Vitamins and mineral supplements, I wonder how much we actually know about them. I am sure a lot of us know vitamins such as A, B, C, D etc... Well, that's not far from the truth. We often don't get much information on minerals, maybe they're because they are often needed in small quantities or we choose not to bother about them.
There are countless vitamin supplements but I will mention just a few of them. They are vitamin A, B, B6, B12, C, D, E and K. Mineral supplements can be macro that is needed in large or medium quantity or micro that is in small quantity. Examples are manganese, calcium, potassium, zinc, iodine, phosphorus, folic acid, niacin, selenium etc.
Basically vitamins and mineral supplement are not to be substituted for our diets. As the word supplement rightly says, they're to be added to your diet in order to make up for a deficiency. Hence there are group of people who might be at risk of insufficiency due to their age group, lifestyle or condition such people would need supplements.
Mel-absorption is a condition which prevents individuals from absorbing nutrients from food this could be as a result of gastrointestinal motility disorder, pancreatic disorder and Crohn diseases. This is when the benefits of supplements become emphasized as they act in ways that keep deficiency of these nutrients.
Vitamin A, C and E supplements are known to be antioxidant, they help protect your cell against the effect of free radical examples are radiation, tobacco smoke. These free radicals could cause cancer, heart problems and damage to cells. Vitamin E supplement is half as active as the natural one. But you get very little of the natural vitamin. E from diets such as almonds, spinach, hazelnut etc... They're mostly from nut that we rarely eat enough. The required daily amount (RDA) for an adult is 22.5 IU e.g. cup of spinach contains just 1.6 IU. But you still need 20.9IU to go for the day. Vitamin A supplement as well plays an important role in bone growth and vision it's highly advisable for children.
Vitamin B and it is complex are water soluble, hence they're not stored in the body. Vitamin B6 supplement helps prevent iron deficiency as your body needs large quantity of it to make hemoglobin. Vitamin A, D, E and K are fat soluble, they could be stored in the body. Hence only people who are having deficiency of these vitamins need supplements an overdose of these vitamins could become toxic.
Minerals specified as folic acid help build new cell and might be needed in large quantity, especially in the early stages of pregnancy. If enough isn't derived from food then dietitians could advice you on what supplement to take. We have more than 99% of calcium in our body, calcium supplements might not be necessary except for older women over the age of fifty at risk of osteoporosis as it prevents weak bones. Potassium supplements are also not advisable because you can get a lot from diet excess in the system can become toxic. Fish oil supplements are suggested to lower risk of heart problem as it prevents blood clotting however overdose may lead to hemophilia.
If you're just like me and like getting to the point. Let's cut the chase, the most important thing to know is the RDA and how much you're already getting from your diet and surrounding.
Lastly, if you're on a medication, pregnant or lactating you should always consult a doctor before using any vitamins or mineral supplements. Because some of these supplements could prevent your body from absorbing the minerals you actually need from your diet in such situation. Additionally, you could experience Polypharmacy it's a situation where you've too many medicines in your system which might start interacting and make you ill.
If you stick to the rules recognize your body and talk to your doctor or GP, you'll be unlikely to get it wrong.
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