Do you need vitamins, minerals and other dietary supplements
for your health? If you do, which vitamins should you take?
Most of us are willing to concede the necessity of having
a good balance of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients
in our daily diet for good health, but many of us wonder
if it is necessary to use vitamin pills and other dietary
supplements to do this. Can't we get enough of the vitamins
we need from our daily diet?
I suppose that some of us might be in good enough health
not to need additional vitamins, minerals, and other dietary
supplements, but IF YOU FALL INTO ONE OF THE GROUPS BELOW,
you might want to consider adding at least a daily multivitamin
supplement to your diet.
Who Needs Vitamins
If you are a woman: Women are possibly
deficient in such minerals as magnesium, folic acid, zinc,
calcium, and in some cases, iron. If you are pregnant or
using birth control, you may require additional vitamin
or mineral supplements for good health.
If you diet for weight loss or follow a fairly
limited diet or restricted nutritional regimen:
Important vitamins and minerals are scattered widely across
a broad range of nutritional options (i.e. foods), and if
you are limiting your intake by volume or by type, you are
likely limiting your intake of vitamins, minerals, and other
nutrients vital to your health.
If you eat the normal American diet: Actually,
the normal American diet is not very normal, nor is it good
for your health! It is, however, terribly lacking in the
vitamins, minerals, enzymes, hormones, and other nutritional
elements a healthy body needs. Additionally, if your diet
does contain all of these in optimal quantities, you are
probably eating way too much food - Catch 22!
If you smoke or drink alcohol often: Smoking
and excessive drinking (roughly more than two drinks a day
- which is GOOD for you), depletes certain vitamins and
other nutrients.
If you are already NOT in good health, physically
or mentally: Your body may not be processing the
vitamins, minerals, etc. that your are providing in your
diet. Also, the EXTRA vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients
you provide with supplements may have a positive affect
on the condition. It goes without saying that an appropriate
supplementation program MIGHT HAVE PREVENTED or lessened
the impact of the health problem in the first place.
If you love junk food and it tends to be a major
part of your diet: Once again, you are probably
not getting the dietary balance of vitamins, minerals, and
other nutritional elements necessary for good health. Sadly,
many of the constituents of these types of food, particularly
refined sugar, actually leach vitamins, minerals, and other
nutrients from your body, or prevent the effective use,
tranport, or absorption of these nutrients.
If you cannot afford a steady diet of the foods
that you realize are most valuable to your health:
A multivitamn pill costs only a few cents a day, and without
changing another single fact of your life, can contribute
significantly to your health and well-being.
If you are over 65 years of age: You have
specific deficiencies and needs, as well as a possible array
of health problems. Odds are that you are lacking in B-12,
Vitamin D, Vitamin K, folic acid, zinc, Vitamin C, and other
vitamins and minerals. As our bodies age (I'm 60, so I can
talk), they become less efficient at processing nutrients
of all types, so even if your typical diet contains all
the nutrients you need, your body is probably not getting
the complete benefit from them. I mentioned some possible
deficiencies above. Let's look at only one - Vitamin D deficiency
- as this is very common in folks over 65. This vitamin
deficiency may contribute to some forms of cancer (including
breast and colon cancer), muscular weakness, joint pain,
and the well published one - osteoporosis. Again, a daily
multivitamin can go a long way towards promoting health
in the years both before and after age 65. OKAY, WHO'S LEFT!
If you are male, under 65, in excellent mental and physical
health, exercise regularly, have a nutritionally rich and
diverse diet, do not smoke or drink, and are NOT QUITE CERTAIN
that YOUR DIET contains all the vitamins, minerals, and
other nutritional elements necessary for good health: You
MIGHT want to tilt the odds in your favor with a good daily
multivitamin supplement.
EVERYBODY ELSE CAN LEAVE!
Your health is fine. You don't need to supplement your
present diet with vitamins and minerals.
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