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Are Your Vitamin Supplements Helping You?
We are told that the keys to longer and healthier life are
simple: eat right, exercise, manage stress and get enough sleep.
However, putting this into practice is more difficult. For
example, take eating right. The National Cancer Institute is now
recommending that adults eat between 7 to 9 servings of fruit a
day. However, over 90 percent of us are unable or unwilling to
follow this advice. Given our diets and lack of access to
healthy foods, and given the dwindling nutritional quality of
food generally available today, our bodies need vitamin, mineral
and other dietary supplements to fill in this nutritional gap.
Fortunately, the majority of us take supplements to compensate
for this. About 100 million Americans take supplements - at
least occasionally. About half of us pop vitamin and mineral
supplements every day, spending about $4 billion annually. Do
you ever wonder whether you should be taking supplements or
whether the supplements you are taking are right for you?
Background
Vitamins and minerals - or at least foods containing these
nutrients - have been used as therapy for thousands of years.
Ancient Egyptians ate livers of roosters and oxen to combat
night blindness caused by Vitamin A deficiency, and sea sponge
as a source of iodine to treat goiters. However, it wasn't until
1906 that vitamins were theorized, because protein, fats and
carbohydrates were insufficient in-and-of-themselves to sustain
life. In 1926, Vitamins were isolated and named vitamine (for
vital amine, amine being a chemical structure).
There are at least 13 vitamins and 15 minerals that are
considered essential for good health. Vitamins are organic
compounds, which means they contain carbon, and are found
naturally only in living things. Four of these vitamins - A, D,
E, and K are fat soluble - meaning they can be stored in the
body. Vitamins C and the eight forms of vitamin B are water
soluble, meaning that excess amounts are eliminated through
urination, and thus must be consumed daily. Vitamins C, E and A
are known as antioxidants. They help our bodies fight damage
from free radicals, highly reactive compounds that create
oxidative damage to your cells. Vitamin C, once suspected of
boosting our immune systems, has now come to the forefront in
cancer, cataracts and cardiovascular therapies.
Minerals are simpler, inorganic compounds and are found in all
foods. Minerals are also classified in two categories - major
minerals (macronutrients), such as calcium, magnesium and
potassium, that are found in relatively high concentrations in
foods, and trace minerals
(micronutrients), such as copper,
iron, zinc, and chromium, that are usually only found in minute
amounts.
All of these vitamins and minerals play an important role in
your body's ability to build cells, releasing energy from our
food, and in maintaining the good health of our organs, bones
and immune system. Taking vitamin and mineral supplements can
help us target deficiencies in our diet, to fill in the gaps.
Is your supplement right for you?
Our vitamin and mineral requirements vary at different stages of
our lives, generally because of changes in how effectively our
bodies absorb these nutrients. Additionally, our vitamin and
mineral requirements vary with our daily caloric intake. The
more calories you consume, the more vitamins and minerals your
bodies need.
Many people select their vitamin and mineral supplements based
on the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). The RDA, developed by
the Food and Nutrition board in 1941, is updated periodically.
However, the RDA is a general one-size-fits-all measure about
daily vitamin needs to avoid vitamin deficiency diseases.
Current research shows that higher levels of some of these
vitamins and minerals are required to truly achieve good health
and for therapeutic benefits to undo years of environmental
damage our bodies have suffered.
In addition to vitamins and minerals, phytochemicals are
increasingly recognized as playing a crucial role in proper
absorption of nutrients and in cellular function and
regeneration. Phytochemicals are nutrients found in fruits and
vegetables and their extracts, that are generally not present in
synthetic vitamin supplements.
More Information
You can find help in determining if your mineral and vitamin
supplements are meeting your daily vitamin requirements and are
nutritionally available to your body. You can also find out
about phytonutrients that your body needs to
maintain good health and ways to get phytonutrient sources
conveniently into your diet.
Visit Six Steps to Good Health to learn more about
diet, nutrition and natural techniques to improve your health.
About the author:
Mr. Kelkar has been practicing natural healing techniques for
many years. He is a contributing author to
www.the-natural-path.com, a high content site on natural
healing.
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