People are still conflicted on taking a daily vitamin or not. Most people tell me they prefer just eating nutritious meals and forgoing a supplement. Many people tell me they just don’t believe in multivitamins. I know that while it is BEST to get everything you need from your foods – the reality is it is too difficult unless you are logging everything you eat and calculating your last meal based on what you still need to eat. In today’s world, that just too difficult!
Our current American Dietary Guidelines indicate that supplements may be useful for providing the nutrients you may be lacking from diet alone. So consider taking that multivitamin – even if not every day. Current guidelines credit good nutrition with each of these benefits:
- Healthy aging. Over time, our bodies have a harder time absorbing nutrients. That’s why after the age of 50, some of our nutrient needs go up. In these cases, taking a multi-vitamin/multi-mineral supplement can improve deficiencies.
- Elimination Diet Catch-Up. For some people on elimination diets, or for some that are reducing a food group (ie dairy), it becomes more challenging to get all the nutrients needed daily. The multi-vitamin allows a little catch-up for those that are temporarily not eating all foods or all food groups. (ie Paleo diets are short on calcium and vitamin D; Vegetarian/Vegan diets may be short on iron and vitamin B12).
- Hitting the RDA. The path to consistently hitting your RDA targets is to have a great vegi-regimen, which means loading up on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes/lean protein. Despite vitamin and mineral fortification of many common Western staples, some US adults are still failing to meet their daily requirements for vitamins and minerals. In an effort to avoid illnesses from routine deficiencies, the multivitamin regimen is strategic.
- Energy Boost.In today’s world, everyone can use an energy boost. This only comes when all of our cells, tissues, and organs are working optimally. Our cells need oxygen, vitamins, minerals, and rest to power through our days. So in addition to adequate rest and fluids, the multi-vitamin and multi-mineral supplements are a path to functioning optimally.
- Managing stress.Every person handles a certain amount of stress. But when daily life is creating more stress than you can handle, the daily vitamins and minerals support and preserve your brain’s cognitive processes. So a supplement (which includes B vitamins) is a good idea to reduce stress and support a healthy mood.
Remember to check with your doctor before starting a vitamin regimen and ensure there are no contra-indications with any current medications you may be taking or any foods you routinely eat.
