Our bodies need many different vitamins and minerals to function properly.
Vitamins and minerals also offer us protection against a range of diseases, including heart disease and some cancers, such as colon cancer and cervical cancer.
The good news is that we can get most of the vitamins and minerals our bodies need daily by choosing the right foods and eat a wide variety of them.
However, many people take a daily multivitamin to serve as the only insurance policy - to make sure they are getting all the vitamins and minerals that their bodies require.
"Vitamins are a good idea of trace elements," says Donald Novey, MD, an integrative medicine physician with the Medical Group lawyer in Park Ridge, Illinois.
"You want vitamins for all those little things in the bottom of the list of ingredients. Those at the top of the list of familiar and of which we can not avoid if we eat enriched foods. It trace elements at the bottom that are ones often missing."
It includes trace elements chromium, folic acid, potassium, iron, manganese, selenium, and zinc.
Daily vitamin: We need to change with age
Vitamin supplements can be particularly important during certain stages of our lives, says Dr. Novey. For example, it can be for women of childbearing age to take advantage of folic acid, which reduces the risk of some birth defects. A pregnant woman needs vitamins, which begins in the first trimester, to make sure that the child receives the proper nutrition. Active women and the elderly can benefit from increased calcium, which can help prevent bone loss and fractures. Vegetarians also can benefit from taking calcium salts, iron, zinc, vitamins B12 and D
It does not matter what time of the day to take vitamins? Not really, says Stephen Bickston, MD, AGAF, professor of internal medicine and director of the Center for the intestinal inflammatory disease in a health center Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. However, he says, some people find it useful to take vitamins at the same time each day. If it becomes part of their routine, they are less likely to forget. Also, he says, some people feel that if they ate vitamin with food, it is unlikely to cause an upset stomach. "I often recommend that people take vitamin chew," says Dr. Bickston, "because they seem well tolerated, even in people who have serious conditions of the digestive tract, which is what I deal with in my practice."
Vitamin Daily: Shopping Tips to get the right vitamins
Do you need to buy brand name vitamins? Novey says vitamins like any other consumer product: "You get what you pay for." And it suggests shopping for vitamins in health food or natural food stores. Read the label and make sure the expiration date is at least just a few months. Food and Drug Administration's advice on how much to take - or the recommended daily allowance (a) - often written as "% DV" for the percentage of the daily value on the label. However, be careful because the DVS on the label may not take into account the different age and gender needs as do the RDAs.
Vitamins can be beneficial, but doctors warn not to be duped by vitamins "Mega." The amount of vitamins in multi-standard is generally what you need for the health benefits. And people rarely need more than the RDA of vitamin A. When it comes to vitamins, it, too, is much of one good thing that can rule applies, Bickston says.
Daily vitamin: To ensure good health
Clearly, eating a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish, lean meats and poultry products and low-fat dairy and meat is the best way to get your daily dose of vitamins and nutrients to keep your body functioning properly and to ward off diseases. But taking a daily multivitamin is a good backup plan, and an easy way to fill in any gaps in your diet.
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