Vitamin U
Vitamin U belongs to the group of vitamin-like substances. It was first discovered in vegetables. Since the vegetable juice promotes the healing of ulcers, the vitamin is called U, from uclus - ulcer. Vitamin U is formed from the essential amino acid methionine, which is why many scientists consider the antiulcer vitamin a vitamin-like substance. Vitamin U is optional for the human body, but it should be noted that it is not formed in the human body, therefore it must be ingested with food.
Vitamin U dissolves perfectly in water, is destroyed by prolonged exposure to high temperatures, alkalis, but remains in an acidic environment.
Vitamin U: content in foods
Vitamin U is very abundant in nature. It enters the human body mainly from plant foods. The largest amount of vitamin U is found in cabbage. It is also found in large quantities in parsley, onions, turnips, celery, carrots, raw potatoes, asparagus, beets, tomatoes, bell peppers, spinach, bananas.
Vitamin U is even found in green tea!
From animal products, vitamin U is only found in raw milk, raw egg yolks and liver in very small quantities.
Vitamin U intake rates
The body's daily need for vitamin U is difficult to determine, since this vitamin-like substance constantly enters the body with vegetable products. But the average amount of vitamin U entering the human body is known: from 100 to 300 mg per day.
For people who have a dysfunction of the stomach, in particular a change in acidity, the amount of vitamin U should be from 200 to 400 mg per day.
Athletes should consume 150 to 250 mg per day on training days, and 300 to 450 mg on competition or heavy training days.
The effect of vitamin U on the human body
Vitamin U has many important functions in the body. One of the most important is the neutralization of hazardous compounds for the body. Vitamin U helps in the detection and disposal of foreign substances. It is an active participant in the synthesis of biologically active substances, for example, vitamin B4.
The main feature of vitamin U is its ability to heal various ulcers and erosion of the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract. This effect is achieved by neutralizing the main source of these damage - histamine, a substance that is released during inflammation and causes an increase in the volume of secreted gastric juice.
Vitamin U normalizes the level of acidity in the stomach, if the acidity is increased, it decreases, if it is low, it increases. This effect is achieved by establishing a physiological level of acidity at which food is normally digested and the walls of the stomach are not damaged.
Excess and deficiency of vitamin U
Excess vitamin U does not affect the body in any way, because it is highly soluble in water, quickly consumed, and the remainder is successfully excreted by the kidneys.
People who have not eaten vegetables for a long time may experience symptoms of hypovitaminosis. The main symptom for vitamin U is an increase in the acidity of gastric juice, which entails damage to the walls of the intestine, stomach, and, as a result, the occurrence of ulcers and erosions.
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