Should I be Taking a Multivitamin Supplement?
With all of the different types of vitamin and mineral supplements on the market today it seems as though just about everyone is taking something. Some people insist that you need to just take one or two supplements, while others insist the only way to stay healthy is to take a multivitamin every day. On top of personal opinions, there seems to be constant media attention regarding vitamins as well. This has probably left you feeling quite confused and asking yourself: Should I be taking a multivitamin supplement?
Here is what we know: our bodies need a wide variety of vitamins and minerals to function properly and keep us healthy. Vitamins and minerals help to protect us from many different conditions such as heart disease, blood deficiencies, and certain types of cancer.
By choosing a wide variety of healthy foods such as, fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein, dairy, and whole grains you can get most of the vitamins and minerals your body needs each day. Since most people do not consume enough of these foods, or a wide enough variety of these foods, many physicians recommend taking a multivitamin daily as a bit of extra insurance. Multivitamins are also excellent sources of trace elements. Trace elements include: zinc, iron, manganese, folic acid, selenium, chromium, and potassium. These elements are often overlooked and not consumed in adequate amounts on a regular basis.
Multivitamin supplements are also particularly important for certain age groups and certain types of people. For example, vegetarians tend to be deficient in calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, iron, and zinc. These people can benefit a great deal from a daily supplement. Women of childbearing age, and pregnant women benefit from extra folic acid. Post-menopausal women can benefit from extra amounts of calcium to help prevent bone loss due to osteoporosis.
So, now that you know it probably will not hurt to take a daily multivitamin, how do you go about choosing which type to buy? Like other products on the market, you generally get what you pay for. Try to find a high quality product that has good amounts of the recommended daily allowances of each ingredient. Also, make sure you choose a product that has an expiration date that is at least a few months down the road, and stay away from products that make too many promises. So-called “mega” vitamins are usually just a gimmick, and you really just need standard amounts of each ingredient to get all of the necessary health benefits.
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