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Vitamin Antagonists - I Hallo to you all, The last few letters where rather intensive, but, I believe that it has given us an insight, rarely touched, for the non-medical individual, and explained in non-medical terms. Today we will look back at the vitamins & minerals and check their antagonists. This is compiled from the life science course and this particular article is written by Marti Fry. An antivitamin is simply a substance that makes a vitamin ineffective. A vitamin antagonist is essentially the same think as an antivitamin. It is a substance that lessens or negates the chemical action of a vitamin in the body. Following are some examples of antivitamins, or vitamin antagonists VITAMIN A ANTAGONISTS: Blood thinning medications, aspirin, phenobarbitol, and arsenicals. Vitamin A is also depleted when nitrosamines are formed in the stomach from the union of nitrites with secondary amins and when the mucous membranes of our respiratory passages are exposed to air pollutants. In addition, mineral oil used as a laxative absorbs Vit A and carotene, thereby destroying it. VITAMIN K ANTAGONISTS: The amount of Vit K needed by humans is very small, and a deficiency is highly unlikely because this vitamin is in a wide variety of commonly eaten plant foods and is synthesized by bacteria in the intestinal tract. However, antibiotic therapy suppresses bacterial growth and, consequently, the synthesis of vitamin K Other Vitamin K antagonists include drugs that are used to relieve thrombosis. VITAMIN C ANTAGONISTS: It is well known that cigarette smokers have lower Vit C levels than non-smokers. A single cigarette can deplete as much as 35 mg of Vit C from the body ( Calcium & Phosphorus are also depleted in cigarette smokers ) Because Vit C reacts with any alien substance in the bloodstream, all drugs and pollutants can be considered to be Vit C antagonists. The long list of antagonists includes atropine, barbiturates and antihistamines. Alcoholic beverages as well as all stresses ( surgery, emotional outbursts, upsets, acute pressures, extremes of heat & cold and all drugs. B VITAMINS ANTAGONISTS: Cortisone is an antagonist of Vit B6. Since the body needs B vitamins to metabolise sugars, B vitamins are depleted when refined sugars or flours are consumed because refined sugars & flours are devoid of Vit Bs that existed in the beet, cane or grain before refining. Specifically the body's supply of B1, B2, Biotin, Cholin, Niacin and the mineral magnesium are depleted by when refined sugar & flour are consumed. Alcoholic beverages are antagonists of Thiamin and other B-complex. Coffee is another popular beverage that is an antagonist. Inositol deficits may occur among coffee drinkers as well as deficit in biotin & thiamine. Raw fish and raw shellfish, including oysters, are also B-complex antagonists. Birth control pills are antivitamins, especially of the B Vit Riboflavin, B6, B12 & Folic acid ( the oestrogen in oral contraceptives is also an antagonist of Vit E ) I have promised myself not to too carried away in the newsletters and so, am going to leave the rest for next week Wishing you all a peaceful week-end The Crazy Nut Team