Vitamins and minerals help regulate the conversion of food to energy in the body, explains Dr. Bland. The B-complex vitamins and magnesium are examples of energy nutrients because they activate specific metabolic facilitators called enzymes, which control digestion and the absorption and use of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. In the process of converting food to energy, free radicals are produced that can damage the body and set the stage for degenerative diseases, including cancer, arthritis, heart disease, and premature aging. Protector nutrients such as vitamin E, beta carotene, vitamin C, and the minerals zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium, play a critical role in preventing or delaying these degenerative processes. The body's functioning is therefore profoundly affected by how nutrients either work together or against each other.
Nutrients taken simultaneously can inhibit each other.
There are also nutrients that enhance the effects of other nutrients. For example, vitamin C taken with iron facilitates the maximum absorption of the iron. Similarly, clinical studies have shown a relationship between low intakes of beta carotene, vitamin E, and vitamin C and higher incidences of cancer. Fiber is found in plant foods, such as brown rice, broccoli, oatmeal, or almonds, but not in animal products like meat, cheese, milk, eggs, and butter. These toxic chemicals can cause colon cancer or pass through the gastrointestinal membrane into the bloodstream and damage other cells.