The Truth About Vitamins and Supplements
College students are hardly known for having well-balanced lives, and this includes their diets. Many people try to make up for the nutrients that they are missing in their daily diets with vitamins and supplements. Some people believe that vitamins are the key to any health problem or nutrient deficiency, while others think that they do more harm than good. Many medical professionals believe that Americans overdo their vitamin consumption.
Vitamin B is one of the most popular supplements people take. It is supposed to keep the body’s nerve and blood cells healthy and make DNA. Another vitamin many people take is fish oil. Fish oil is said to have cardiovascular and brain-functioning benefits, along with arthritis prevention. Melatonin is taken by a lot of people to help get a good night’s sleep. It can also balance a disrupted sleep cycle. Vitamin D can help the absorption of calcium, fortifying bone health. Calcium is another supplement that supports bone health.
Multivitamins pack in multiple vitamins into one pill. The best way to take a multivitamin is to look for one that is targeted to your gender and age. If you’re 20 years old, you need different vitamins than a 50-year-old.
Even though a great deal of people do not often eat the suggested serving of vegetables and fruits each day, vitamin deficiencies are not a huge problem in America. Doctors are more concerned about vitamin excess.
Vitamins are better for people experiencing some kind of deficiency as opposed to those who are trying to make up for the vitamins they do not eat during the day. Anemic people benefit greatly from iron supplements, and when people are battling sickness, an extra dose of vitamin C in pill form can help heal the immune system. These are not necessary for everyday life, though.
There have been many conflicting reports about multivitamins and cancer. After a decade of following 15,000 older male doctors, it was found that those taking multivitamins experienced 8 percent fewer cancers than those taking placebos, according to the New York Times. This is all quite subjective, though, because cancer is never a guarantee.
The study’s lead author, Dr. Gaziano, published that people should not use multivitamins to make up for their lack of eating well, smoking, not using sunscreen or exercising. The multivitamin can just help enhance the benefits of living a healthy life.
The American Cancer Society suggests that those taking supplements should be taking a balanced multivitamin that contains no more than 100 percent of the daily value of any of the nutrients. The University of Maryland Medical Center also stresses the daily intake of vegetables and fruits over multivitamins.
When buying vitamins, brand names make a difference, according to steadyhealth.com. The higher the quality of the vitamin company, the better the ingredients. Buying a higher quality vitamin also ensures that the ingredients have been put through tests, safeguarding the safety and effectiveness of the ingredient.
The best brands of vitamin to buy are the store brands (such as the Target or Wal-Mart brand) or big-name vitamin companies (like One A Day or Centrum), according to Fitness Magazine.
Consult your doctor to find what kind of vitamin might help you be your most healthy self. This way, your physician can identify what vitamins you may be needing every day and what dosage will be most effective.
Although vitamins may be beneficial to some, they are not completely necessary for every individual. If you maintain a fairly healthy lifestyle, you shouldn’t need vitamins. They are called supplements, and not replacements, for a reason. But, when experiencing some kind of illness or deficiency, vitamins can be very useful.
