Supplements

I has been a while since I thought about the supplements I ingest on a daily basis, usually referred to as my breakfast of champions. What are these things? What do they really do? Does the note saying that the FDA doesn't support the claims made on the bottles really mean that none of them are proven to do anything? Couldn't I get all of this by eating regular food on a regular schedule? Since the holidays are over, the answer is yes, but no. I am never eating again so the supplements will ensure that I don't cross the line between undernourished and malnourished.

The B vitamins are eight water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in cell metabolism. Historically, the B vitamins were once thought to be a single vitamin, referred to as vitamin B (much like how people refer to vitamin C or vitamin D). Later research showed that they are chemically distinct vitamins that often coexist in the same foods. Supplements containing all eight are generally referred to as a vitamin B complex. Individual B vitamin supplements are referred to by the specific name of each vitamin (e.g. B1, B2, B3 etc).

Vitamin C or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for a large number of higher primate species, a small number of other mammalian species (notably guinea pigs and bats), a few species of birds, and some fish. The presence of ascorbate is required for a range of essential metabolic reactions in all animals and plants. It is made internally by almost all organisms, humans being a notable exception. It is widely known as the vitamin whose deficiency causes scurvy in humans. The pharmacophore of vitamin C is the ascorbate ion. In living organisms, ascorbate is an anti-oxidant, since it protects the body against oxidative stress, and is a cofactor in several vital enzymatic reactions. The uses and the daily requirement amounts of vitamin C are matters of on-going debate. People consuming diets rich in ascorbate from natural foods, such as fruits and vegetables, are healthier and have lower mortality from a number of chronic illnesses. However, a recent meta-analysis of 68 reliable antioxidant supplementation experiments involving a total of 232,606 individuals concluded that consuming additional ascorbate from supplements may not be as beneficial as thought.

Vitamin E is the collective name for a set of 8 related tocopherols and tocotrienols, which are fat-soluble vitamins with antioxidant properties. Of these, α-tocopherol (also written as alpha-tocopherol) has been most studied as it has the highest bioavailability, with the body preferentially absorbing and using this form. It has been claimed that α-tocopherol is the most important lipid-soluble antioxidant, and that it protects cell membranes from oxidation by reacting with lipid radicals produced in the lipid peroxidation chain reaction. This would remove the free radical intermediates and prevent the oxidation reaction from continuing. The oxidised α-tocopheroxyl radicals produced in this process may be recycled back to the active reduced form through reduction by other antioxidants, such as ascorbate, retinol or ubiquinol.

Chromium Picolinate is the chemical compound that is sold as a nutritional supplement to prevent or treat chromium deficiency. This bright-red coordination complex is derived from chromium(III) and picolinic acid. Small quantities of chromium are needed for glucose utilization by insulin in normal health, but deficiency is extremely rare and has only been observed in hospital patients on long-term defined diets. No biochemical basis for the human body's need for chromium has been identified.

L-Carnitine is a quaternary ammonium compound biosynthesized from the amino acids lysine and methionine.[1] In living cells, it is required for the transport of fatty acids from the cytosol into the mitochondria during the breakdown of lipids (or fats) for the generation of metabolic energy. It is often sold as a nutritional supplement. Carnitine was originally found as a growth factor for mealworms and labeled vitamin Bt. Carnitine exists in two stereoisomers: its biologically active form is L-carnitine, while its enantiomer, D-carnitine, is biologically inactive.

A multivitamin is a preparation intended to supplement a human diet with vitamins, dietary minerals and other nutritional elements. Such preparations are available in the form of tablets, capsules, pastilles, powders, liquids and injectable formulations. Other than injectable formulations, which are only available and administered under medical supervision, multivitamins are recognised by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (the United Nations' highest authority on food standards) as a category of food.

Interesting to see that my multivitamin counts as a category of food, but man cannot subsist on that category alone, there is also the beef category. That one, although already represented, should be well covered in the neighborhood soon. Despite the link between Pearl Street Grill and the Cherry Cricket, the burgers at PSG are nothing to write home about. Down the street at Hanson's, the only thing they have going for them is that their burgers are cheap on Monday and Tuesday, but you get what you pay for.


The new place is supposed to be called Park Burger and has some pretty respectable Denver restaurant folk behind it. I'm hoping their liquor license hearing went through without much neighborhood static. This part of South Pearl Street is much less busy than a few blocks to the north where parking issues have created home owner complaints about violation of their imagined right to park on the street in front of their house. As Park Burger progresses, I'll provide more detail.