American Health & Fitness Magazine American Health Vitamins, Nutrition, Products, Information and Supplements

1. 

   eh?
   November 12th, 2010 - 13:03

   Hi Heather,

   I think there are a few things that you may want to consider when it comes to taking supplements.

   First, supplements are supposed to supplement your diet, meaning that you should first try to get the nutrients from your diet because due to the complexity of foods, nutrients in a pill just do not work nearly as well. Research has consistency shown this. For example, antioxidants have been proven to be extremely beneficial when they come in the form of fruits and other foods, but when they were in the form of pills, research has shown that they body just can’t make much use of it.

   Second, excess intakes of vitamins and minerals can be just as harmful as inadequate intakes. Therefore, you must make sure that the supplements contain more of what you’re getting less of from your diet, and less or none of what you’re already getting enough of from your diet. Otherwise, you may end up having inadequate intakes for some vitamins and minerals, and excessive intake for others, providing a lose-lose situation, so to say. So when you’re looking for the best multivitamin pill, it is heavily dependent on your diet.

   Third, excess of a single vitamin in a pill may also affect absorption of other vitamins and minerals. Indication of your body not being able to absorb the vitamins/minerals is bright yellow urine. Foods can be heavily fortified or enriched these days, so it is important to read nutrition labels. For example, one serving of many breakfast cereals can contain as much vitamin and minerals as a daily vitamin and mineral pill, and therefore it may not be necessary to still take a vitamin and mineral pill on days when you’ll have a bowl of cereal.

   Additional suggestions that I have on multivitamins is to make sure that the supplement is designed for your sex (your body will be more capable of absorbing the vitamins this way), comes in a opaque or dark/black bottle, and has a printed expiration date.

   I hope this helps!

   -Alvin
2. 

   ILoveMyDS
   November 12th, 2010 - 13:03

   Centrum.Chk on Amazon.com
3. 

   Mr.Longrove
   November 12th, 2010 - 13:03

   [I usually take supplements for cell regeneration, mood elevating supplements, healthy skin, hair, nails, eyes, memory and cognitive functions IE Omega 3s, cod liver oil, vitamin a, vitamin e, st johns wart, 5htp and etc.]

   Do you really need all of those supplements?
   Anyway, I’ve heard Nordic Naturals have good fish oil but I’ve yet to use it – http://www.nordicnaturals.com/.
   An ex co-worker of mine claimed that Puritan Pride made the best vitamins. I myself have used Only Natural, For Men Only multivitamin and I’m pleased with it. You may also want to check out Chinese herbal tonics.

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