Vitamins and mineral supplements are a good way to supply your body with nutrients that you might not be getting from your diet. Go down any vitamin aisle in a drugstore, market, or health food store. The first thing you will see is all the 'natural' supplements and vitamin complex tablets that all claim to provide all kinds of benefits. There are supplements that claim to help you lose weight without exercise. Does it sound too good to be true? It is. You have to burn more calories than you consume and exercise will help you accomplish that but I digress. If you are considering adding supplements to your diet have a discussion with your doctor will help to determine whether or not adding supplements would be beneficial for you or not.
Are vitamins necessary for optimum health? Most people, if they eat a healthy diet, do not need them. Most vitamins are fine and are not harmful. If someone does not eat a healthy diet or because of illness has a limited diet a vitamin supplement could be very helpful. Fruits and vegetables have important vitamins in them and should not be eliminated from a diet unless a doctor orders it. In this case a supplement would almost be necessary. Your body needs vitamins to keep it functioning.
Most people think that vitamins are a source of energy that is not the case. Vitamins help regulate the body's metabolism. Vitamins also help the food we eat to release its energy. It's the food that when absorbed and broken down into the nutrients the body can use that provides our body with energy. The body more easily absorbs calcium if you are also taking Vitamin D. Most calcium supplements are already fortified with vitamin D. There are thirteen vitamins that are all important to achieve optimum health. Vitamins E & C contain antioxidants. Antioxidants help to release free radicals, which are high-energy particles. These high-energy particles damage healthy blood cells. Studies are now coming out that indicate that the consumption of vitamins and supplements may aid in fighting cancer and preventing other chronic diseases. The research is by no means conclusive in this regard. Studies continue to be conducted in an effort to provide us with the ultimate health.
There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. An excess amount of vitamins in your system could cause bleeding, negative interactions with some prescription medications.
Listed below are some vitamins and how overdoses can affect you.
Vitamin A - Too much vitamin A can cause neurological problems
Vitamin D - Too much vitamin D disrupts the balance of calcium in the body that can lead to calcium deposits in the soft tissues of the body.
Vitamin C - Too much vitamin C can lessen the effectiveness of other medications.
Vitamin E - Too much vitamin E can cause blood not to clot and can cause other bleeding issues.
Vitamins are just one tool among many that are available to us to help us get healthy and remain healthy. Vitamins alone will not do this. A healthy diet, exercise, and regular health checkups will do this.
No one knows better than I do how important it is to eat properly and take care of my body. Also, like many others I have a tendency to be drawn to the junk food much to my own detriment. You don't have to be an Olympic athlete to get some exercise in. I also take vitamins and other supplements to help my body work better.
There are a variety of opinions about vitamins, supplements, and healthy eating. Vitamins are generally ok unless they are fortified with iron. The effectiveness of vitamins with iron is often hotly debated. Too much iron can cause iron overload and it doesn't get 'washed' out of the blood as efficiently if at all. There is a disease called Hemochromatosis, which is fatal, as it attacks liver function. It can be controlled and there must be liver function tests done among other things. The controversy continues to reign.
You have complete control in this area. Do your research; there are a great number of websites that provides information on supplements and how they work. You should sit down with your physician and discuss your options. S/he may suggest you meet with a nutrition specialist as well. Get smart and be healthy. A little knowledge is a very good thing and in the case of vitamins the more you know how they work and how they could be harmful, the safer and healthier you will be. Trust your instincts, know your body, and get help if you need it. Good eating, good exercise plenty of water and common sense will help you to meet your goal of good health.
About the Author
Martin Smith is a successful freelance writer providing advice for consumers on purchasing a variety of products which includes vitamin c and vitamin c, and more! His numerous articles provide a wonderfully researched resource of interesting and relevant information.
You probably know that ladies who are planning on having... Read More
For years now we have heard that supplementing our diets... Read More
The Connection Between Brain Inflammation, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's DiseaseThe evidence... Read More
Recently a television health expert was discussing the topic, "How... Read More
Anti aging has become the latest craze.Wherever we look at,... Read More
Three Important Nutrients - Vitamin E, Selenium, and Sodium and... Read More
In parts one and two of this series, titled "Take... Read More
Vitamin B6 plays a facilitating role in the immune system... Read More
This complex mixture of nutrient-rich growth factors, immunoglobulins, glycoconjugates and... Read More
What Is Thiamin?Known as Vitamin B1, thiamin was the very... Read More
If I read 1 good valid murder mystery book, would... Read More
Amino acid supplements and amino acid food intake can bring... Read More
Whey protein is a high quality powder made from cow's... Read More
Taurox is an excellent way to find true and healthy... Read More
Ideally, humans would eat wholly nutritious diets rich in protein,... Read More
In part one of this series, titled "Take Back Your... Read More
To supplement or not to supplement ? that is the... Read More
Vitamin supplement ratings quite clearly show just how popular nutritional... Read More
Some fitness adherents are supplement crazy and spend money like... Read More
Sports Supplement ? what is it?We are all aware of... Read More
For women, calcium is one of the most important nutrients... Read More
At the present time, one out of ten adults have... Read More
Iron is a mineral that is essential to the health... Read More
A deficiency of vitamins can lead to a variety of... Read More
Mineral Supplement ? be healthy.Why is mineral supplement so important?... Read More
Green Bay Hummer H2 SUV rentals ..In September 2004 Orange County, California published an article "OC... Read More
The initial success of penicillin generated an assumption which has... Read More
The science of Glycobiology, touted by the Massachusetts Institute of... Read More
L-carnitine is synthesized in the body from the amino acids... Read More
April 14,2005 federal judge Tena Campbell of the federal district... Read More
Supplementing with relatively small amounts of riboflavin (vitamin B2) may... Read More
L-carnitine is a nutritional supplement that has been touted by... Read More
Vitamins are the stars of the nutrition scene. Nutrition, the... Read More
One of the questions that I frequently get asked is... Read More
Beta-Glucan is an extremely potent, immune activating substance taken from... Read More
As I mentioned in Part 4 of my Real Health... Read More
While HA has dramatically increased in popularity and use within... Read More
Protein Supplement ? whey protein.Why is protein supplement important? Protein... Read More
Vitamin B5 or pantothenic acid plays a supporting role in... Read More
Our bodies change as we age, and to remain vigorous,... Read More
There is a generation called the baby boomers that make... Read More
Are the new Argireline Wrinkle Relaxing Creams as effective as... Read More
Is there an alternative to statin drugs such as Lipitor... Read More
Health Supplement ? what is it?So what is a health... Read More
Don't be overwhelmed by this big word, ... Read More
Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body... Read More
Selenium is a type of trace mineral which supports healthy... Read More
What's the best muscle building supplement available today? You might... Read More
HMB stands for beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate. It is a metabolite of... Read More
MSM (methyl-sulfonyl-methane) is a nutritional supplement derived from natural organic... Read More
Nutritional Supplements |