As a health care provider, one of the most common questions I am asked is, “Should I take vitamins?” The answer is not as simple as the question. Many factors need to be considered when trying to determine if vitamins need to be taken on a daily basis. Age, gender, weight, physical activity levels, chronic diseases, and diet are all major factors that must be considered.
First we need to understand what vitamins do, and we need to determine how much of them we need on a daily basis. Vitamins are organic substances that regulate certain metabolic processes in the body. It is interesting to note that vitamins do not provide energy, or serve as building units for the body. Another important point to mention is that many vitamins require minerals to help the body function properly. The tricky part in determining what vitamins to take, is determining how much we need. We have all seen the RDA(recommended daily allowance) value on food and vitamin labels. What the RDA does not mention is that these are averages, and they are based on the bare minimum for human survival. This means that if we want to just stay alive, that is all we need. If however we want to have plenty of energy, and we want our body to function at its maximum, we will need more, in some cases a lot more.
This is where our age, activity levels, and health status come into play. As children, our body is trying to grow and mature, and without enough nutrients, proper development is not possible. As we get older, our digestive system looses some of its absorption capabilities, and we need to consume more vitamins to absorb the required doses. As far as activity, the more you do, the more vitamins you need. If we ask our body to put out more energy, then we need to give it plenty of the vitamins needed to produce this energy. And finally our health status; any one with a chronic disease, or even a little head cold needs to realize that our body needs to be functioning at its best to strengthen the immune system and help fight illnesses. Anti-oxidant rich vitamins C and E are excellent for helping the immune system in all sorts of chronic problems.
How do we get these vitamins? We need to consume them, and it is best to get them from fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, the average American does not consume enough fruits and vegetables, and this is where vitamin supplements come into play. Buying a juicer and making your own fruit and vegetable juices is a great way of getting vitamins. Over-the-counter vitamins are another option. There are many “once daily” vitamins that contain a good mix of nutrients, and some of these come designed especially for certain populations (women’s formula, men’s formula, etc..). Unfortunately these vitamin supplements are not regulated by any governing body, so there is no way to say who has the best products, or which ones are more effective. I would highly recommend that you consult with a doctor or nutritionist to be evaluated if you think that you might have some deficiencies in your diet.