The importance of vitamins:
Vitamins make you do good, and are great for nourishing your body. First speak with your doctor and ask him if you need vitamin supplements and if he can recommend any specific essential vitamin supplements. Generally, vitamin nutritional supplements are recommended for overall health and if a person is suffering from certain health problems that can be cured with the right vitamin supplements.
Taking vitamins:
Vitamin mineral supplements are actually meant to supplement your diet. It gives you extra minerals and vitamins in case you have health problems or if you are not able to get those from your diet.
Children and multivitamins:
Children are often given vitamin supplements for extra doses of vitamins that can complement their regular diet. We recommend you talk to a doctor before giving supplements to your child.
Finding the right vitamin supplement:
Here is some information to help you find the right vitamins.
1. Vitamin A:
If you are taking this particular vitamin, you need to take less than l0,000 IU of it.
Too much of it can increase the risk of birth defects.
2. Beta-carotene:
The best way to get this vitamin is through orange and green vegetables and fruits. It is advisable to take l5,000 IU of beta-carotene. If you take beta-carotene, the body converts it into vitamin A.
3. Folic acid:
Folic acid is good for women, especially those who are planning a family and are pregnant.
0.4 mg or 400 ug of folic acid can reduce the risk of birth defects such as cleft palate and spinal cord.
4. Vitamin D:
People over 50 years of age should take multi-vitamin supplements with 400 IU. Natural and healthy ways to get vitamin D is through fatty fish, milk and sunlight.
5. Phosphorous:
You may need at least 500 mg for this as you can get phosphorus from food products.
6. Iron:
0-10 mg of iron is fine for people who do not lose iron regularly. These would be men and post-menopausal women.
Pre-menopausal women as well as children have low iron in their body, so they should take 10-14 mg of it. Too much of iron can cause constipation. You can get iron naturally from red meat.
Choosing the right vitamins:
It is important to know how to choose the right vitamin supplements.
1. You need to read the labels of vitamin supplements so that you know what you are going to get in the pack.
2. Consult a doctor for the right information.
3. The pack needs to have the specification on the label.
4. A vitamin supplement should have hundred percent of the daily value of vitamins like B5, B3, B2, B1, D, B12, and folic acid. About 20 micrograms or more of vitamin A should also be in the supplement. Vitamin A should be 5000 IU or less while 40-50 percent of vitamin A can be beta carotene. The supplement should have the daily value of chromium, selenium, iodine, zinc, and copper.
