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Who Needs To Take Vitamins?
Copyright 2006 Donovan Baldwin
Do you need vitamins, minerals and other dietary supplements for
your health? If you do, which vitamins should you take? Most of us
are willing to concede the necessity of having a good balance of
vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients in our daily diet for good
health, but many of us wonder if it is necessary to use vitamin
pills and other dietary supplements to do this.
Can't we get enough
of the vitamins we need from our daily diet?
I suppose that some of us might be in good enough health not to
need additional vitamins, minerals, and other dietary supplements,
but IF YOU FALL INTO ONE OF THE GROUPS BELOW, you might want to
consider adding at least a daily multivitamin supplement to your
diet.
If you are a woman: Women are possibly deficient in such
minerals as magnesium, folic acid, zinc, calcium, and in some
cases, iron. If you are pregnant or using birth control, you may
require additional vitamin or mineral supplements for good
health.
If you diet for weight loss or follow a fairly limited diet or
restricted nutritional regimen: Important vitamins and minerals are
scattered widely across a broad range of nutritional options (i.
e.
foods), and if you are limiting your intake by volume or by type,
you are likely limiting your intake of vitamins, minerals, and
other nutrients vital to your health.
If you eat the normal American diet: Actually, the normal
American diet is not very normal, nor is it good for your health!
It is, however, terribly lacking in the vitamins, minerals,
enzymes, hormones, and other nutritional elements a healthy body
needs. Additionally, if your diet does contain all of these in
optimal quantities, you are probably eating way too much food -
Catch 22!
If you smoke or drink alcohol often: Smoking and excessive
drinking (roughly more than two drinks a day - which is GOOD for
you), depletes certain vitamins and other nutrients.
If you are already NOT in good health, physically or mentally:
Your body may not be processing the vitamins, minerals, etc. that
your are providing in your diet. Also, the EXTRA vitamins,
minerals, and other nutrients you provide with supplements may have
a positive affect on the condition. It goes without saying that an
appropriate supplementation program MIGHT HAVE PREVENTED or
lessened the impact of the health problem in the first place.
If you love junk food and it tends to be a major part of your
diet: Once again, you are probably not getting the dietary balance
of vitamins, minerals, and other nutritional elements necessary for
good health. Sadly, many of the constituents of these types of
food, particularly refined sugar, actually leach vitamins,
minerals, and other nutrients from your body, or prevent the
effective use, tranport, or absorption of these nutrients.
If you cannot afford a steady diet of the foods that you realize
are most valuable to your health: A multivitamn pill costs only a
few cents a day, and without changing another single fact of your
life, can contribute significantly to your health and
well-being.
If you are over 65 years of age: You have specific deficiencies
and needs, as well as a possible array of health problems.
Odds are
that you are lacking in B-12, Vitamin D, Vitamin K, folic acid,
zinc, Vitamin C, and other vitamins and minerals. As our bodies age
(I'm 60, so I can talk), they become less efficient at processing
nutrients of all types, so even if your typical diet contains all
the nutrients you need, your body is probably not getting the
complete benefit from them. I mentioned some possible deficiencies
above. Let's look at only one - Vitamin D deficiency - as this is
very common in folks over 65.
This vitamin deficiency may
contribute to some forms of cancer (including breast and colon
cancer), muscular weakness, joint pain, and the well published one
- osteoporosis. Again, a daily multivitamin can go a long way
towards promoting health in the years both before and after age 65.
OKAY, WHO'S LEFT!
If you are male, under 65, in excellent mental and physical
health, exercise regularly, have a nutritionally rich and diverse
diet, do not smoke or drink, and are NOT QUITE CERTAIN that YOUR
DIET contains all the vitamins, minerals, and other nutritional
elements necessary for good health: You MIGHT want to tilt the odds
in your favor with a good daily multivitamin supplement.
EVERYBODY ELSE CAN LEAVE!
Your health is fine.
You don't need to supplement your present
diet with vitamins and minerals.
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The author's interest in fitness and health began in 1970 when
he first read Dr. Kenneth Cooper's "Aerobics". Find health,
fitness, and weight loss tips at .
com . You can find additional
articles on fitness, health, and weight loss at
.blogspot.com .
Donovan Baldwin is a Dallas area writer. A graduate of the
University of West Florida, Pensacola (1973), member of Mensa, and
retired from the U. S. Army, he writes essays, articles, poetry,
and product reviews for use on his own website, and for other
webmasters.
His blog on internet business and marketing, and
related subjects, can be found at
.donovanbaldwin.blogspot.com.
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