Boost Health With A Daily Multiple Vitamin

Although there are many vitamin and mineral supplements to choose from, finding the right multivitamin can take a little bit of time and effort. To find the right one for you, you need to ask questions, read label, compare products, and choose wisely. A good multivitamin should complement good nutrition, not replace it. After finding the right formula for your gender and age, you will have a strong nutritional foundation. Even a diet that is healthy diet can be improved by taking a multivitamin. Research shows that individuals who are eating a very healthy diet can improve their nutritional status through the use of a multivitamin.

Vitamins are organic substances or chemicals that are found and food and essential for life. Even though vitamins have their own specific jobs, they work together as a team. Deficiency in one vitamin can lead to sickness. All vitamins are either fat or water-soluble. For example, vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble and can be stored for a good amount of time in our fat and in the liver. Water soluble vitamins, such as vitamins C and B, cannot be stored and must be taken more than once a day for optimum nutrition.

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is defined as the average daily dietary intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirement of nearly all healthy individuals in a group. This means that RDA amounts of vitamins and minerals are the standard amounts that healthy people need to consume each day in order to avoid deficiency. The RDA does not take into account teenagers, people over the age of 45, and those who are taking oral contraceptives, pregnant, nursing, dieting, engaging in extreme physical activity, drinking alcohol, taking prescription medications, eating processed food, eating prepared food, stressed at work or at home, smoking, or exposed to second hand smoke or air pollution.

Because men and women have different nutritional needs, they need different multivitamin formulas. Age can also be a determining factor in the amount and type of vitamins you need to take. When it comes to multivitamins, one most definitely does not have the same benefits to all people. However, there are a few vitamins then men and women of all ages require. Vitamin A is a very necessary vitamin for everyone. It helps prevent certain types of cancer, helps reduce harmful cholesterol levels and the risk of heart attacks, prevents night blindness, and helps improve our vision. Similarly, it also aids our immune system, helps keep our skin, teeth, bone, hair, and gums healthy and strong, and helps to reduce age spots. Vitamin C, which is also a necessary vitamin for all people, strengthens the immune system, helps prevent chronic illness and cataracts, assists in lowering cholesterol, and helps make collagen. It also repairs damaged cells, bones, and teeth, as well as helps heal wounds, burns, and bleeding gums. Vitamin C can help healing after surgery, prevent colds and the flu, protect us against cancer, and help our bodies to absorb iron. Vitamin D works with vitamins C and A to help prevent colds. It also helps the body absorb calcium and vitamin A and helps to build strong bones with the help of phosphorus and calcium. Vitamin E helps to keep our skin looking young, helps oxygen get around in our bodies, prevents and helps dissolve blood clots, and helps burns heal faster. It also helps lower blood pressure, helps nerves convey messages faster, stops leg cramps, and helps boost our energy levels. Vitamin K is essential to the activation of osteocalcin, which is a protein that helps prevent bone loss. It also allows our body to produce prothrombin, a blood-clotting chemical that is essential so that our blood can clot. The B vitamins are an extremely important group of vitamins that work best when they are available in the body. Thiamin, which is also known as vitamin B1, helps keep our nerves and muscles working well. It can also prevent seasickness and tooth pain after dental work, as well as helps to treat shingles and helps with the digestion of carbohydrates. Thiamin also prevents beriberi. Riboflavin, known as vitamin B2 or vitamin G, is easily harmed by light and is the most common vitamin deficiency among Americans. It helps our vision, supports reproduction, helps eliminate sore mouths, lips, and tongues, and helps metabolize fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. Niacin not only lowers total cholesterol, but it also raises HDL (good) cholesterol. It also improves circulation, helps to eliminate bad breath, helps to reduce migraine headaches and dizziness, and reduces our cravings for sweets. Vitamin B6 can only work in our bodies for eight hours. Therefore, deficiencies in this vitamin are noted in many diseases. It helps us to make antibodies, stop nausea, reduce morning sickness, relieve mouth dryness, help reduce leg cramps and numbness in hands, help us use protein and fats, and helps make more niacin. With the help of folic acid, B6 can reduce harmful levels of homocysteine, which is an amino acid linked to heart disease and Alzheimer's disease. Vitamin B12 makes DNA with the help of folic acid. It also helps our nerve cells communicate, helps burn fat, and keeps us energized. Deficiencies of B12 can cause serious types of anemia and even nerve cell damage. Folic acid has a powerful ability to prevent spinal bifida, as well as help milk production in nursing mothers, reduce pain, make our skin look healthier, kill germs that cause food poisoning, help cells grow and divide, and help make DNA. Biotin is a natural beauty product that helps delay gray hair and baldness and also helps heal eczema and inflammation of the skin. It can also help aching muscles. Pantothenic acid helps us make antibodies to fight infection. It also converts sugar and fat into energy, therefore reducing fatigue.

Because our body needs minerals to provide rigidity and strength to our teeth and bones, help with nerve and muscle function, help with the clotting of blood, and for everyday tissue repair and growth, there are many minerals we need each day to keep us healthy. Be sure that the multivitamin supplement you buy contains calcium, iodine, magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, sodium, potassium, boron, and vanadium. Iron should be present in a formula for women who are still menstruating, as other adults can meet their needs for iron through food. Women need more silica to keep their bones healthy, as well as boron and calcium.

Vitamins can be easily wiped out by light, air, heat, and water. Therefore, cooking many foods can actually destroy their vitamins. Fortunately, taking a good quality multivitamin will provide you with dietary insurance against all of the issues faced when attempting to get vitamins through food. Studies have shown that the longer you use supplemental multivitamins, the greater your health benefits. Because it is not possible for you to get all the vitamins, minerals, and herbs needed in one pill taken once daily, most formulas are designed to be taken three times a day to provide you with superior benefits.

Along with the above ingredients, both women and men can benefit from a multivitamin including lutein, zeaxanthin, grape seed, bilberry, black tea, and cherry fruit. Additionally, men can receive greater benefits from a multivitamin including lycopene, as it reduces incidence of prostate cancer, heart disease, and age-related macular degeneration. Similarly, women can benefit from a multivitamin including cranberry, with its antioxidant capabilities, as well as phosphorus to support bone health. Those women who are still menstruating can benefit from chaste tree berry extract as it reduces premenstrual syndrome symptoms, while those women who are going through menopause can benefit from soy extract which protects women against heart attacks and keeps bones from becoming brittle and breaking. When buying a multivitamin make sure the manufacturer is reputable and read the labels of any supplement you are considering buying. The vitamins should be protected from light by being packaged in a non-transparent package, and the tablets should be coated with light resistant shield. Make sure your multivitamin does not contain sugar, artificial coloring, or artificial flavoring. Look to your internet health food store for quality name brand multivitamins because not all multiple vitamins are made the same.