Why vitamin Supplements? A Reality check
According to the doctors if you eat healthy and nutritious food there is no need for vitamin supplements. This is not necessarily to me. Most of us eat on the fly with one or two fast food dinner or two more ready to make convenience meals taken each week. Due to problems in environment, the commercially grown vegetables are artificially colored and sprayed with pesticides from the beginning to the end. As such they cannot and do not deliver the expected nutrients, failure in the rotation of crops, in large commercial farms leads to progressive depletion of soil.
Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDAS) put out by the government are not the necessarily true figures. It is well known that these RDAS are wide off the mark in great part of our detriment. According to the suggestion of alternative medicine the RDA of most vitamins should be increased by at least a third and sometimes doubled.
The RDA for folic acid (vitamin B9) is fixed at 400mcg per day for adults and 600mcg for pregnant women. Folic acid sources are few and it is mainly found in leafy vegetables but the supply is only in the range of 150mcg per half cup serving. Fortified breakfast cereals have 200 400mcg per cup serving. Hence it is absolutely to take vitamin supplements or a good multivitamin.
The prices of different vitamins supplement brand vary and have many discrepancies. In the case of multivitamins there may be a couple of problem. While promising 100% of the RDA of the listed vitamins it does not provide the adequate measure. The manufacturer, at times, leave out the nutrient as it is costly. Many national brands suffer from this problem. Individual vitamin supplements, like vitamin C which is cheap may contain ascorbic acid as the form of vitamin C. But it is not well absorbed as natural sources and can cause stomach upset. Some cheap vitamin supplement supplements are useless as the form is not readily usable in the human body.
As we grow old, our bodies are unable, to a certain extent, to metabolize certain vitamin deficiencies. This may lead to various health conditions that may become worse. Evidently selenium deficiency causes psoriasis, but the active ingredient in a good dandruff shampoo is selenium prescribed as a topical remedy for psoriasis. Vitamin supplements ward off deficiencies and make you feel healthier.
Have good health; educate yourself on the details of good nutrition and nutrients through libraries and reference books. Approach online nutrition sites for detailed information and examine the relationship between nutrition and your health condition.
Your local food store for health is the best resource for vitamin supplements. Go to a few family owned shop rather than a national chain. Staff at the family owned shop know every thing about vitamin supplements and can explain the good aspects of the ingredients in them for your good health.