Synthetic vs. Natural Vitamins

Most vitamins on the market are synthetic. That is, they are made by a chemical laboratory from coal tar and other chemical sources, instead of from foods. They are imitations, man-made instead of being the product of plant or animal cells. The question arises: Are synthetic imitations equal to
the genuine that costs far more?


Many so-called ”experts” say that there is no difference. Notoriously, experts can usually be found to express any opinion commercial interests need to promote their wares, or keep people out of jail. Here is a case for everyone to carefully examine the facts for themselves.

The vitamins are all complexes. How can a single factor be isolated from a complex (such as starch from whole wheat) and be justifiably sold with the claim that it is equal? Purified thiamin from natural sources cannot be separated from the anti-paralysis factor, B4 (1). The synthetic thiamin, of course, will not have this extra, most important component (which corrects the fibrillations and arrhythmias that accompany the beriberi heart) any more than a synthetic carbohydrate would have the B-complex of white flour. To say that the synthetic thiamin is identical to the natural is to compare an imitation with a hypothetical, non-existent “natural” thiamin. Can you see the chicanery in the statement that the two are identical?

Again, vitamins in the living cell, in the main, are parts of enzyme systems. Natural complexes are, if properly prepared, still enzymes, and linked with their trace mineral enzyme activators. The trace minerals are in organic form (Vitamin B12, as an example, with organic cobalt). The elimination of these mineral activators from the food or vitamin concentrate is as unjustifiable as the removal of the jewels of a watch by a dealer who passes it on to an ignorant client. They, of course, are never present in the synthetic imitation, any more than there are jewels in a dime store toy watch, intended to look like the real one but not to cost as much.

Do not infer from this that synthetic vitamins have no effect. They DO have DRUG effects, pharmacological actions that may or may not have much in common with the normal nutritional action. As an example, the commonest effect of Vitamin C deficiency is "pink toothbrush.” Any good natural Vitamin C will promptly stop hemorrhagic gingivitis, but ascorbic acid has failed to have the slightest effect in careful tests made in the British Army (2). Here is where another complex is needed and only one factor was replaced. All natural Vitamin C has more or less Vitamin P in it, as the Nobel Prize winner Szent-Gyorgyi stated when he first discovered the nature of this vitamin. The Vitamin P cures the capillary fragility of the scurvy state, the ascorbic acid restores the ability of the cells to rebuild the colloidal fibrous connective tissue matrix of bone and tendon.

Tocopherols have been isolated from the Vitamin E complex and sold as “Vitamin E.” Later, we find that natural E complexes contain a factor that is the precursor of the sex hormones (3) and that the tocopherol is just the wrapper that protects the real factors from oxidation. And, in our laboratories, we have isolated another factor from the E complex that exactly performs the function of nitroglycerine in relieving spastic heart pains (Vitamin E2).

Another critical defect of synthetic vitamins is that most organic substances are stereoisomeric; they exist in right and left hand molecules, and natural foods usually are all of one kind, while synthetic imitations usually are of equal mixtures or all of the kind not wanted. The chemist terms these laevo- and dextro- forms (l- and d-). Any price list of amino acids will show how expensive the natural forms are and how cheap the synthetic imitations. Some of the synthetic forms are toxic, and usually block the assimilation of the real amino acid, if present as a contaminant or adulterant.

Now, some vitamins in the wrong form are also poison. Lactic acid in the wrong form has fatally poisoned babies when used in milk formulas (4). Pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5) in the wrong form is poison to test animals (5), causing castrational effects.

Synthetic adrenalin has failed to perform as the natural, and synthetic thyroxin, likewise. The natural forms are now known to be complexes and quite different in action (6,7).

Synthetic Vitamin D has failed to be as effective as the natural and is much more dangerous (8,9).

These are the facts. Why not be honest about it?


References:
(1) “The Vitamins and Their Clinical Application,” Stepp, Kuhnau and Schroeder, p. 29, 1938.
(2) British Medical Journal, 1:69-104, Jan. 15, 1944.
(3) Levin, E. et al. “Factors in Wheat Germ Oil Affecting the Sex Organs of Hypophysectomized Rats.” J. Clin. Endocrin, 1951, 49, 289.
(4) Lee Foundation Report No. 6, Lee Foundation for Nutritional Research, Milwaukee 3, Wisconsin.
(5) Unpublished report of work at University of California, Berkeley.
(6) Lee Foundation Report No. 6.
(7) “Endocrinology in Modern Practice,” William Wolf, MD, p. 243, pub. 1939.
(8) “The Vitamins in Medicine,” Bicknell & Prescott, 3rd edition, 1953, p. 539.
(9) “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration,“ Weston A. Price, 1939, pp. 411-412.

Property Fund Management

Online

Interactive graphic showing the sharp rise in assets under management of the property fund management industry over the past decade and the recent slowdown against the performances of funds in the sector in that time. (Inclusion of this depends on support.)

Overview

Having survived the real estate crash, many asset managers are preparing new pushes into the real estate market but investors are likely to only back those that have track records and more aligned interests. What will the next generation of property funds look like? Will there be changes to the structures and incentives? Does there need to be? What sort of fund managers have outperformed, even in the downturn? Where do investors want to be investing over the next five years

and how has that changed from before the real estate crash? What importance are factors such as multi-country vs single domicile, smaller vs larger, stand alone managers vs captive, self-managed funds vs outsourced, first time funds vs follow-on? Will the vogue for property “clubs” – small groups of rich investors with greater control – rather than large “blind pool” funds become the norm? This article will try to tease out the opportunities and challenges for the many fund managers looking to exploit the return of interest in real estate.

Residential

There has been a rise in interest in residential as an asset class on the back of the recovering housing markets. Many fund managers are looking at the private rented housing sector in particular. In the UK, the Homes and Communities Agency said that more than £1bn would be invested by new funds this year. However, there have also been a number of proposed funds that have quietly been sidelined or downsized. What are the investment opportunities in the market, and what sort of risks and returns are there on offer? What are the constraints in the market? Is it possible to build a sufficiently attractive large institutional residential fund? 

Debt

There was a number of global debt funds launched in the past three years, but many of these have been very quiet since their inception in spite of promises of high returns and profits from distressed institutions. In particular, many launched hoping to find the large returns in providing mezzanine debt at high rates, although again there has been little sign of actual deals. What happened to the promises of the debt investors and are they still waiting in the wings for the right conditions? Of those that did invest, what sort of returns, or losses, were made over the past two years? There is now talk again of new debt funds being raised – what are the opportunities to buy debt in future? Will it be among the impending debt refinancings that may not be able to be met by borrowers? Or it is in issuing new debt?

German Open Ended Funds

Foreign investors' assumptions about price rises and growth in the German market amazed some domestic property funds. But while the German funds may have avoided glaring errors at home, they have had their own problems thanks to their big foreign portfolios. Now, however, many see business returning to better times, with inflows giving them the mandate to buy again. Where and what are they buying? How much money do they have to invest? How important are they in the European property market?

Property Investment Trusts

Two of the largest investment trusts in the UK have proposed a merger, while there has been a resurgence of interest among investors in the market given the return of asset values and the prospects for resilient income from rents. Has the sector been a good place to invest over the two year slump and what are its prospects going forward? Will there be new trusts launched to meet investor demand? Or will there be further consolidation?

Listed Property Funds

There was a number of IPOs of property funds last year that are now out looking for investments. Can these be judged as successful so far or is it too earlier? Have they found the opportunities they promised? Is the market for new offerings now closed following these launches or is there still investor appetitive for new listed real estate vehicles? If so, what would investors like to see launched into the market? Will there be the chance for any more “blind-pool” funds or will they have to have assets in their portfolio prior to launch? Will the new funds be focused on the international markets or the UK market?

How Credit Counselling Works

You may or may not have heard about credit counselling; all it means is that a person will give you advice on how to manage your debts. If you do have debts and you are having trouble meeting the regular monthly payments then you may want to consider getting some credit counselling yourself.

The way credit counselling works is that you first have to make an appointment with an agency that offers credit counselling, for example, both the Citizens’ Advice Bureau and the Consumer Credit Counselling
Service both offer such a service. Both of the agencies just mentioned do not charge for their services, unlike many debt management companies on the internet. When you make an appointment to see a counselor you will be assured that everything you tell them is confidential and they will not disclose that information to anyone else without your permission.

When you go to your appointment it is a good idea to have a list of all the people that you owe money to. If you haven’t already written out a financial statement i.e. all your incomings and outgoings then the counselor can probably help you to do this. Once you have all of your financial details written down it is a lot easier to see where you can save money, if at all. The statement will also be useful if you need to give it to your creditors to explain why you cannot meet all of the payment that they are asking for.

The counselor will ask you all about your debt problems and then lay out all the options that they think are available to you. In some instances counselors may be willing to contact your creditors on your behalf and make an offer of payment. The counselor may also be able to negotiate lower interest rates on your credit cards, or even no interest for a certain period of time to help you catch up on your debts.

When you go to see a credit counselor all that they basically do is to help you sort out your financial position so that you can look at different ways of managing your debt. If there is no way that you can meet your creditor’s demands then the counselor may advise that the best choice for you is to declare yourself bankrupt. : Bankruptcy is a huge step and you should not take that step until you are really sure about what you are doing. In most cases however, a counselor will look for alternative ways to manage your financial commitments and become debt free.

An increasing number of people are now contacting agencies like the Citizens Advice Bureau and the Consumer Credit Counselling Service to help them sort out their finances and manage their debt. These agencies make no charge for their services and can be very helpful if you are worried about the level of your debt.

Experiencing Pain in Your HIPS? Here are some Remedies.

The pain you experience in your hip may come from your hip or it could come from the pelvis or the lower back. Hip pain has several symptoms. Sometimes the pain may be over the hip alone. In other cases, it may actually be along the thigh down to the knee and some times right to the ankle.
There are many reasons for the origination of your hip pain. Some of them may be minor problems that only require some over-the-counter medication. Other times, however, this pain might be a serious problem that may be treated only through surgery.


Causes:

Arthritis: This is one of the most common causes of hip pain. This is an age-related medical condition. Arthritis causes the inflammation of one or more joints in the body. This results in swelling, stiffness, pain and limited movement. A hundred different types of arthritis have been identified and documented. In this condition, the cartilage that protects the joint breaks down preventing smooth movement.

Capsulitis: The sac around the hip joint becomes inflamed and compressed. This tightness limits the range of movement. Any joint in the body can be affected.

Groin strain: The stability of the hip joint can be adversely affected if the groin muscle is strained.

Sports: Sports like basketball and soccer place a lot of emphasis on jumping and running. These activities can put a significant amount of stress on the muscles surrounding the hips. These strains can cause a lot of damage to the hips.


Some Effective Treatments:

Rest: This is, undoubtedly and unarguably the most effective treatment. It is universally accepted. The movement of the body is less and therefore there is little strain on the hips.

Light exercise: It is a good idea to perform exercises like water aerobics and swimming. These exercises are extremely supportive of the hips.

'No' to excessive alcohol: Alcohol is one of the important factors that can trigger a gout attack. The alcohol in your body increases the stress on your hips. It is advisable not to cross two pegs a day.

Drink enough water: Drink at least six to eight glasses of water daily.

Maintain an ideal body weight: By balancing your weight, you can reduce the stress on your hips and greatly reduce your chances of having osteoarthritis. You can make use of the body mass index (BMI) to know where you stand.

Make use of crutches and cranes: Crutches and cranes are devices that are created to assist a person having weakness in the lower limbs. With the help of crutches, you can keep your weight off the joint. The weight is supported by the crutch or crane. This reduces the stress placed on the joints.

Ice packs: These can help to reduce the swelling and inflammation around the joint. They must, however be used with care. They can damage the skin.