It's a question that everyone asks themselves at some point in there life … "Should I be taking a vitamin supplement or not? And do they really make a difference anyway?"
Vitamins are an essential part of everyone's daily nutritional intake and some vitamins are water soluble and some are not. This means that some vitamins will circulate within the body long term and some will simply pass through the body very quickly, being flushed away through natural fluid loss.
Many years ago it was believed that only people who were on calorie controlled diets where their food intake was restricted should use vitamin supplements in order to get the micronutrients they required on a daily basis, but now of course studies have shown and pretty much every Doctor would agree that everyone should be on some kind of vitamin supplement or another – even children.
The truth is that 40-50 years ago the quality of the food we ate was just better than it is today and whereas in order to absorb the goodness from 5 fruit and vegetables in those days in reality it's more likely to be at least 7-9 that we need these days to actually hit the required amount. Let me give you an example:
To get the same Iron content from a serving of spinach as you would have got back in 1948 you would have to eat 60 servings of spinach today!! To hit your RDA (recommended daily allowance) of vitamin E means you would have to eat 25 cups of spinach every day! Unbelievable but true. Our food is simply just not as nutritious anymore and this is because of the way the commercial farming system works, it kills most of the goodness before the vegetables even reach our plates. So you can see why Vitamin Supplements are a must in today's society.
Even more worrying is the fact that in the vast majority of cases people still don't even eat anywhere near the original 5 servings per day required back then!
Many of us today lead such stressful and hectic lifestyles and I don't just mean those who work in high profile jobs but I include in that stay at home parents running around after kids, pets, housework, schools, after school stuff, it's all stressful and pretty often fast paced and this can all affect the healthy chemical balance within our bodies which can lead to stress related health problems which is why those leading such lifestyles need more vitamins and minerals than anyone – to help them keep going.
Vitamin supplements are designed to top up our nutritional intake, to support the immune system and help to promote long term health.
However there are various kinds of vitamins and mineral supplements on the market and not all of them are naturally derived, some are chemically made. My advice would be that if you are going to devote your time and effort to taking a supplement then you need to ensure you take a good quality one. Why? Well as mentioned earlier, some vitamins and minerals are water soluble and some are not – meaning some stay in the body and some get flushed out.
So what's the point in taking just one tablet each day when pretty much as soon as you've taken it and you start going to the bathroom you begin to flush away some of the goodness from that supplement. Surely spending a little more and getting a Vitamin Supplement that you take 3 times each day makes more sense too purely from a logical point of view. Taking one in the morning, with a top up at lunchtime and a further top up in the evening provides your body with a constant topping up of vitamins and minerals throughout the day, replenishing those that get flushed away.
Price is a pretty good clue aswell, the cheaper the product the less it cost to make it. The cheapest way to make vitamins is chemically and you want naturally derived.Also make sure that the vitamin supplement you buy has 13 vitamins, 12 minerals, calcium and herbal extracts contained within it.
Without a doubt there are certain groups of people who are in dire need of supplementation aswell as those who lead stressful and hectic lives these would include:
Those people who don't cook fresh meals each day for themselves and who rely on high processed, refined packaged food where they don't actually know what's been added into them. Those who seem to suffer from illnesses, catch colds, flues and bugs very easily. And those who smoke drink alcohol and have large amounts of coffee each day as these all destroy the nutrition that we put into our bodies.
Supplements are designed to bridge the gap, to make sure that nothing is missing and to form the foundation for long term good health. So why not play it safe, use the highest quality supplement you can afford to ensure that you achieve your daily vitamin requirement and let any fruit or vegetables you eat on top of that be a bonus.
