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In this post the macro element sodium will be our topic and we will find out what sodium does for our body and we will get an answer to the question “Is Salt Really Bad For You? – Sodium – The Electrolyte”. Is Sodium really…
In this post, we are going to have a closer look at the macro element potassium and we are going to find out what the benefits of potassium for your body are and why your heart loves potassium, the bioelectrician. Why does your heart love Potassium,…
The third vitamin in our row is the second vitamin in the vitamin B complex. It is The Best Vitamin for Energy and Growth – Vitamin B2, The Bundle of Energy. In this blog post, you will learn what makes vitamin B2 so important for us, what it is, what the demand is, where you can get it from, what deficiency and overdose symptoms exist and what else might be interesting for you.
Vitamin B2, also called riboflavin, is irreplaceable in our energy, fat and protein metabolism. It is there to provide you with the energy, which is bound to carbohydrates like glucose and fat like plant oil. Fat is the most important energy storage in our body. Therefore, vitamin B2 is the best vitamin to help to break down fat to energy.
Besides, vitamin B2 is a building block for many proteins, which work as coenzymes. Therefore, it plays an important role in growth processes, for example, to form muscles. In common parlance, it is sometimes called the “growth vitamin”.
You want to make use of the energy stored in carbohydrates, fat and proteins or you want to reduce your fat reserves? Make sure to have a proper quantity of vitamin B2.
Vitamin B2 is the second vitamin of the essential vitamins in the vitamin-b-complex, which we have to get through our nutrition.
It is a water-soluble compound, which actually is not so easy been solved in water. It is also called riboflavin, which originated from “ribo”, which stands for the sugar alcohol ribit(ol) (the reduced form of ribose) and the latin word “flavus”, which means yellow (riboflavin is yellow in it´s oxidated state).
Vitamin B2 is light-sensitive but heat and oxidation-stable.
Depending on the age, health and lifestyle the daily demand for an average and healthy adult for the essential vitamin B2 is
1000 – 1200 micrograms (μg) per day.
Whole grain is an ideal source of vitamin B2, just as it is for vitamin B1. As it is light-sensitive, it is recommended to place vitamin B2 rich foods at a dark place.
Here are the Top 5 foods, which are rich in vitamin B2:
1. Yeast flakes (up to 2.600 μg/100g)
2. Almonds and other nuts (up to 700 μg/100g)
3. Soft cheese like camembert and hard cheese (up to 600 μg/100g)
4. Mushrooms (up to 400 μg/100g)
5. Eggs (up to 300 μg/100g)
Tip: Brewers yeast is an overall good source of the vitamins in vitamin B complex, which includes vitamin B2. Other good plant sources of vitamin B2 are spirulina (up to 300 μg/4g), spinach (up to 200 μg/100g) oat flakes and peas (up to 150 μg/100g).
Vitamin B2 has several functions in addition to support the energy metabolism, to give us all the energy we need and growth processes like the formation of muscles. It helps the immune system and the nerve system, as it participates in building immune and nerve cells. Furthermore, it makes proteins available for the eye lens. Vitamin B2 assists vitamin B3 and B6 to work properly.
A hypovitaminosis of vitamin B2 is normally seldom. Some risk groups are women, who are taking the pill, aged people and humans with diseases like an inflammatory intestinal disease, diabetes and chronic heart diseases. The symptoms can be as followed:
A hypervitaminosis of vitamin B2 is not known, as a surplus can be easily excreted, mostly through our urine.
Vitamin B2 or riboflavin was first isolated and discovered in 1920.
Vitamin B2 can be stored for 2 – 6 weeks in our body, mainly in the liver.
Fun Fact: You want to pee yellower than ever before? Just take the right amount of riboflavin. Even until 100 mg, which equals 100.000 μg (about a 100 times more than needed), it seems to be save for oral use.
Vitamin B2, also called riboflavin, is an important essential vitamin for a proper function in providing us with high amounts of energy and for growth processes like building muscles. Yeast, whole grains, nuts and cheese are good sources for your daily amount of vitamin B2.
Now it is your turn? What was interesting here for you? Let us know in the comments.
In the last post in this category of minerals, we had a look at calcium. Read it here to be updated for this blog post. In this post, we are going to have a closer look at the athlete macro element magnesium and we are…
Now we are switching over to the next essential letter in the alphabet with a rhyme Vitamin B1 in Food – The Mood. In this blog post, you will learn why vitamin B1 is special, what it is, what the demand is, where you can get…
Hello and welcome to the start of the, in depth, series about all 7 essential macro elements as minerals.
In this series I´m going to explain:
So today, in part 1, we are going to start with the predominating macro element by weight, the Benefits of Calcium.
Calcium is the most important macro element in our body by weight. It makes up to 1 – 2 % of our bodyweight. 99 % of the calcium is stored in our bones and teeth. They work as a calcium storage for us. If we don´t get enough calcium through our diet, the body will take it out of our bones. So a chronic deficiency of calcium in our diet can lead to bone loss.
So let´s make sure to have enough calcium in our nutrition so that we can benefit from strong bones to hold our body.
Calcium is an alkaline earth metal. It is the fifth most frequent element on our planet. As it is quite reactive, it mostly is found in compounds. Typical compounds are chalk, which is calcium carbonate, gypsum, which is calcium sulfate and calcium phosphate, which is a main component in our bones and teeth.
Calcium is alkaline, water-soluble and an essential macro element for us, as we have to get our amount through nutrition.
Depending on the age, health and lifestyle the daily demand for an average and healthy adult for calcium
is 800 – 1000 milligrams (mg) per day.
Here are the Top 5 foods, which are rich in calcium:
1. Sango coral (up to 20.000 mg/100g),
2. Poppy (up to 2.500 mg/100g)
3. Hard cheese like parmesan (up to 1300 mg/100g)
4. Sesame (up to 800 mg/100g)
5. Mineral rich water (up to 60 mg/100ml)
Good other plant sources for calcium are nettles (up to 350mg/100g),
parsley and cale (up to 250mg/100g) and broccoli (up to 150 mg/ 100g).
Tip: Vitamin D supports the resorption of calcium.
As mentioned above, the main function of calcium is to maintain stable bones and teeth. It builds up bone substance. Moreover, it is very important for conducting signals in nerves and muscles. Calcium has an effect on our metabolism, specifically on the energy metabolism, the hormone balance and the acid-base balance. It provides strong cell walls and is responsible for a proper blood clotting.
A short-term deficiency of calcium is very rare, as our bones work as a calcium storage. Long-term symptoms caused by a lack of calcium can be as followed:
Tip: Take calcium in several small quantities, not one big dose at once. This will help to improve the resorption.
Surplus calcium normally is excreted through sweat, urine or feces. An overdose of calcium can cause the followed symptoms:
The bigger the intake of calcium is, the smaller the resorption of it is.
There are several calcium-thieves. I´ll come up with four of them at this point.
Phosphate, which is found in many foods, can decrease the absorption of calcium in the gut and can increase the reduction of calcium in our bones. High amounts of phosphate are found in ready meals, fast food and meat.
If you lack calcium, you should take care of your consumption of spinach, swiss chard, beetroot and rhubarb, as they contain high amounts of oxalic acid, which can form unusable compounds with calcium.
The third important calcium-thief is salt. High quantities of it can increase the withdrawal of calcium from our digestive tract.
The fourth one is phytic acid. It serves plants like corn, soy and other pulses, wheat, rye and barley as a mineral storage, as it builds mineral compounds. The same can happen with minerals like calcium in our digestive tract. Phytic acid can be reduced through fermentation or for pulses through the process of soaking them before cooking them. 
There is mineral water, which contains high amounts of calcium and other minerals. Look at the declaration. It is also called medicinal water.
Elementary calcium was first discovered and isolated by the English biochemist Humphry Davy in 1808.
The word calcium is originated from the Latin word “calx” and the Greek word “kalix”, which means lime or chalk.
Calcium is a very important essential macro element for our body, as it is the predominant mineral by weight and can make up more than one kg in our body. Our bones and teeth are the main storage of calcium (99%). Furthermore, calcium is indispensable in nerve transmission.
Now you have some useful information about calcium at hand about how much you need, where you can get it and what else is important to observe your calcium level.
In the next blog posts, we will have a closer look at the other essential macro elements.
Now to you. Was something new or interesting here for you or do you want to tell us something? Let us know in the comments.
Hello and welcome to the start of the, in depth, series about all 13 essential vitamins. In this series I´m going to explain: a special characteristic of the vitamin what the specific vitamin is what the demand is where you can get it (Top 5…