Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is an important
member of the water soluble B complex of vitamins and has
of course been well known as an essential nutrient for many
years, hence its popularity as a fortifying agent in
commercially produced breakfast cereals and breads etc.
But in the current craze for tracking down new anti-oxidant
"superfoods" it's easy to overlook the more familiar, but
nonetheless vital, nutrients such as the B complex vitamins.
Riboflavin, for example, is essential for the body's
production of certain enzymes, known as flavocoenzymes,
which are needed for the production of energy through the
metabolism of the proteins, fats and carbohydrates consumed
in the diet. Flavocoenzymes are important in the breaking
down and the using or neutralising of chemicals, including
drugs and toxins within the body, and it has also been
noted that they are a precursor of the specialised proteins
needed for the proper functioning of the brain cell
mitochondria.
Impaired oxygen metabolism within these mitochondria has
been identified as a possible cause of migraine headaches,
Although tested on only a small sample of patients,
supplementation with high levels (400 mg) of riboflavin has
been duly found to have significant effects in reducing the
frequency of migraine attacks when continued over a three
month period. Despite the limited scope of the research so
far, orthodox medicine regards riboflavin as worthy of
further investigation for use in conjunction with
conventional drug therapies.
Riboflavin is also important as an anti-oxidant in enabling
the proper functioning of glutathione, the crucial
anti-oxidant enzyme. Glutathione is needed to neutralise
the hydrogen peroxide which is released as a by-product of
normal metabolic reactions within the body. Left unchecked
hydrogen peroxide can interact with other free radicals to
produce hydroxyl, the most damaging of all. Glutathione is
particularly important in protecting the delicate fatty
structures, eg the membranes, of every cell in the body.
Although anti-oxidants are required to protect every cell
in the body, particular attention has been focussed on
their role in the lens of the eye, where light induced
oxidative damage has been found to be a risk factor for the
development of cataracts, one of the most significant
causes of vision loss in the elderly.
Measuring by reference to glutathione activity, research
has suggested that individuals in the highest quintile of
riboflavin levels may have only around half the risk of
developing cataracts as those in the lowest quintile.
In addition to facilitating the action of the fat soluble
glutathione, riboflavin is also essential for the body's
manufacture of another enzyme, xanthine oxidase, which is
needed for the formation of uric acid, one of the most
powerful water soluble anti-oxidants.
In common with all the vitamins of the B complex, a
deficiency in riboflavin is likely to be associated with,
and to cause, a deficiency in each of the others.
Deficiency in riboflavin, however, has also been
particularly associated with problems in the absorption of
iron, and consequent anaemia and lowered immune system
function.
The US Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for riboflavin
is set at the very low sounding levels of 1.3 mg per day
for men, and 1.1 mg for women, In Europe the slightly
higher figure of 1.6 mg is suggested. To put these in
perspective, a cup of fortified cereal may provide between
0.6 and 2.3 mg; 8 oz milk perhaps 0.35 mg, and a single
large egg 0.3 mg. Meat, fish, chicken and green vegetables
also provide a certain amount.
So these food values would seem to suggest that the RDAs
should be easily achievable by those eating a normally
balanced diet – and indeed they should. The problem is
that the RDAs are set at levels designed to ensure
protection against outright deficiency disease, which is
not at all the same as optimal health. There is also good
evidence that few of us in any case, in fact succeed in
eating such a diet, and this can be a particular problem
for older adults. Some research suggests that as many as a
quarter of over 65s fail to achieve their RDA of riboflavin
though their normal daily diet, and of course that which
they do take in tends to be less well absorbed than that
consumed by younger people. The result is that as many as
10% of the over 65s show signs of severe deficiency, an
alarming and unforgivable statistic in wealthy Western
societies.
But such symptoms of deficiency may not be confined to the
elderly. Younger adults who achieve only these minimal
levels of riboflavin intake may also be at risk if
subjecting their bodies to unusual stresses, amongst which
must be included physical work, intensive athletic or
sporting activity, and the use of alcohol, tobacco or other
drugs.
There are no known toxicity issues with any quantity of the
B complex vitamins conceivably likely to be consumed, and
the Food and Nutrition Board has specified no upper safe
limit. The vitamins are water soluble with any excess
being easily excreted by the body. So given the
difficulties of absorption which become more pronounced as
the body ages, and the increased requirements for these
vitamins which seems to arise with the increasingly
stressful lives we lead in the 21st century – not to
mention the nutritional poverty of much of the heavily
refined and processed foods we now routinely consume, there
seems no reason not to supplement with riboflavin and the
other vitamins of the B complex.
----------------------------------------------------
Steve Smith is a freelance copywriter specialising in
direct marketing and with a particular interest in health
products. Find out more at
http://www.sisyphuspublicationsonline.com/LiquidNutrition/In
formation.htm
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