Pantothenic acid belongs to the B-vitamin complex and is often called vitamin B5. Pantothenic acid is an essential vitamin and it plays a number of important roles in the body, including processing food into usable energy, catabolizing amino acids and fatty acids, absorbing fatty acids, phospholipids, sphingolipids, cholesterol and steroid hormones, and the absorption of heme and acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. In addition, pantothenic acid is involved in genetic manifestation and signal transduction. A man named Roger J. Williams first identified pantothenic acid. He is also well-known for being one of the first scientists to use natural nutrients and vitamins to keep the body healthy or treat it when problems arose. He suggested that pantothenic acid was effective in treating some medical conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.
Pantothenic acid also stimulates the adrenal glands, and a side-product of pantothenic acid called pantethine is thought to help treat high blood cholesterol or high triglyceride.
by the Harvard School of Public Health
It has been asked by millions of people “If you eat a healthy diet, do you need to take vitamins?” Not very long ago, the common answer from most experts and professionals would have been an emphatic "no". However, today there's quite a bit of evidence that taking a daily multivitamin makes good sense for most adults.
by the Mayoclinic Staff
Given the popularity and availability of “high potency” amino acids, antioxidants, enzymes and herbs, it might seem like dietary supplements could replace food as a source of the nutrients the body requires. However, this is not the case.
Copyright 2012 by VitaGuide, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
