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Some Facts About Vitamin and Mineral Supplements |
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Written by ray
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Saturday, 30 September 2006 |
Vitamins are organic compounds that our bodies use, in very small amounts, for a variety of metabolic processes. Taking vitamins ‘just in case’ is not advocated by health experts. It is best to get vitamins from eating a varied diet. Taking vitamin and mineral supplements instead of eating a nutritious diet is not recommended. People who may need vitamin supplements include pregnant and lactating women, some vegetarians, people who drink large quantities of alcohol, drug users and the elderly. Vitamin and mineral supplements abound in the market today. There are a lot of different types of vitamin and mineral supplements and people naturally like to choose the best vitamin and mineral supplements to fulfill their nutrient needs. Here are some things you may need to know about vitamin and mineral supplements:
* Your body only needs a small amount of vitamins every day. A varied diet generally provides enough of each vitamin and mineral. Women planning a pregnancy should consider folate supplements or foods fortified with folic acid to reduce the risk of neural tube defects in the baby.
* Research indicates that most of the vitamins you get from the food you eat are better than those contained in pills. Even though the vitamins in supplements are synthesised to the exact chemical composition of naturally occurring vitamins, they still don’t seem to work as well.
* The vitamins A, D, E and K are fat soluble, which means they are stored in the body. High doses of these vitamins can be toxic. Excessive doses of some minerals may also cause problems. At just five times the RDI, zinc, iron, chromium and selenium can be raised to toxic levels in the body.
* Taking vitamin supplements should be viewed as a short term measure. The long term use of supplements can lead to symptoms of overdosing or poisoning. If you feel that you could be lacking in certain vitamins and minerals, it may be better to look at changing your diet and lifestyle rather than reaching for supplements.
One thing you should be very careful about is using vitamin and mineral supplements with medicines or herbs. Each thing you eat or drink can affect the different chemical processes that occur naturally inside you. Just as there can be harmful reactions with different chemicals outside your body, so there can be some harmful chemical reactions that may occur inside your body. There you go: those are just some things you need to know about vitamin and mineral supplements. Hopefully, you have gained some insight form this article.
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