What are anti-vitamins and why you don't need Vitamin complexes
Everyone knows what vitamins are and why they are needed. But few people know about the existence of anti-vitamins. Even fewer people know about their nature and properties. Let's try to tell as popularly as possible about these substances and their significance in our daily life.
Antivitamins are substances very similar to ordinary vitamins, which at the same time can be called their antipodes. Their formulas are easily confused, and the anti-vitamins themselves often appear in the structure of vitamin coenzymes. But for all their similarity, there is one big difference — these compounds are not interchangeable and are not identical in terms of benefits brought to the body. Antivitamins are not able to perform the functions of vitamins, so they can disrupt our biochemical processes.
Anti-vitamins were discovered in the 1930s, one might say by accident. A group of scientists worked to enhance the action of folic acid and artificially synthesized it for this purpose. They came out with a very similar compound to the original with almost opposite properties.
It must be said right away that despite almost a century that has passed since the discovery of anti-vitamins, their effect has not been fully studied. It is known for sure that they can block vitamins in the process of metabolism, prevent their absorption and catalyze the process of their withdrawal from the body.
Absolutely every vitamin known to science has an "antipode". Vitamin A, which is part of the fat-soluble group, almost ceases to be absorbed by us with a significant amount of butter and margarine in the diet. Niacin Anti-vitamin (vitamin PP) — this is the amino acid leucine, which is rich in beans, nuts, brown rice and dairy products. If there is a lot of corn in the diet, then niacin will also stop being absorbed.
Ascorbic acid and B vitamins have anti-vitamin - caffeine. This is one of the main disadvantages of coffee, because of which doctors in some cases advise to limit its use. But the main anti—vitamin that interferes with the absorption of all vitamins is alcohol. When alcohol is abused, the absorption of micro- and macroelements is disrupted catastrophically!
Anti-vitamins are produced by us together with vitamins and this is a completely natural process of a healthy body. But why do we need compounds that interfere with the assimilation of useful substances? Nature has thought through everything to the smallest detail — the balance between stimulating and suppressing factors is vital for us. In many cases, anti-vitamins act as medications, although this mechanism has yet to be fully studied.
All anti-vitamins known to science are divided into two large groups. One of them includes substances that destroy vitamins, and the second one displaces them from biologically active compounds. It is the second group, which makes vitamins inactive, that is most interesting to biochemists.
The University of Göttingen in Germany recently found out that the anti-vitamins of the second group can work as antibiotics. This property is especially valuable in cases when microorganisms have already managed to develop resistance to conventional antibiotics. Antivitamins interfere with the work of bacterial enzymes, preventing them from developing, but at the same time they are safe for the cells of the human body.
In medicine, this feature of antivitamins has already been successfully used — they are used to inhibit the synthesis of proteins and nucleic acids in parasitic cells. This is part of a comprehensive antitumor therapy that has shown good results and has no side effects.
Antivitamin K - dicumarin, is used in modern medicine to combat increased blood clotting. Antivitamin B3 - pantogam, has an anticonvulsant effect and has the property of calming the nervous system. Every year, scientists from around the world discover new compounds and find their useful features.
There are always more vitamins in our food than anti-vitamins. This is as it should be — this ratio helps to maintain an optimal balance that prevents hypervitaminosis from developing. But it also happens that substances that resist vitamins accumulate too much and they begin to work against us, excluding some compounds necessary for the body from the metabolism.
If you decide to start taking a vitamin complex yourself, then there is a high probability that it will be ineffective and you will simply waste money. Therefore, it is customary all over the world to take such vitamin complexes only as prescribed by a doctor, after passing tests. This also applies to dietary supplements, the spontaneous intake of which can also be dangerous for health.
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