Vitamins and supplements have incredible healing powers for those that are suffering from illness, but what about people who are already fairly healthy? If there’s nothing wrong with your health, should you still take vitamins and supplements? The answer is a resounding yes. This is because while vitamins and supplements can help those who are ill, they are really better used as preventative medicine for healthy people rather than cures for the sick. In fact, many people become ill because they have deprived their body of the nutrients it needs for a long period of time.
Believe it or not, everyday life robs us of important nutrients all the time. Whether you feel it or not, many of our modern day lifestyles aren’t particularly healthy. Most Americans, for example, rarely get the recommended daily amount of five servings of vegetables per day. Then things like smoking, fast-food, excessive drinking, and caffeine rob us of more nutrients we aren’t even consuming in the first place. So, if you are feeling run down, a good multivitamin is the best way to start replenishing all of the nutrients that your body is missing.
A multivitamin is inexpensive and easy to take. A multivitamin also has most of the recommended doses of the vitamins and supplements you need on a daily basis to stay healthy. This includes vitamin A, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper, zinc, chromium, and potassium. There are two reasons to take a multivitamin, even if you are feeling fine. The first is to get the vitamins and minerals you aren’t getting in your diet, and the second is to replace the vitamins and minerals you are depleting because of bad eating habits.
If you drink large amount of caffeine, you are depleting your body of biotin, inositol, potassium, and zinc. Zinc, a mineral that boosts your immune system is essential for fighting off the common cold and flu. Potassium helps keep you blood pressure in check. Remember, if you take vitamins and supplements to replace what caffeine is taking out of it, make sure to take them with water and not caffeine. Taking vitamins with a caffeinated beverage will leach the nutrients right out of the vitamin, and they will merely pass through your body.
If you eat too much bacon, sausage, and cured ham – check the ingredients. If the pork you are eating contains nitrates, you are depleting your body of niacin, selenium, vitamin C, and vitamin E. Vitamin C and E are the two most important vitamins you can have in your system as protection from heart disease, cancer, brain malfunction, premature aging, and other major illnesses.
Excess alcohol consumption depletes your body of almost every vitamin and supplement you can imagine and should be avoided whenever possible. When you drink too much alcohol, you are depleting your body of magnesium, vitamin B complex, and vitamins C, D, E, and K. Since these are the main vitamins your body needs to function, alcohol can be very damaging to your system.
Oral contraceptives also deplete the body of vitamin B complex and vitamins C, D, and E. These vitamins are the foundation for health and must be replaced if you are taking an oral contraceptive. Consult your doctor about this when you get a prescription, and also if you plan to conceive after taking the pill. This is in order to prevent birth defects. Taking estrogen can also deplete your body of folic acid and B6. If you are experiencing menopause or other age related conditions, is imperative that you take vitamins and supplements to replace what your body needs to function.
Even the most mundane items can deplete your body of the vitamins and minerals it needs to function on any level. For example, using fluoride can lessen the amount of vitamin C you have in your system. This is a getting a little picky, but hopefully you can see that even if you are a fairly healthy person, you still need vitamins and supplements to keep your body running in peak condition. Without them, you are looking at experiencing unnecessary illnesses and overall poor health.
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