MAY 24th 2010 The STAGE DOOR Vitamins

May 24, 2010 Monday

"Today, I will try to the best of my ability to go with the flow of life including relationships with partners, family, friends and the environment--including the plants. I wil strive for harmony among people with my needs and the needs of other individuals." -- See Letting the Cycles Flow after vitamin discussion.

The Stage Door Vitamins is related to the photograph. You will find that out later. I think the Stage Door vitamins are B6, B12 and folic acid. These are B vitamins, which are sometimes overlooked. I know the use of these three were overlooked in 1969when Dr. V. McCully at Harvard studied these 3 in relation to a bad amino acid, homocysteine. He postulated that this bad amino acid, homocysteine, derived from a good essential amino acid, methonine, can be reduced by increasing the dosage and requirement on B6, B12 and folic acid. Homocysteine can cause premature vascular damages of the arterial system. In 1971, Harvard dismissed Dr. McCully. This did not stop this physician. He was a pioneer of his time. His research and dedication earned him to accept the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work on homocysteine.
There are four reasons why you might a high level of homocysteine. 1) consuming too much poultry (as poultry contains more methionine) 2) consuming less green vegetables, which means 3) less amount of folate 4) not absorbing nutrition from food or supplements. More research has been done in these thirty years. Homocysteine is now postulated to a risk factor for Alzheimer's Disaese. Let's start with folic acid, which is also called tetrahydrofolate. Deficiency of folate result in the body's inability to synthesize DNA (genetic make up of an individual - remember Watson and Crick discovered DNA in 1952 and both received the Nobel Prize in Medicine). In addition to folate supplementation with regards to homocysteine, it has been researched, proved and studied that folate needs to supplemented in pregnant females to prevent neurological birth defects, especially of the spinal cord. The RDA requirement for folate is 400 umg to 800 umg. Physicians now prescribe a pre-natal with 1 mg folate. I usually prescribe folate at 2.5 mg (2500 umg), 5.0 mg (5,000 umg) and even higher. Doses above 2.5 mg require a physician's prescription. You can always take 3 of the 800 umg, which would equal 2,400 umg.

There are some individuals who cannot use regular folic acid to decrease homocysteine. This is a genetic defect in an enzyme which is now identified in the blood. For those individuals, I prescribe methylated folic acid (it is folic acid with an extra methyl group). I call them Stage Door, which is the side door to a theatre, as these vitamins sneek in and help the body.

Since I want you to read 'Letting the Cycles Flow', I will discuss the bingo (B-I-N-G-O) vitamins B6 and B12 tomorrow.

Letting the Cycles Flow

Life is cyclical, not static. Our relationships benefit when we allow them to follow their own natural cycles.

Like the tide ebbs and flows, so do the cycles in relationships. We have periods of closeness and periods of distance. We have times of coming together and times of separating to work on individual issues.

We have times of love and joy, and times of anger.

Sometimes, the dimensions of relationships change as we go through changes. Sometimes, life brings us new friends or a new loved one to teach us the next lesson.

That does not mean the old friend disappears forever. It means we have entered a new cycle.

We do not have to control the course of our relationships, whether these be friendships or love relationships. We do not have to satisfy our need to control by imposing a static form on relationships.

Let it flow. Be open to the cycles. Love will not disappear. The bond between friends will not sever. Things do not remain the same forever, especially when we are growing and changing at such a rapid pace.

Trust the flow. Take care of yourself, but be willing to let people go. Hanging on to them too tightly will make them disappear.

The old adage about love still holds true: If it's meant to be, it will be. And if you love someone, let them go. If they come back to you, the love is yours.

Today, I accept the cyclical nature of life and relationships. I will strive to go with the flow. I will strive for harmony with my own needs and the needs of the other person.

Thank you Karen.

The photograph above was taken in California. It is a White Calilily (Zantedeschia aethiopica (L.) Spreng. - giant white arum lily or common arum lily). Z. aethiopica is a very strong and sturdy plant, being able to grow in many soils and habitats. It is also a favorite in Flower Shops.

If you are a movie fan as I am, the film, Stage Door, has a famous line about this flower. Stage Door (1937) is a RKO film, adapted from the play by the same name, that tells the story of several would-be actresses who live together in a boarding house at 158 West 58th Street in New York City. The film stars Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou, Gail Patrick, Constance Collier, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden and Ann Miller. As Miss Hepburn is on stage in this movie, her most famous line is "The Calilillies are in bloom again" while holding three calilillies. Zantedeschia is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to southern Africa from South Africa north to Malawi. The name of the genus was given as a tribute to Italian botanist Giovanni Zantedeschi (1773–1846) by the German botanist Kurt Sprengel (1766–1833). Common names include Arum lily for Z. aethiopica, calla, and calla lily for Z. elliottiana and Z. rehmannii although it is neither a true lily (Liliaceae) nor an Arum or Calla (related genera in Araceae). It is also often erroneously spelled as "cala lily". It has often been used in many paintings and is visible in many of Diego Rivera's works of art. The Zantedeschia are rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plants growing to 1-2.5 m tall with leaves 15–45cm long. The inflorescence is a showy white, yellow or pink spathe shaped like a funnel with a yellow, central, finger-like spadix.

The Zantedeschia species are poisonous due to the presence of calcium oxalate. All parts of the plant are toxic, and produce irritation and swelling of the mouth and
all species are endemic to southern Africa. Z. aethiopica grows naturally in marshy areas and is only deciduous when water becomes scarce.

Photo credit: Patrick Fratellone
Until tomorrow...