Go To Diet Home | Add to Favorites
How To Know If You Need Vitamin Supplements
Taking vitamin and mineral supplements is perhaps one of the most controversial issues regarding healthy living. The lack of vitamins in your diet can be unhealthy, but too many vitamins can also put your health in danger. So, how do you know if taking vitamin and mineral supplements is necessary for you? Ask yourself the following questions in order to determine if you may need vitamin supplementation for a healthier lifestyle:
1. Am I Stressed? If you are constantly stressed-out due to work, relationships, family or any other situation, your adrenal glands may be working overtime. This can potentially cause fatigue and headaches.
Treatment: Vitamin B Complex, Vitamin E and Vitamin C supplements can help with this problem.
2. Is My Immune System Up to Par? Do you constantly find yourself catching colds and the flu more frequently than others? You may need to boost your immune system with vitamins and minerals which provide the nutrients needed to fight these viruses.
Treatment: Vitamin C supplement, Zinc and Manganese will do the trick.
3. Do I smoke? I’m sure you’re aware that this habit is unhealthy but smoking uses up vitamin C and puts you at higher risk of osteoporosis.
Treatment: Vitamin C supplements and calcium supplements will help reduce your chances of osteoporosis and provide you with the adequate amount of vitamin C.
4. Am I Pregnant? Pregnant and hormonal women often lack in vitamin B-6. If you do not receive enough of this vitamin it can be harmful to you and your baby.
Treatment: Take a vitamin B-6 supplement, but make sure not to take doses of more than 500mg per day without a Doctor’s recommendation.
5. Am I on a Diet? If you are on a low-carb, low-fat or any form of diet you are probably not receiving the vitamins necessary for healthy living. Individuals on diets very rarely eat foods from all the major food groups and if they do, they usually do not eat the required amounts.
Treatment: Depending on the type of diet and the foods you eat, you may require a multi-vitamin supplement or specific supplements of Vitamin A, B, C, D, E or K.
Answering yes to any of the questions above does not necessarily mean that vitamin or mineral supplements are crucial to healthy living. The situations listed above are merely a guideline to help individuals who already feel as though they are lacking the vitamins and minerals in their diets. It is important to remember that vitamin supplements are meant to accompany food and are in no way meant as a replacement for a healthy diet.
Health-related information changes frequently, and while every attempt has been made to ensure the content in this article is up to date and accurate, you should always check with a doctor or nutritional expert before undertaking any substantial change in diet or lifestyle.
About the author:
Jeff Matson is an avid health enthusiast who owned and operated his own natural health food store. Now retired, Jeff spends his time keeping fit, walking marathons and writing articles as a contributing editor for http://www.vitamin-insight.com– a site that offers information on vitamins like Vitamin C and other vitamin supplements.
Source: Article Directory
Need To Lose Weight Fast For A Special Occasion?
If you have just a little weight to lose, and want to take it off fast (say, so you can fit into those great pants for your cousin's wedding), there are a number of diets that you can use. Most of these wouldn't be recommended for long-term weight loss, as they substantially restrict your intake of some essential nutrients, so using them habitually may not be healthy. But if you're normal diet is healthy, and you just want a quick boost to drop 8-10 pounds quickly, or to kick off a new diet with a bang, the Cabbage Soup Diet actually works. The cabbage soup diet has been around for nearly 30 years. It's based on the notion that your body actually uses more calories to digest cabbage than the amount that it derives fr...
Common Sense About Low Carb Diets
Copyright 2005 Ardmore Internet Marketing, Inc.With all of the conflicting studies and fuzzy interpretation of information, it's no wonder that confusion reigns when it comes to the value and safety of low-carb diets. It seems l...
To Salt Or Not To Salt: That Is The Question, But What Is The Answer?
(ARA) - Americans love salt. It’s in the news, it’s in our food, and it’s a part of our culture....
|
 |
|
|
[%%KEYWORD%%] - Diet Scams : How To Avoid Getting Ripped Off
Have you ever received those tempting ads that seem to arrive regularly in the post - seductive brochures describing diet pills, patches and potions promising miracles? They show you "proof". They have the endorsements by medical and scientific "experts". They have the pictures before and after. And they have no end of guarantees, free gifts and other offers. But when you look a bit deeper into the background of these diet products, you find very little of substance. With just a little research online you will see that you can find nothing posted from any believable source about the product or the experts depicted so glowingly. And you often see offer after offer sent by the same company using the same retu... |  |
| [%%KEYWORD%%] - Beyond Macronutrients And The Importance Of Vitamin Supplements
Most healthy eaters are familiar with the three macronutrients that garner the most media attention within the diet world: proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Indeed, some highly regarded eating programs, such as the Isometric Diet®, are designed to deliver an optimal balance of these three macronutrients. Yet what is often overlooked in a nutrition vocabulary dominated by talk of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, is the plain fact that vitamin supplements play a critical role in an overall healthy eating program. It is a neglect that, ironically, derives from scientific misunderstanding. Until recently, the scientific community firmly maintained that vitamin supplements were unnecessary and potentially even dangerous. This claim was based on a position that the body’s vitamin needs coul... | |
| [%%KEYWORD%%] - Monosodium Glutamate & Hydrolyzed Protein
Industry spokes persons and publications of various national governments assure us that MSG is good for us, with no detrimental effects.Such assurances are totally meaningless to those of us who find even small amount... | |
| [%%KEYWORD%%] - Don't Be Confused About Low Carb Diets - 7 Key Points Explained
With all of the conflicting studies and fuzzy interpretation ofinformation, it's no wonder that confusion reigns when it comesto the value and safety of low-carb diets. It seems like heateddebates are raging everywhere! Whether it's Atkins, the South Beach or some other low-carb plan,as many as 30 million Americans are following a low-carb diet. Advocates contend that the high amount of carbohydrates in ... | |
| [%%KEYWORD%%] - Are Diet Pills The Answer?
There has been a lot of flak with how USA has been flirting with health problems because of obesity. More and more people are getting drowned in the onslaught of fast food and junk foods. Remember the movie "Upsize Me"? It played a parody on how Americans are stuffing themselves silly with fatty foods. Over sixty percent of American citizens are considered obese or bordering into it. Many would like to deny this, but deep down inside, most of them would like to change their eating lifestyle.The fitness and health industry of America is a multibillion business that are resting on the obesity fears of the citizens. Many know the consequences of being fat and would like to change. From aerobics, to exercise machines, to instructional videos, food supplement, diet pills and lots more. Many have embarked on the lo... | |
| [%%KEYWORD%%] - The Risk Of Ischemic Heart Disease With Low-fat, High-carbohydrate Diets
There is convincing scientific evidence that type of fat have a more important role in determining the risk of coronary heart disease(CHD) than total amount of fat in the diet.(1) However, because of misleading presentation of epidemiological data by some authors(1), the readers might be left with the impression that low-fat, high- carbohydrate diet is the best option for patients with CHD risk. In fact, high- carbohydrate diets, in the absence of weight loss, can lead to both elevated triglyceride and reduced HDL cholesterol, effects that may be associated with increased risk for CHD.(2) Although these effects may be lessened with dietary fiber and moderate physical activity, they appear to be worse among individuals with insulin resistance.(3) As reviewed by Kris-Etherton(4) ... | |
| [%%KEYWORD%%] - Food Intolerance And Low Carb Diets
Food intolerance is a pharmacological reaction to the consumption of certain foods. In many cases, food intolerance may appear to be the side-effect of pharmacological drugs, but in fact, it is generally caused by the consumption of natural foods products, additives, or the combination of both.The majority of food products that commonly cause food intolerance are high-protein.As a low carb dieter, you will have abnormally- high exposure to high-protein food, including dairy products and meats, which means your chance of experiencing food intolerances (if you have any) will increase.In contrast to food allergies, which are easily identifiable because they affect an almost instantaneous reaction of hives, shock, and a range of other symptoms, foo... | |
| [%%KEYWORD%%] - How Diet Influences Cancer Risk
Diet is a double edged sword. Improper diet increases the risk of cancer but a proper, well balanced diet reduces the cancer risk. Diet is one of the most important lifestyle factors and has been estimated to account for up to 80% of cancers of the large bowel, breast, and prostate. Diet affects the risk of many other cancers, including cancers of the lung, prostate, stomach, esophagus and pancreas.Prostate Cancer: High consumption of meat, especially red meat, substantially increases the risk of prostate cancer. Vegetables, especially cooked tomatoes, reduce the risk of prostate cancer. In one clinical trial, the role of Vitamin E as a prostate cancer reducing factor was established. In this study there was a 32% decrease in ... | |
| [%%KEYWORD%%] - Protein - The Denominator Customary To All Diets
The Human Body is in a constant flux with the environment. Matter and molecules flow in and out, casting themselves into its complexities. Although the body lends them structure, it is the intake—the diet—tha... | |
|
|