Health and Fitness : Vitamin B2 (3rd Suggested Cure for Mouth Ulcers)

Mouth ulcers

My dad has always recommended Vitamin B2 whenever I get a mouth ulcer, the fact is that I have never really listened to him because he used to buy these pills from mainland China and I didn't really feel comfortable taking them, until my symptoms began to show, I finally put in the effort of researching in this medicine.

Riboflavin powder
Image from Wikipedia

Commonly known as Vitamin B2, Riboflavin, is an essential water-soluble vitamin for the human body for various cellular processes.

Urine

It is a distinctive and unique vitamin which can cause fluorescent-yellow colour urine and can be easily destroyed when exposed to UV ray and in alkaline condition (pH above 7) but not with heating (cooking).
It is rich in milk products such as milk and cheese, leafy green vegetables, inner organs such as liver and kidneys, tomatoes, mushrooms, legumes and almonds.

Recommended intake level of Riboflavin is low, ranges from 0.3mg/day for babies to 1.3-1.4mg/day for adults and 1.4mg-1.6mg/day for pregnant mothers during lactation (breast milk-producing period).

Riboflavin is not toxic when taken orally, as the body excretes excessive doses through the urine.

cracked and red lips

But deficiency in Riboflavin  (ariboflavinosis) could cause symptoms such as cracked and red lips ("checked!"), inflammation of the lining of mouth and tongue("checked!"), mouth ulcers("checked!"), cracks at the corners of the mouth (angular cheilitis)("nope"), and a sore throat ("nope"). A deficiency may also cause dry and scaling skin, fluid in the mucous membranes, and iron-deficiency anaemia. The eyes may also become bloodshot, itchy, watery and sensitive to bright light.^[1]

Well, mine fits quite a bit, so I decided to give it a try, and the fluorescent colour does prove that the pills my dad bought are really Vitamin B2, but each pill is 5mg! So I think I have to lower down my dosage, if I want to continue with my own clinical trial that is.


Vocabulary:
mouth ulcer -- (n)[C]  please see the links on mouth ulcers below
water-soluble -- (adj) A water-soluble substance can dissolve in water
cellular -- (adj) connected with the cells of a plant or animal
fluorescent -- (adj) Fluorescent lights are very bright, tube-shaped electric lights, often used in offices
urine -- (n) [U] the yellowish liquid waste which is released from the body when you go to the toilet
leafy -- (adj) A leafy place is pleasant and has a lot of trees
legume -- (n)[C] specialized a plant that has its seeds in a pod, such as the bean or pea
lactation -- (n) [C] specialized (of a woman or female mammal) to produce milk
toxic -- (adj) poisonous 
excrete -- (vb) [I or T] formal to get rid of material such as solid waste or urine from the body
excessive -- (adj) too much
scaling -- (adj) becoming or appearing to turn into fish like scales
clinical trial -- (n) [C] please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_trial

Resources:

Health and Fitness: Mouth Ulcers @ Locky's English Playground

http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/01/health-and-fitness-mouth-ulcers.html

Health and Fitness: Manuka Honey (1st Suggested Cure for Mouth Ulcers) @ Locky's English Playground

http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/01/health-and-fitness-manuka-honey-1st.html

Health and Fitness: Liquorice Root (2nd Suggested Cure for Mouth Ulcers) @ Locky's English Playground

http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/01/health-and-fitness-liquorice-root-2nd.html

[1] Vitamin B2 @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B2

Legumes @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legume

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/water-soluble?q=water-soluble
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/cellular_1?q=cellular+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/fluorescent_1?q=fluorescent+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/urine?q=urine+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/leafy?q=leafy+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/legume?q=legume+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/lactate?q=lactation+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/toxic_1?q=toxic+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/excrete?q=excrete+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/excessive?q=excessive+
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_trial