Health Supplements

Vitamin Supplements for Nutritional Health

7 Comments

Vitamins are essential nutrients for all living organisms.  Most vitamins, however, cannot be produced naturally in the body in sufficient quantities and, therefore, must be obtained in the diet.  Still, most people do not ingest the recommended amounts of vitamins in their regular diet.  For these people, nutritional health supplements are an important and vital source of vitamins.  Humans require a total of thirteen different vitamins.  Vitamins A, D, E, and K are all fat soluble, meaning they are absorbed in the intestinal track with the help of fatty acids or lipids.  Vitamin C and the entire group of B Vitamins are water soluble:  they are easily dissolved in water.  

A long term shortage in your vitamin intake can result in malnourishment, disease, and death.  A chronic vitamin deficiency in the body can often lead to avitaminosis, which is any disease caused by a long term vitamin deficiency.  For example, up until 1749, many sailors suffered from a disease known as scurvy while they were away at sea.  The condition caused bleeding, severe pain, and death, and the cause was unknown.  Finally, in 1749, it was discovered that eating citrus fruits would prevent the disease entirely.  Scurvy was simply the result of a Vitamin C deficiency.  With some vitamins, there is also the danger of an overdose.  If you are taking several different vitamin supplements, you should be sure to make sure you are not taking too much of any one vitamin. 

Taking vitamin and multivitamin supplements is a great way to maintain or improve your health and nutrition.  Still, it is important to choose your supplements very carefully.  However, it is also important to understand that a multivitamin alone is not the answer.  Nutritional health supplements should be included as part of a well balanced, healthy diet to each maximum benefit for your health. 

How to Choose the Best Nutritional Health Supplements

4 Comments

With the hectic lifestyles that many people lead today, it can be extremely difficult to eat a well balanced, nutritious diet consistently.  So, more and more people now turn to nutritional health supplements to get the vitamins, antioxidants, and nutrients that they need to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  However, when it comes to choosing the right supplements, most people are totally confused and lost.  How can you go about choosing the right nutritional health supplements?

The first step in choosing the right dietary supplement is determining what purpose you have for taking a supplement.  Is there something that your regular diet lacks that you wish to augment?  Are you looking for an energy boost, or maybe just a mental boost?   Are you trying to slow or reverse the effects of aging on your body and mind?  Do you simply want to make sure you are getting all of your essential vitamins and minerals?  Decide which reasons you have for taking a nutritional supplement, and choose the appropriate types of supplements. 

Once you have chosen what type of dietary supplement you need, you will want to choose a trusted brand to purchase.  This can be a difficult decision to make, because nutritional supplements are largely unregulated, making it difficult for consumers to feel safe buying a brand that they do not know or trust.

If you are not sure about a particular brand, you can check if the manufacturer is a member of the Better Business Bureau.  You may also wish to call the manufacturer and ask someone to address your questions:  Does the firm have tests that prove the efficacy and safety of the supplement?  Does the company practice quality control and safe manufacturing processes?  Does the manufacturer have any negative reports or complaints about the product from consumers?

There are also several independent organizations that offer “seals of approval” that signify that the manufacturer follows safe manufacturing processes.  While these seals do not guarantee the safety or effectiveness of the health supplement, they do help give the company some legitimacy.  Overall, it is important to carefully weigh all of the above factors when choosing the right nutritional health supplement for your needs. 

« go back