Vitamin B

Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)

Water soluble, no known toxic level.

Vitamin B3 (Niacin)

Water soluble. Acute toxicity may cause flushing after sun exposure or eating spicy foods. Sustained high levels may cause liver toxicity.

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)

Wtaer soluble. Megadoses (>500mg/day) may induce peripheral neuropathy. Note that only pyridoxine alone can cause this, pyridoxal 5’-phosphate does not seem to induce this side effect.

Vitamin B12 (Cobalamine)

Water soluble. No known toxic levels. Methylcobalamin may induce side effects if you are an overmethylator. If you don’t see any side effects, take this instead of cyanocobalamin (as it needs to be converted inside the body)

Vitamin C

Water soluble. High levels may cause nausea and diarrhea.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D3 Guide

• Best taken in the morning
• Fat-soluble EAT WITH MEAL
• 25mcg = 1000IU. 5000 IU recommended per day, too much isn’t an issue
• Releases Vitamin K, best taken with it

Pharmacology

• Lowers parathyroid hormone levels, decreases calcium accumulation in arteries & increases accumulation in teeth & bones

Dosage

Some controversy exists over dosage. EFSA = 2000 IU, AAD = 4000 IU (no observable adverse effects at 10,000 IU/day), Vitamin D council = 5000 IU (upper limit 10,000 IU)
Vitamin D3 > D2 in terms of bioavailability

Combine with VitK MK-7 60mcg and MK-4 15mg (3x a day

The guide recommends to combine with calcium, but this may lead to heart problems

Sun exposure also provides D2 (UV-B)

Side Effects

10,000+ IU in one dose or >4000 IU/day long term can cause increased calcium in blood, which causes nausea, diarrhea, and constipation followed by muscle weakness and bone pain.

Vitamin K

Released by Vitamin D. Helps shuttle calcium.

Zinc

Essential trace mineral

• Supports testosterone
• May help with sleep (ZMA)
• markers of glycemic control & blood lipids

Pharmacology

Essential trace mineral catalyzes >300 enzyme reactions
Uses same transporter as magnesium, calcium, and iron. Transporter upper uptake limit is 800mg — taking less than this of all four minerals is OK.

Dosage

• Meat, shellfish, seeds, nuts, chocolate
• 40mg/day is upper limit
• Fat-soluble, eat with food

Side Effects

Cons: In excess of 40mg/day, gastrointestinal symptoms and copper deficiency + anemia, immune suppresssion

Fish Oil

DHA & EPA (and some ω-3 PUFAs)

• Supports metabolism, cog. function, cardiovascular health, memory/learning, inflammation

Pharmacology

• DHA & EPA are present in triacylglycerides in nature, while in capsules usually ethyl esters or re-esterified TAG (rTAG), the latter being more bioavailable. Phospholipid binding is more bioavailable (krill oil)
• DHA in particular inhibits nuclear factor kappa B (NF-$\kappa$B)
  • Mediator of cytokines & sensitive to oxidative stress
  • Binds to I$\kappa$B, degraded by oxidative stress
• DHA increases glutathione, regulating NF-$\kappa$B, activates peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR-$\gamma$), which decreases induction of cytokines and interrupts NF-$\kappa$B activation

• During oxidative stress, DHA is released from phospholipids and degraded into resolvins and protectins, the former downregulating NF-$\kappa$B and the latter regulating IL-1$\beta$ mediated stimulation of enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX)
• DHA concentrations highest in grey matter
• Higher DHA correlated with higher BDNF
  
• EPA inhibits enzyme delta-5-desaturase (D5D) which synthesizes $\omega$ -6 PUFA arachidonic acid (AA), which is pro-inflammatory
• EPA produces resolvins when it comes into contact with COX and lipoxygenase (LOX)

Dosage

Up to 1g/day

DHA v. EPA

EPA → anti-inflammation
DHA → cognition

The jury is out on whether they compete for receptors or not. It seems that omega-3 fatty acids do displace PUFAs, which is good.

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Related

References