Nutrition supplements are BIG business. An estimated 40% of Americans take a supplement, most commonly a multivitamin. The advertisements selling supplements are very compelling. They depend on the fact that many people are unsure about whether or not they are eating a healthy diet, or would be willing to do so. It makes sense for everyone to take a multivitamin as they can provide some assurance that you are meeting all of your daily requirements. However, let's face it- no supplements make up for a lousy diet. The ideal combination would be a healthy diet along with a mulltivitamin. But what do you look for in a multivitamin?
Look for a vitamin that supplies 100% of the Daily Value
(DV) ) of ten vitamins (A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, D, E, folic
acid and niacin) plus Vitamin K. The over 50-crowd should look for
a multivitamin that supplies 25 micrograms of Vitamin B-12. Brands
that meet this requirment range from Centrum, Kroger's brand,
OneSource, Rite Aid Whole Source, Safeway Select Omnisource,
Shaklee Vita-Lea, Walgreens to others that are not listed here.
There are other brands out there as well, just check the
label.
Note: If you are on blood thinners, please be sure to
check with your doctor before taking Vitamin K. Vitamin K aids in
blood clotting so this could be counterproductive to the
medication.
Get a minimum of minerals in your supplement as well. Many multivitamins are great on the vitamins but are often lacking on the minerals. Make sure that your choice of supplement also contains 100% of the DV for zinc, copper and chromium.
Consider supplementing Calcium separately. There are no multivitamins on the market that give you 100% of the DV for calcium. Unless you are drinking a lot of milk or eating a lot of regular yogurt, you probably aren't meeting the daily requirement. Suggested supplemental amounts are 1200 - 1500 milligrams in the form of Calcium Carbonate of Calcium Citrate, daily. Try to get a supplement that requires you to take it 2-3 times per day and not the whole amount in one pill. Calcium is absorbed more efficiently when taken in smaller amounts. It is also most readily absorbed when there is acid present in the stomach. Thus, it is best taken around meal times.
Avoid Excesses. Even though vitamins are naturally found in food and they don't require a prescription to purchase, this doesn't mean that it's healthy to have more than the recommended amounts. Higher levels of certain vitamins have produced side-effects in studies - so be cautious. Stay within the recommended amounts to get the optimum benefits. fat soluble, vitamin A and its pre-cursor beta carotene, D, E, and K, which are stored in the liver and fatty tissues for relatively long periods of time (months or even years). Excess water soluble vitamins are generally excreted by the body.