Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Vitamins for Disease Prevention

There are many different aspects of the food that we eat that help to protect us. Our body can take the food that we eat and turn it into energy. However, our body cannot produce several things that we need in order to survive. In order to do the things that our cells need to do to be healthy and to get by in life, our body has to receive several types of vitamins and minerals. Our body does not make these vitamins and minerals; they are instead gleaned from the food that we eat. There are many ways to get vitamins and minerals from food, so a balanced and healthy diet is always recommended. If you are eating foods from all of the food groups in a balanced manner, you are going to find that you are getting the correct vitamins and minerals for health. This means that your cells are going to be able to do the work that they need to do to make your body function correctly.

However, if you are not able to get the vitamins and minerals that you need, you are going to find that actually your body is not able to function. This is why some people choose to use vitamin and mineral supplements – because they know they aren’t get the proper amount of vitamins and minerals for health through what they eat.

Whether you get your vitamins through the food that you eat, or through supplements, there is no joke that they are very good for you, and in fact they are essential for you to stay healthy. One of the main jobs that vitamins and minerals do for you is the prevention of disease. When you have the correct vitamins and minerals, your cells are going to be able to break them down and use them in many different ways. The best way that they can use the vitamins and minerals is to use them to strengthen themselves and to put up barriers against disease. The barriers that are built with the correct vitamins and minerals are going to allow you to not get sick as often and to not be as prone to disease.

If you truly want to be healthy, you should make sure that you have a balanced diet that includes the vitamins and minerals that are needed to make your body strong and healthy. This will increase your immune system, helping to prevent all kinds of illnesses.

Monday, May 30, 2011

The Importance of High Quality Vitamin Supplements

Vitamins are very important to our bodies. There are thirteen different vitamins for health that our bodies need. Some of these are fat-soluble, while others are water-soluble. They are used for everything from regulating organ function to producing hormones. Most people find they can get enough vitamins in their foods like fruits and vegetables, but if you do not, you can take vitamin supplements as well. However, if you want to take supplements, you should be concern with the quality of those supplements.

The first step you should take if you want to take vitamin supplements is to talk to your doctor or a health care professional. Vitamin supplements are not regulated by the government like drugs are. They are instead classified as food products. Therefore, some are not as safe as others. You doctor can tell you a number of things about the different vitamins you can take. Simply put, vitamin supplements are meant to help your body, not to hurt you, and your doctor can make sure that this is not a problem.

Of course, vitamin quality is of utmost importance. Because vitamin supplements are not classified as drugs, every brand can make their vitamin supplements differently. If you need a vitamin supplement to replace the vitamins you are not getting from your daily diet, then you want to make sure that you are getting the strength your doctor recommends. Some vitamin brands are very high quality and some are not. It’s up to you to figure out which brand of vitamin supplements to purchase.

When you’re in the health food store facing a wall, which one should you choose? To start, look at the specific brands your doctor recommends, because these will be the brands that are proven to work and safe to use. However, your doctor may know of more than one safe brand of vitamin supplement. If so, it is up to you to use the one that is right for you.

The label is very important because it will tell you how potent the vitamin supplements are and give you directions on how to take them. Some vitamin supplements come with special instructions. Remember to follow them all very carefully to keep your body healthy and safe. High quality comes with all of the directions you need to take the vitamin. If there are no directions clearly printed on the supplement bottle, you should purchase another brand. Also remember that price comes with quality. Higher quality supplements may be a bit more expensive, but in the end they may be the best choice for your body.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Vitamin Health For Kids

When it comes to your kids and vitamin supplements for health, you should know that most children do not need extra or supplemental vitamins or minerals. If you base your children’s diet on the food guide pyramid, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, you shouldn’t need to give your child vitamin supplements. However, it is important to know that of all the age groups, children can be the one that is the hardest to control when it comes to diet. Children don’t understand what it means when something is essential for their bodies, and they are much more prone to being picky eaters or having poor diets. If you child is eating a special diet, they might need more vitamins or minerals for health. These can include vegetarians, children with allergies, or children that have religions which state certain foods shouldn’t be eaten.

The most important thing for you to keep in mind when it comes to making sure that your child has a healthy diet is to ensure that they are getting the proper amounts of the right kinds of vitamins and minerals. If this isn’t happening because of what they are eating, you either need to change what they are eating, or make sure that they are getting the vitamins in another way. Vitamin supplements can be purchased in kid-friendly shapes and flavors, so it shouldn’t be a problem to have your child take them.

There are several vitamins and minerals for health that are going to be important for your child to have enough of. These include, especially, iron, which is needed in children to prevent anemia. This usually happens if children aren’t given enough extra iron after they are six months old, which happens often if a baby drinks cow or goat milk instead of formula. Young and adolescent girls are also at a risk of having an iron deficiency.

Another important thing that children need is calcium. This is something that is completely necessary for healthy bones and teeth. If children are drinking milk and eating dairy products, they are probably getting enough calcium, but if they aren’t, you might need to supplement this in their diets.

It is also important that children are getting fluoride. This helps to build healthy teeth. However, it is important that they only get enough fluoride, and not too much, so don’t add to their intake unless your dentist or doctor thinks that you should.

If you don’t think that your child is getting enough vitamins or minerals for health, you should consult with your doctor to make sure that you can find a good balance and a good children’s multivitamin for them to be taking.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Vitamin Health for Athletes

If you are an athlete, chances are that you have thought a lot about how vitamin and mineral health is important for you to have during your life. Some of them are going to be more helpful than others, but certainly if you are in training for a sport you are going to want to do everything you can to not only give yourself the edge when it comes to competition, but to do everything in your power to keep your body healthy while you do so. Even though sports might be one of the most important things in your life, you don’t want to sacrifice your good health in order to compete. Luckily, there are several things that you can do when it comes to vitamins and minerals to make sure that you are able to keep your body strong and healthy while still doing your best at your sport.

One of the most important things to remember is that you should make sure you are eating a healthy diet, no matter what sport you are playing. This will insure that your body is getting the best chance to be completely healthy that you can give it. If you aren’t getting enough of a certain nutrient in your diet, it is a great idea to supplement it, because living a balanced life when it comes to vitamins and nutrients is one of the most important things when it comes to competing. Using vitamin supplements for health can be safe and effective if you follow your doctor’s recommendations.

One thing that you should remember when you are an athlete thinking about vitamins and minerals that you are putting into your body is that you should always remember that your immune system is going to be compromised while you are training. This means that the extra stress you are putting on your body to get it into shape for whatever sport you perform is going to cause you to be in a situation where you are much more prone to illnesses. Vitamin supplements can help prevent this. Having the right vitamins in the body helps your cells to become stronger and builds up the immune system to resist disease.

As an athlete, you should create a diet and supplemental intake plan around a system of getting a balance of all of the proper nutrients and vitamins as well as getting enough carbohydrates so that you can train without your immune system being compromised. Vitamins are also crucial in helping to build hormones, which can help you train longer, run faster, jump higher, and much more. Talk to a doctor today if you think vitamin supplements could help you stay healthy.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Livin’ on the Edge: The Dangers of Vitamin Supplements

Even though vitamins are generally good for you, and you might have no cause to think that there may be dangers associated with using too much vitamin supplement or too many vitamins, there are certain dangers that might come along with using too much in general. If you are going to be responsible and truly understand what you are putting in your body, you should know that indeed too many vitamins and supplements might actually cause you problems. However, it is important to know how much you should be using at any given time. Dangerous results are real.

For instance, if you have too much vitamin D in your system, you might be causing yourself kidney damage. Vitamin D is generally good for you, so it is simply a matter of knowing your limits and knowing how much you should take. Don’t think that just because the supplement bottle says to take one a day that you will be better off or increase the results you want by taking more than that. That is simply not true – you will actually be causing yourself harm if you take more than you are supposed to be taking. Vitamin A commonly has the same results. Liver damage is very series and can cause many other problems, resulting in death.

If you are taking regular doses of niacin, you should know that you might experience flushing and stinging of the skin. This is natural, and a side effect that can be managed. However, if you take too much niacin, you might be causing heart and liver problems for yourself. Once again, it’s simply an issue of only taking the recommended amount.

Mineral supplements can be dangerous too. Even if you are just increasing some of your mineral intact by a modest amount, you might be finding that this is leading to imbalances in your body’s ability to use other types of minerals. If you take more than just 5 times the recommended doses of supplements such as iron, chromium, zinc or selenium, it can actually be a toxic event for your body. Almost every kind of vitamin and mineral can end up being toxic if you take too much.

Therefore, you should know that while vitamins and supplements are generally good for you, there are many times that these could actually become harmful, especially if you take more than is recommended to take during the day. For those reasons, you should simply be careful to only take what is recommended each day, and not more.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Government Regulation of Vitamin Health

It is often hard to see how the government can regulate what we do and do not do. In the world of what we put into our bodies, there are several things that come into play. First of all, the government can regulate what we put into our bodies if these are things that are deemed illegal substances. Some of the substances that are regulated might be more harmful than others, and indeed some of the substances that are not regulated by the government might be more harmful than the ones that are. However it is hard to draw the line when it comes to government regulations regarding things such as vitamin and mineral supplements.

Usually, a government in most countries in the world can regulate things that we put into our bodies that are labeled drugs. Because most of the vitamin and mineral supplements that we can get to put into our bodies are labeled simply under the food category, they can get away with not being regulated by governments.

What this means for you is that you are not going to be able to rely on the government when it comes to making sure that the nutritional supplements you are putting into your body are safe. When it comes to most drugs, you can know that the government has tested them and has deemed them safe for you to consume. However, when supplements and vitamins are labeled food, this means that the manufacturer of them is responsible for how safe they are. This means that you are going to have to put your trust and faith in the company that made the supplements to make sure that it is safe for you to take.

The fact remains that when a supplement is sold, there really is no regulation that says that it has to have been tested and been proven to be safe, or even useful. It also means that if there are illnesses or injuries that result from taking certain supplements, the manufacturers are not responsible for telling the public the details.

What it means for you is that when you are deciding to use vitamin and mineral supplements for health, it is up to you to make sure that you are using them correctly. You have to take responsibility to make sure that what you are putting into your body is safe, because no one else is going to do it for you. If you have any questions about what kinds of supplements that you should be taking, you should consult your doctor and create a plan for your best possible nutritional information.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Kinds of Vitamins for Health: A General Overview

There are many different kinds of vitamins for health. These vitamins, along with the essential minerals, which can also be called micronutrients, are things that your body needs, in small amounts, which promote good biochemical reactions within your body and within your cells. They make you grow right, help you digest your food, make you more mentally alert and more mentally sound, help you to be resistant to infectious diseases, and help your body to use carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Also, vitamins and minerals are catalysts in your body, which speed up or initiate chemical reactions. The difference between the vitamins and the proteins you get from food is that you don’t burn up the vitamins, so you can’t use them for energy.

Because your body does not make most vitamins and minerals directly, you have to get them from food sources or from vitamin supplements. If you aren’t getting enough of a certain vitamin or mineral for a long period of time you can get a specific disease or condition. This will usually be fixed when the vitamin or mineral is re supplied to your body.

Basically, there are 13 vitamins. Four of them are fat-soluble and nine of them are going to be water soluble. The ones that are fat-soluble can be stored in your body fat and also stored in certain organs such as your liver. The water-soluble vitamins do not get stored in your body in large amounts.

The vitamins that are fat soluble, which means that you can store them in your body for a long time, include A, D, E and K. These dissolve in lipids and require bile in order to be absorbed. They are also stored in tissues, and if you have too many of them they can be toxic to you.

The water-soluble vitamins are going to be C and eight of the B vitamins. These are thiamine, which is B1, Riboflavin, which is B2, niacin, pyridoxine, which is B6, pantothenic acid, which is B5, vitamin B12, biotin and folic acid. These dissolve in water, so if you are cooking or washing, the vitamins might actually be washed out of the food. They are easily absorbed and excreted, and are not stored very much or often in your tissues. These vitamins are seldom going to reach toxic levels.

All of these vitamins are found in food, but if you aren’t able to get the food that you need in order to get the vitamins for health, you are going to have to turn to nutritional supplements to make sure that you are getting all of the vitamins and minerals that your body is going to need.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

History of Vitamin Health

Vitamins and nutritional supplements have been around for quite some time. They represent a multi-billion dollar business for each year, and each year the business simply gets bigger. Their success is due in part to the fact that people have been constantly searching for ways to get themselves more healthy and more in control of their lives for some time. Many people all over the world now rely on vitamin and nutritional supplements taken daily in order to get the vitamins and minerals that they need to get in their lives.

Even though people have been turning to vitamins and mineral supplements for health for a long time, they have become more and more popular since 1994, which is when Congress voted to change the Food and Drug Administrations regulations of nutritional supplements. Since then, the industry has boomed, meaning that every mall and store in America has vitamins and minerals pretty much at anyone’s disposal. People all over are looking towards self-medicating with vitamins and minerals in order to be healthy. The good thing about it is that they are trying to be healthy. Some problems might arise when people realize that they don’t know a lot about vitamins and minerals, and without a doctor to prescribe them, it might not be as easy to be healthy as they at first thought.

When taken correctly, and when taken by the right people at the right time in their lives, there can be a lot of benefit to vitamins and minerals being taken as supplements. As long as people don’t overdo it, there is really no harm in taking the vitamins that are needed for good body growth and for good cell growth.

However, even today there are arguments within the medical community about whether or not vitamin supplements are really important and whether or not people should be taking them for their health. The fact of the matter is that they contain things that are good for our bodies, but these things might be already coming from somewhere, so having too much of them might actually be harmful. This is where the speculations lie about whether or not they are good for you.

In order to really know if vitamin and mineral supplements are going to benefit your family, you should check with your local doctor. He or she will be able to give you the information that you need to make educated conclusions about the usefulness of vitamins and minerals for you.