Vitamins and supplements like melatonin and fish oil offer health benefits but can cause side effects if misused. Learn about the impact of saw palmetto on blood pressure and find the best multivitamins for young women and adults over 50.
Calcium is essential for maintaining strong bones as well as for muscle and nerve functioning. Calcium levels in the blood do not normally fluctuate, but remain within a narrow range. Calcium is stored in the bones and teeth; when calcium levels in the blood fall, more calcium is removed from the bones.
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Vitamin B-12 deficiency is known for affecting oral health. It can cause a swollen, beefy tongue, as well as burning sensations, discolorations and lesions throughout the mouth.
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Melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone that regulates the body’s internal clock, is also used to treat sleep disorders and a number of other health issues.
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Pregnant women need more protein than non-pregnant women. If you aren't a big meat-eater, you might turn to protein shakes as a way to get the 71 grams of protein the American College of Nurse-Midwives recommends as your daily intake.
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Plavix, generic name clopidogrel, a medication used to decrease the risk of heart attack and stroke, reduces your blood’s ability to form clots. Clot formation can decrease blood flow to the brain and heart. Plavix belongs to a class of drugs known as blood thinners.
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An ileostomy surgically attaches the small intestine to an opening, or stoma, in the abdominal wall. An ileostomy bypasses the large intestine, or colon, either because it’s been removed or is damaged.
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Between 5 to 10 percent of all women have polycystic ovary disease syndrome, or PCOS, a hormonal disorder characterized by larger than normal amounts of the male hormones called androgens. The name of the disease comes from the appearance of the ovaries, which have numerous small cysts.
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Vitamin deficiency may not be the first thing that comes to mind if you develop a skin condition, but many vitamin deficiencies cause skin problems.
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Like most other vitamins, vitamin C, a water soluble vitamin also known as ascorbic acid, is not made in the body but most be obtained from foods or supplements. Vitamin C plays a number of important roles in the body, including enhancing the absorption of iron.
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The body needs the mineral potassium to regulate muscle contraction. The heart, being a muscle, often responds to changes in potassium levels by developing irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia. Normally, potassium levels in the blood range from 3.5 to 5.0 mill-Equivalents per Liter.
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Iodine, a trace mineral, plays an essential part in the manufacture of thyroid hormones by the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland contains most of the body’s iodine stores.
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Potassium is a mineral necessary for nerve and muscle functioning, particularly the muscles of the heart. Low levels of potassium, called hypokalemia, occur for many reasons. Normal blood levels of potassium range between 3.5 and 5.0 milliequivalents per liter, or mEq/L, according to Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine .
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Most obstetricians suggest prenatal vitamins for their pregnant patients to ensure that they get the optimal amounts of vitamins and minerals necessary for fetal growth.
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Everyone needs vitamin D, but the amounts needed and the possible benefits of taking higher amounts of vitamin D are hot debate topics in medicine. Two forms of vitamin D are available as supplements, vitamin D2, also called ergocalciferol and D3, called cholecalciferol.
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Fenugreek, an herbal supplement made from the seeds of the Trigonella foenum-graecum plant, has a number of traditional uses. Breastfeeding mothers use it to increase milk supply. Fenugreek has also been used as an alternative medicine for diabetes, inflammation and to induce childbirth.
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Apple cider vinegar, made from fermented apple juice, has been a folk cure sensation since 1958, when Vermont country doctor D.C. Jarvis wrote a book extolling its virtues for treating everything from arthritis to diabetes to weight gain.
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Kidney infections, which are an upper urinary tract infection medically referred to as pyelonephritis, are a common occurrence in women, people with spinal cord injuries and older adults, and is medically treated with an antibiotic (see reference 1 under background para 1, under II.
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Diuretics wash extra fluid out of the body, but they can also wash out essential minerals. Hydrochlorothiazide is a diuretic often used to treat hypertension and also edema, or fluid retention, and congestive heart failure.
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Bay leaves, which grow on the sweet bay or laurel tree, were used in ancient Rome to make laurel wreaths. Today, the bay leaf is more often found as a seasoning agent in stews or soups than on someone’s head.
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Sodium nitrite is a food preservative that also gives cured and processed meats, such as ham and hot dogs, their characteristic pinkish color. Many vegetables, including spinach, celery, beets and cabbage, naturally contain large amounts of nitrite.
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