The ads all say you should be taking a daily multivitamin. But, can you trust the ads? After all, they are companies trying to sell a product. So, should you believe what the ads say? Why should you take multivitamins? Is it really that important?
Getting your vitamins and minerals from food rather than supplements is the best method to ensure you are receiving all the nutrients your body needs.
However, there are several reasons this isn’t always going to work. Many of us just don’t eat right, and even when we do eat right, the nutritional levels in the foods we buy may not be as dense as they could be, or used to be. Multivitamins provide an easy way to get the nutrients you may be missing.
But, just grabbing a multivitamin off the shelf may not be the best advice. Before you buy, check the label to ensure you will be getting what you need. The vitamins and minerals you want to be sure are included are:
- Vitamin A
- B Vitamins
- Folic Acid
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin K
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Selenium
- Zinc
These are the basic ‘building blocks’ for good health and proper nutrition. When you have the right balance of vitamins and minerals in a multivitamin-mineral formula, you will help give your body the ability to function properly. Here are just a few areas where the correct nutrients can help fend off illness and promote good health:
Preventing Deficiencies
When your body is deficient in vitamins and minerals, you can experience an array of health problems. Taking a daily multivitamin can help reduce the risk of health issues due to these deficiencies.
For example, vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that protects the body’s cells from damage; both externally and internally caused damage. For instance, in patients with cataracts, this vitamin has shown the ability to help stop the progression of cataracts, and in some cases even reduce the formation of cataracts.
Reducing Stress
Daily stress is something everyone lives with. Life is filled with stressors, both bad and good. When you feel the adrenalin pumping, you know your body is using up your resources of vitamins and minerals just to handle the anxiety and stress. If you don’t have the proper nutrients your body needs to replenish and handle the drain on your body, you will suffer a deficiency. That’s when you get sick.
For example, our bodies quickly use up vitamin C during stressful situations. If not regularly replaced, this leads to a deficiency. And, in this instance, a deficiency can cause more than an illness. A deficiency of vitamin C can actually perpetuate the stress cycle as it causes irritability and anxiety, causing more stress, causing a drain of more vitamin C, and so on and so forth. Taking a supplement with vitamin C can help end this cycle.
Boosting Energy and Brain Power
Lack of proper nutrition can make you feel sluggish and tired. By taking a multivitamin every day, you know you’re providing your body with the vitamins and minerals it needs. We all skip breakfast sometime, and we know how we feel if we do. Having that bit of nutrition ‘insurance’ helps your body stay healthy and awake, and doing what you ask it to do.
In much the same way, having the proper balance of vitamins and minerals provides your brain with the nutrition it needs to stay focused and alert. If achieving mental clarity is a priority in your life, then by all means add a multivitamin to your daily regimen.
Most of us want to eat right. After all, we need to keep our bodies fed with the proper amount of vitamins and minerals to operate at maximum capacity. Getting the nutrition we need from our food is ideal. But, the fact is, life keeps us busy.
We don’t always take time to eat properly. Including a multivitamin in your day can help fill the gaps in nutrition. That one little step may just give you peace of mind as you strive to achieve a healthy lifestyle.
