Wednesday, 21 October 2009
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Vitamins: Neccesary or Not?
I am a healthy person. I eat a mostly vegetarian diet, but do eat eggs, dairy products, and occasionally fish. I run 3-4 times a week and do yoga and pilates on my off days. I do now, however, take vitamins. When I feel a cold coming on, I might load up on Vitamin C, but other than that, I don't worry about it.
As I get older, I wonder if I should be taking at least some type of multi-vitamin everyday, but I can't find any good information on this. I've read many articles that say as long as you eat a balanced diet, vitamin supplements are unnecessary, but I know other people who say that once they started taking vitamins, they had more energy and got sick less often. I tried to read about it on WedMD, but their vitamin page is funded by GNC, so I'm not sure how balanced of an opinion I'm getting there.
Does anyone have good information about this? Do you take vitamins? Have you noticed any differences in your health because of them? If you don't take them, why?
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About the Author
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- From: lindsaya
- Name: lindsaya
- About Me: I am a teacher/writer who lives in New York city and I am always on the go. In between my various jobs, obligations, and activities, I try to make time to lead a healthy and balanced life. I love to run, swim, do yoga, and try new activities. I am also a long-time vegetarian who is constantly struggling between my desire to eat healthy foods and my love of all things made out of bread or covered in cheese!
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Comments (41)
I most definitely take a multi-vitamin every day. There have been so many studies showing that no one in this country is getting even the basic vitamins and minerals they need on a daily basis to survive. So many diseases this country is plagued with could be prevented with proper nutrition and exercise. It's great that you take the time to eat healthy, but even then I'm sure you are still missing some vital things on a day-to-day basis. There are so many things you would need to eat every day to get what you could be getting just by supplementing with a vitamin.
About 6 months ago I made a switch in my lifestyle to eat healthy and exercise daily, because I had been living such a low quality of life. I was really overweight, depressed, and had bad insomnia. I managed to lose some weight, but the rest didn't really get better. I ate well everyday, but I was still missing out on a lot of things - for one, I hate fish, and I know how important some of the things in fish are for you. I started taking a multi-vitamin, and though I'm not fully there yet with my weight, I've really been able to get my life back. I'm sure it was a combination of everything I was doing, but I really feel my vitamin kick-started the rest.
As for which vitamin, I just looked at the facts, and the one I take
really blows the competition away when I compared, but you'll need to
find this out for yourself. It takes some studying. A lot of
companies will say they have this much of something in their product,
but that's not always what it actually means. There's a lot of tricky
wording in the business.
You sound like a pretty healthy person, but I'm sure if you looked carefully, you'd see you're not getting as much as you really need of absolutely every important vitamin and mineral that your body needs on a daily basis.
Vitamins supplement what you're not getting from your diet already; women need more iron or zinc or something, so make sure you get that.
Eating fish isn't vegetarian for people who are confused.
I would suggest a vitamin with iron. Track your food for a couple of days on sparkpeople and see how it comes out. (you can track your vitamins) Or at least take one once a week to replenish your sources.
My doctor recommends I take a *lot* of vitamin D because I have anemia. I notice a difference.
Depending on the individual's needs, vitamins can supplement your diet and lifestyle, albeit already healthy. I have tried many different types over the years, and settled on LifePak Nano by Pharmanex. They're pricey, but I've experimented with many types. When I don't take them, I notice a difference in how I feel and function. I also take probiotics, B12 and marine omegas, also for very specific reasons personal to my health past and present factors.
Some people can get by with just calcium (especially women as they get older) or iron..multivitamin, etc. It just depends on you personally. Explore your needs and which vitamins can fulfill them. :)
Every little bit helps. Vitamins are good for you & I think they are necessary. We cant be like the ladies in the fiber commercials eating veggies & fruit at every second of the day. LOL. The only thing about multivitamins that people dont know is not every vitamin in the bottle is the same. One tablet may have 25% of something & the next one will have 17% but that's a small con.
For people who have a hard time with pills or buying vitamins (which can be expensive), healthy smoothies are a good alternative. I do that. I also want to invest in a juicer so I can make my own natural juice, which is healthier than bottled ones. No added sugar & preservatives.
I take multi-vitamin tablets and they don't really make a difference..
I don't take them. Your body gets more vitamins from foods that you eat naturally.. Vitamins in pill-form are hard for your body to absorb. They tend to go right through your system. I know this because I tried, and my pee turned bright yellow (meaning that the excessive amount of vitamins was just being flushed through my body) [haha sry if this was too much info]and my bio teacher agrees with me :)
But I guess if you have a vitamin deficiency, it doesn't hurt to take some.. But if you're perfectly healthy, don't take them because it'll just go through your system
I take three vitamin supplements: centrum womens multi-vitamin, iron, and naturemade chewable vitamin C (to absorb the iron). I'm anemic. That's the only reason why I started taking vitamins.
I take the spergreens multi-vitamin from GNC. I don't have the best diet in the world. So yeah I think it helps. I don't get sick too much, although recently I had the swine flu, it sucked.
I do take a multi-vitamin every day and I have definitely noticed improvements, even if they're little ones. They seem to keep everything running okay, my skin is nice and clear, my energy has been better.
I take the One a Day Teen Advantage for Her.
But One a Day is a good brand in general. My mom takes the one for women, and my brother takes the Teen one for Him.
I take one multivitamin a day. It couldn't hurt, even if you do have a balanced diet. When I started taking them daily, I noticed I had more energy, my hair fell out less (strange, I know), and my nails didn't peel back (STRANGER, I know!). I was very deprived of vitamin D because I was lactose intolerant, but I still take them even now that I drink soymilk.
VITAMIN D is one of the most common vitamin deficiencies. I would suggest taking a Vitamin D supplement if you live in the Northeast/receive limited sun exposure
Also if you are on your period (or approaching it) OR if you are an avid coffee/tea drinker (caffeine blocks iron absorption) it might be valuable to find a supplement with Iron
Lastly, calcium + magnesium supplements have made PMS A LOT better of a time for me. If you are having problems with mood swings/irritability, give it a try. I take my calcium/mg along with my vitamin D supplement at night
i take a multivitamin - don't notice much of a difference, but i think the mental "security" improves my overall health.
Me and my sister use to take those orange vitamin tablets in the winter when we was in first school, we took one with breakfast. I remember once we used to have some different type of vitamin tablets we took one each day, but there were different colors.
I think the key to this post is "getting older." of course if you are older you should start taking some multi vitamin. Since usually older people need more to stay healthy. Your immune system and body isnt what it used to be so in order to maintain the health or make it better you must supplement your diet with pills.
Its funny this was featured cause I have been thinking about taking some type of vitamin like Vit. C or something.....just to give my immunse system the boost it needs. I have been feeling really run down lately because of my HECTIC schedule...
just go to a vit shoppe and tell them what you want or need and any concerns those people will find something for you.
It doesn't hurt to take a multi-vitamin (as far as we know). However, unless your diet was deficient to begin with, a multi-vitamin won't necessarily help.
-Vitamins are either soluble in water or in fat.
-Water soluble ones, if you take more than you need, are going to be flushed out in your urine- so you'll have expensive urine...but that's about it. (a previous reply said something about it not being absorbed- she's right that vitamins in food form are generally better absorbed...but if she's seeing a change in her urine, it means it was absorbed before showing up in the urine). Water soluble vitamins: Vitamin C, all the B vitamins Some people have absorption deficiencies and need B12 injections or supplementation. Pregnant women and women trying to get pregnant ABSOLUTELY
should take prenatal vitamins to make sure they have enough folate, a B vitamin.
Fat soluble vitamins: Vitamins A, D, E, K
You CAN get too much of these because they accumulate in the fat (A in particular). However, it takes a LOT to cause toxicity, so most of the time, multivitamins aren't going to cause a problem. Eating polar bear liver will.
American diets are often deficient in vitamin D, and Calcium (a mineral, technically not a vitamin). So, yes, it's generally a good idea to supplement both of these, especially as a woman, especially if you don't eat enough dairy producgt. Women who are anemic may need iron- also vegetarians may want to supplement this as well- but it might be worth getting iron levels checked by your doctor first- I wouldn't say that absolutely everyone should be taking it.
Tons of Vitamin C as an immune system boost- evidence is equivocal at best. Tons of zinc can (rarely) cause loss of sense of smell- does that mean DON'T...not really- just be aware.
I don't take vitamins. I didn't even take a prenatal vitamin while I was pregnant because if you eat healthy. regardless of your age you do not need a vitamin. The only time I took vitamins was when I was deliberately being unhealthy and when my son was less than 9 months old while I was nursing.
well DUH vitamins are neccesary, but why take the supplements when you already get all the nutrients from the healthy foods you eat? duh, i dont even know why you bothered.
I take "Mineral Lift" and or "Liquid Life". I do notice a diference. My finger nails are not brittle when I take it. So if I notice the condition of my nails, I have to think there are other benifits I don't see. Â
If we are eating vegtables grown in nutrient depleted soils, they do not pack the punch that they should.Â
I am going to take them.Â
I thought as long as you eat healthy you'll be okay but if a lot of people are saying it made them feel better, I might try.
vitamin supplements are always necessary. There's no way you can consume every single bit of nutrient/protein/vitamin to the correct percentage your body needs a day. Supplements also help with quality of skin, hair mood and energy--at least for me.
i take vitamins. i think they are necessary. sometimes people don't get the right amount of vitamins in their bodies, and i think taking them fill in those gaps. they say they're better for your blood cells too. it helps them multiply faster.
I always take vitamins just in case I forget to include a certain vitamin in my diet for the day.
I don't take it simply b/c most of it is peed out anyway.