovarian cancer. See, rabbit food is a good thing!

Don't forget to check out the topic of the month. This month's topic is: Serotonin.

Vitamins I've included

I've included all vitamins from the Centrum bottle (see navigation, left), and I'm working on the minerals even as I write. If you have questions, comments or you have a vitamin you would like added to the list, please write Teresa.

BIG FAT DISCLAIMER:

I am no doctor, never even played one on TV, and you should not consider me in any way an authority on nutrition (or anything else!). I've collected this information for myself, and if you find it helpful, I'm very happy to have shared.

Thanks for visiting! Enjoy the page

*RDI stands for Reference Nutrient Intake. The FDA changed from RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) to RDI, just to confuse us!