The amounts in this book come in several units, and the entries use some words that are worth knowing exactly. Labels and lab reports use them too.
Units and conversions
| Unit | What it means | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| g (gram) | 1,000 mg | Vitamin C at bowel tolerance is counted in grams |
| mg (milligram) | One-thousandth of a gram | Most vitamins and minerals |
| mcg (microgram; also µg) | One-thousandth of a milligram | B12, folate, selenium, chromium, K2, iodine at the RDA. 1,000 mcg = 1 mg, so 12.5 mg of iodine is 12,500 mcg |
| IU (international unit) | A measure of activity, different for each vitamin | Vitamin D: 1 mcg = 40 IU, so 5,000 IU = 125 mcg. Vitamin A (retinol): 1 IU = 0.3 mcg. Vitamin E: 1 IU of natural d-alpha tocopherol = 0.67 mg; 1 IU of synthetic dl-alpha = 0.9 mg |
| ng/mL | Nanograms per milliliter of blood | Vitamin D (25(OH)D) and ferritin in U.S. labs |
| nmol/L | Nanomoles per liter | Vitamin D outside the U.S.: ng/mL × 2.5 = nmol/L (40 ng/mL = 100 nmol/L). Lp(a) is often given in nmol/L too |
| mg/dL | Milligrams per deciliter | RBC magnesium (optimal 6.0–6.5), glucose, cholesterol |
| % | Percent | HbA1c; omega-3 index (aim above 8%) |
| "Per serving" | The amount in the number of capsules the label calls a serving | Read the serving size: a "1,000 mg" product may take four capsules |
Words
- 25(OH)D
- 25-hydroxyvitamin D, the blood test that shows vitamin D status. Not to be confused with 1,25(OH)D, the active hormone, which is not used to judge status.
- Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) vs. alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)
- Two different things with the same initials. Alpha-lipoic acid is an antioxidant (Antioxidants and cofactors chapter); alpha-linolenic acid is the plant omega-3 in flax, chia and walnuts (Fatty acids chapter).
- Bowel tolerance
- The amount of oral vitamin C (or magnesium) that just begins to loosen the stool. Just below it is the person's current need; it rises with illness (Cathcart).
- Bromide, fluoride (the halides)
- Elements in iodine's family that can sit in iodine's place in the body. Bromide leaves as iodine comes in; see the Iodine entry.
- Chelate
- A mineral bound to an amino acid (for example magnesium glycinate or zinc picolinate), usually absorbed well and gentle on the stomach.
- Companion nutrients
- The nutrients taken with iodine: selenium, magnesium, vitamin C, B2, B3 and unrefined salt.
- Course amount
- The working amount this book suggests for staying well, given in a box at the top of each taught entry. Therapeutic amounts and other doctors' views follow under Amounts and In depth.
- DHA and EPA
- The two long-chain omega-3 fats in fish and algae oil. DHA builds brain, eye and nerve membranes; EPA is mainly anti-inflammatory.
- Divided dose
- A day's amount split into two or more doses. Water-soluble vitamins work best this way because they leave the blood within hours.
- Double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
- A study in which neither patients nor researchers know who gets the real treatment and who gets a dummy (placebo). Hoffer and Osmond's niacin trials were among the first in psychiatry.
- Ferritin
- The blood marker of stored iron. Low ferritin shows a need for iron; high ferritin shows iron excess.
- Flush (niacin flush)
- Warmth, redness and tingling of the skin for about 15–45 minutes after niacin, from blood vessels widening. Harmless; softened by food and a lower amount.
- G6PD deficiency
- An inherited enzyme shortage in red blood cells. Very high or IV vitamin C can damage those cells, so a G6PD test comes first.
- GULO (L-gulonolactone oxidase)
- The last enzyme in making vitamin C, which humans, monkeys and apes, guinea pigs and fruit bats lack.
- HbA1c
- A blood test that shows average blood sugar over about three months, given as a percent.
- Homocysteine
- An amino acid that rises when methylation is slow. High levels are linked to heart disease, stroke and memory loss; folate, B12 and B6 bring it down.
- Hypoascorbemia
- Irwin Stone's name for humanity's inherited inability to make vitamin C.
- Intrinsic factor
- A protein made in the stomach that is needed to absorb vitamin B12. Age, acid blockers and gut disease lower it.
- Iodine loading test
- Dr. Abraham's test: take 50 mg of iodine and collect all urine for 24 hours. About 90% excreted means enough.
- Iodine vs. iodide
- Iodine (I₂) is the element as two joined atoms; iodide (I⁻) is its salt form, as in potassium iodide. The thyroid prefers iodide; the breasts and ovaries use iodine. Lugol's and Iodoral contain both.
- Lp(a), lipoprotein(a)
- A cholesterol-carrying particle that Pauling and Rath saw as the body's patch for vitamin C–starved arteries.
- Maintenance, therapeutic, safe limit
- Maintenance is a daily amount for staying well; therapeutic is the range used for a specific condition; the safe limit is where side effects or toxicity begin.
- Methylation
- A chemical step the body uses to make brain chemicals, repair DNA and clear homocysteine. Folate, B12, B6 and B2 drive it.
- MK-4 and MK-7
- Two forms of vitamin K2. MK-7 lasts longer in the body and is the form used at 100–200 mcg; MK-4 is used in milligram amounts in Japanese bone studies.
- MTHFR
- A gene for the enzyme that activates folate. Common variants slow it, and many people with them do better on methylfolate than folic acid.
- OMNS and its citations
- The Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, the free newsletter at Orthomolecular.org. A citation such as "OMNS v14n12" means volume 14, number 12.
- Orthomolecular
- Pauling's word (1968): "the right molecule." Health and treatment through the right amounts of substances normally present in the body.
- Pellagra
- The disease of severe niacin deficiency: dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia and death.
- RBC magnesium
- Magnesium measured inside red blood cells, which reflects body stores better than a standard serum test.
- RDA
- Recommended Dietary Allowance: the daily amount set to meet the needs of nearly all healthy people and prevent deficiency disease. In this book it is a floor, not a goal.
- Retinol vs. beta-carotene
- Retinol is ready-made vitamin A from animal foods and can build up; beta-carotene from plants is turned into vitamin A as needed and does not cause toxicity.
- Salt loading
- ¼ teaspoon of unrefined salt in ½ cup of warm water, then 12–16 ounces of plain water, used to ease bromide detox during iodine supplementation.
- Saturation (niacin)
- Dr. Saul's method: raise niacin slowly until a faint flush appears; that amount is near the person's current need.
- Selenosis
- Selenium toxicity from more than 400 mcg a day long-term: garlic-smelling breath, brittle nails, hair loss and nerve symptoms.
- Serotonin syndrome
- A dangerous excess of serotonin, risked by combining tryptophan, 5-HTP, SAMe or St. John's wort with antidepressants and some other drugs.
- Tocopherols and tocotrienols
- The eight forms of vitamin E: four of each, alpha, beta, gamma and delta. Natural d-alpha tocopherol is more active than synthetic dl-alpha.
- Toximolecular
- Pauling's word for treatment with molecules foreign to the body, such as drugs.
- TSH, free T4, free T3, thyroid antibodies
- The thyroid panel. TSH is the brain's signal to the thyroid; T4 and T3 are thyroid hormones; TPO and thyroglobulin antibodies show Hashimoto's.
- UL (upper limit)
- The mainstream Tolerable Upper Intake Level. Orthomolecular safe limits are often far higher (for example, iodine's UL is 1.1 mg).
- Water-soluble vs. fat-soluble
- Vitamin C and the B vitamins dissolve in water and leave in the urine within hours (B12 is stored); vitamins A, D, E and K are stored in fat and the liver and build up.