Pantos is a Greek word that means "everywhere"—an appropriate prefix for the name of a vitamin that’s found in most foods. It’s fortunate that this B vitamin is so plentiful, because it’s very important to our bodies. "It is involved in many different metabolic pathways, including the conversion of food to energy, the synthesis of important hormones, and the body’s utilization of body fat and cholesterol," says Won O. Song, R.D., Ph.D., professor of nutrition at Michigan State University in East Lansing.
This vitamin helps to convert carbohydrates and fats to energy and to break down and reassemble fats into new forms, some of which are used to make important hormones. It acts as a matchmaker between proteins and fatty acids, combining them into molecules called lipoproteins, which in turn make up the membranes that enclose our cells.
Pantothenic acid also plays an important role in making hemogloblin, the protein found in red blood cells that transports oxygen throughout our bodies. It helps our bodies detoxify a virtual Love Canal’s–worth of nasty chemicals, and, at high doses, it could prove useful for chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Good—And Good for You
Pantothenic acid is an essential component of a substance called coenzyme A (coA). Enzymes are like spark plugs, helping to jump-start the chemical reactions that go on continuously in our bodies and allowing us to turn food into energy and produce the tissues that hold us together.
CoA plays an extremely broad role, especially in the production of energy. It helps to transport blood sugar, fatty acids, and even protein as these compounds are combined or converted to different forms. Our bodies also use it to detoxify many of the harmful manmade compounds found in herbicides, insecticides, and drugs, says Dr. Song.
Apart from its role in CoA production, pantothenic acid has some benefits on its own. Research suggests that it and pantethine, a form of the vitamin, may be therapeutic for some diseases.
Pantethine, in doses of 900 milligrams a day, has been shown in studies to significantly reduce cholesterol and triglycerides. This is important because high levels of either can lead to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and blockages in the blood vessels. Pantethine apparently inhibits the body’s production of cholesterol while accelerating the use of fat as an energy source. Plain old pantothenic acid has no such effect, Dr. Song says.
Also in studies, pantothenic acid in the form of calcium pantothenate (50 to 2,000 milligrams a day) has been used to reduce the stiffness and pain of rheumatoid arthritis.
Acidic Action
Pantothenic acid is sometimes considered an anti-stress vitamin by doctors of alternative medicine because of its important role in the function of the adrenal glands, which produce hormones that help our bodies respond to stress. In studies in which people were made deficient in pantothenic acid by feeding them something that interfered with its use in the body, symptoms of listlessness and fatigue developed after about nine weeks.
SUPPLEMENTSNAPSHOT
| Pantothenic Acid Supplement forms: Calcium pantothenate and pantethine; also known as vitamin B5. May help: Stress, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, menopausal discomforts, and high cholesterol and triglycerides. Daily Value: 10 milligrams. Who’s at risk for deficiency: Deficiency is thought to be rare, but people with serious drinking problems, older people on restricted diets, and people taking cholesterol-lowering drugs may be at risk. Good food sources: Meat, fish, poultry, unprocessed whole grains, fortified cereals, legumes, peanuts, mushrooms, soy flour, and split peas. Cautions and possible side effects: Generally regarded as safe. |
Deficiencies have been known to produce other problems as well. Possible symptoms include a burning sensation in the feet, depression, fatigue, insomnia, vomiting, and muscle cramping or weakness. Since pantothenic acid is so widely available in foods, such deficiencies are seldom seen, but some studies indicate that some people in the United States aren’t getting enough. The Daily Value is 10 milligrams, and studies have shown that the average intake of most Americans is 5 to 10 milligrams a day.
Since up to 50 percent of the pantothenic acid in foods is lost in processing or cooking, the best sources are unprocessed whole grains, fortified cereals, and supplements. When sold as a supplement, pantothenic acid is sometimes labeled as vitamin B5. Other forms include calcium pantothenate and pantethine.
