It's never too late to change your habits, and if you are not in the habit of taking a multivitamin supplement regularly, it's time you did. Altering your behavior in this one respect will greatly improve your chances of living a long and healthy life. Good nutrition is necessary to maintain optimum health, and a multivitamin supplement will ensure that you receive what your body needs to help prevent and fight disease and improve your state of well being.
What Does Good Nutrition Mean?
We can enjoy good health and heal ourselves of most ills through good health practices, which include giving our bodies the fuel needed from the things we eat. Good nutrition means obtaining the right balance and amounts of water, carbohydrates, proteins and fats, plus vitamins and minerals. Although there are many food-sources of these nutrients, here is a review of what you learned in school as the main sources:
? Complex carbohydrates can be found in fruit, vegetables, whole grains, peas, and beans. Simple carbohydrates are in table sugar, fruit, and processed foods like dessert, candy, and soft drinks.
? Proteins are in abundance in meat and dairy products, as well in as nuts, seeds, beans, wheat, and rice.
? The fats we need are usually picked up from dairy products, meats, fish, and oils extracted from various vegetables.
? Vitamins and minerals are most easily obtained from the vegetables and fruits we eat.
Can Good Nutrition Come From a Well-Balanced Diet?
Medical spokesmen no longer try to reassure us that we can get everything we need by eating well. We can't. Food itself is no longer the same as it once was. Vegetables and fruits are often grown in soil that has been depleted of nutrients, which means the foods are also. As well, foods lose many nutrients in the process of storing, shipping, refining, and even through cooking. We can't be sure, therefore, that the food we are eating has the nutritional value it is supposed to have. Not only that, it might not be a healthy choice for other reasons:
? Fruits and vegetables can be contaminated with insecticides that can't be rinsed or even washed off, and if the skins are removed, many of the nutrients are removed as well.
? Additives can help preserve food and make it tastier and more attractive, but we aren't sure of the long-term effects of these chemicals on our bodies.
? Some fruit and vegetables are now routinely genetically altered.
? Sugar, salt, and fat are inexpensive commodities that add flavor, and, therefore, are used in large quantities in most commercially prepared foods.
? Animals and fowl are loaded with hormones that are passed on to us when we eat them.
Food production and processing are not the only culprits that worry us and make it difficult to obtain the nutrition we need from the food we eat. We have to share the blame by our own practices of skipping meals, eating on the run, and choosing heavily processed, nutrient-poor food:
? We eat too much fat and too much of the most harmful ? read "saturated" ? kind, such as meat, eggs, and cheese.
? We eat too much sugar and salt, and not enough fruit and vegetables.
? Some of us eat too much food for good health; others are constantly dieting and don't eat enough.
? We are, for the most part, not active enough to eat the amount of food needed to maintain good health without a substantial weight gain.
(These last two points fall into the category of damned if you do; damned if you don't.)
Since we can't rely on our diets to supply us with the necessary building blocks to maintain good health a dietary supplement is the answer. Supplements can be in the form of a tablet, a capsule, a liquid, or in powders that can be mixed in water or juice, or added to bars, creams, or gels. Supplements are sold as individual vitamins or minerals, or in combination multivitamin formulas, which may include mineral additions as well.
Why Choose a Multivitamin?
Vitamins are required to maintain both physical and mental health. For instance, a deficiency of vitamin C will cause scurvy, a deficiency of vitamin D will cause rickets, and a deficiency of vitamin A will cause eye problems. Minerals are needed for healthy bones and teeth, normal cell function, the composition of body fluids, and for the proper utilization of vitamins and other nutrients.
In a multivitamin, the whole range of vitamins will be included, taking into consideration the amounts recommended by the government's determination, many years ago, of the minimum required daily allowance (RDA) for the prevention of serious deficiencies. Since research conducted in more recent years has shown us that the prevention of disease is also possible, multivitamins are now formulated with this feature in mind.
Unless you have symptoms that show you need a particular vitamin or mineral in larger than normal quantities to correct a specific problem, a multivitamin supplement is usually a better choice than taking several different individual vitamins. Nutrients work together in cooperative action, or synergy, and correcting a deficiency in one vitamin or mineral may be not only ineffective, it may also induce a deficiency in another vitamin or mineral. A multivitamin's balanced preparation, therefore, is not only effective, it is safe. A one a day multivitamin is also a convenient delivery method for most people. Taking several tablets or capsules a day to meet your needs can be not only expensive but also too much of a burden for most people.
What is the Best Multivitamin for You?
Multivitamins are designed for specific purposes, and you will find formulas that are particularly suited for a child or for an adult. Women have special needs at various stages in their lives and a multivitamin for women will be formulated to optimize prenatal, pre-menopausal, or post-menopausal health. For example, there are different amounts of calcium and iron needed by women at different ages, and pregnant women require folic acid, zinc and manganese to a greater degree than non-pregnant women. A man may be looking for help with hair loss and waning libido.
Good health requires good practices like eating a well-balanced diet, exercising regularly and a maintaining a positive attitude. A multivitamin supplement can help in all three areas. Start taking one today.
Scott Gray is currently a freelance writer and enjoys providing tips to consumers who are in the market for all types of vitamins, vitamins and vitamins.
monthly home cleaning Buffalo Grove ..There is a generation called the baby boomers that make... Read More
A 2002 study reported, funded by the Swiss National Science... Read More
Do you ever find yourself asking any or all of... Read More
Turmeric, in all honesty is not a vitamin, but it... Read More
There are numerous herbal supplements on the market today that... Read More
Rhodiola rosea is available commercially as a supplement and rhodiola... Read More
Nitric oxide is a free form gas produced by the... Read More
Minerals are essential nutrients that serve the body in many... Read More
With dietary supplements making their way in our daily life,... Read More
The benefits of whey protein are so numerous and apply... Read More
L-carnitine is a nutritional supplement that has been touted by... Read More
Nutrition Supplement ? nutrition.Nutrition supplement is a term familiar to... Read More
If you suffer from arthritis pain, chances are you've heard... Read More
Fat Loss Supplement ? what is it?What is a fat... Read More
Vitamin C may be the most famous vitamin. Tens of... Read More
Much of what we hear and read in the media... Read More
Most parents' think their children are eating a fairly healthy... Read More
Don't be overwhelmed by this big word, ... Read More
With dietary supplements making their way in our daily life,... Read More
Antioxidant vitamins perform many important tasks that our bodies benefits... Read More
Whey protein is a high quality powder made from cow's... Read More
Biological oxidation involves transferring electrons from one oxygen molecule to... Read More
Throughout my childhood I was aware of the importance of... Read More
It's absolutely crucial that your body gets the nutrients it... Read More
According to Dr John Scurr leading Consultant Vascular Surgeon and... Read More
scheduled maid service Mundelein ..Vitamin B3 is one of the vitamins that make up... Read More
Fat Loss Supplement ? what is it?What is a fat... Read More
When it comes to personalized weight loss programs and their... Read More
Amino acid supplements and amino acid food intake can bring... Read More
Since the 1960???s there have been numerous controlled clinical trials... Read More
There are a host of choices for supplementing your Ironman... Read More
At the moment we are in the grip of an... Read More
Colloidal Silver might just be a wonderful thing and here's... Read More
The ancient Egyptians had a cure for "night blindness". They... Read More
Beta-Glucan is an extremely potent, immune activating substance taken from... Read More
The mankind has never stopped searching for the scerets of... Read More
Anti aging has become the latest craze.Wherever we look at,... Read More
Vitamin B1 also called as thiamine is one of the... Read More
It seems today that for every mood swing, inconvenient behavior,... Read More
There are two basic types of constipation - organic and... Read More
Throughout my childhood I was aware of the importance of... Read More
Our bodies change as we age, and to remain vigorous,... Read More
Hyaluronic acid, a key component of human tissue, aiding the... Read More
In a 2002 study, a group of researchers used oral... Read More
Best liquid calcium with boronNo longer is the search for... Read More
This article will reveal one easy change you can make... Read More
Herbal supplements have become hugely popular over the years, and... Read More
Vitamins and minerals play a major role in becoming healthy... Read More
A lot of people take vitamins A, C, B and... Read More
The muscles of the body actually depend heavily on the... Read More
Nutritional Supplements |