Natural Supplements - Help Your Body
by Martin Smith
Vitamins and mineral
supplements are a good way to supply your body with nutrients
that you might not be getting from your diet. Go down any
vitamin aisle in a drugstore, market, or health food
store. The first thing you will see is all the 'natural'
supplements and vitamin complex tablets that all claim to
provide all kinds of benefits. There are
supplements that claim to help you lose weight without
exercise. Does it sound too good to be true? It is. You have to
burn more calories than you consume and exercise will help you
accomplish that but I digress. If
you are considering adding supplements to your diet have a
discussion with your doctor will help to determine whether or
not adding supplements would be beneficial for you or
not.
Are vitamins necessary for optimum health? Most people, if they
eat a healthy diet, do not need them. Most vitamins are fine
and are not harmful. If someone does not eat a healthy diet or
because of illness has a limited diet a vitamin supplement
could be very helpful. Fruits and vegetables have important
vitamins in them and should not be eliminated from a diet
unless a doctor orders it. In this case a supplement would
almost be necessary. Your body needs vitamins to keep it
functioning.
Most people think that vitamins are a source of energy that is
not the case. Vitamins help regulate the body's metabolism.
Vitamins also help the food we eat to release its energy. It's
the food that when absorbed and broken down into the nutrients
the body can use that provides our body with energy. The body
more easily absorbs calcium if you are also taking Vitamin D.
Most calcium supplements are already fortified with vitamin D.
There are thirteen vitamins that are all important to achieve
optimum health. Vitamins E & C contain antioxidants.
Antioxidants help to release free radicals, which are
high-energy particles. These high-energy particles damage
healthy blood cells. Studies are now coming out that indicate
that the consumption of vitamins and supplements may aid in
fighting cancer and preventing other chronic diseases. The
research is by no means conclusive in this regard. Studies
continue to be conducted in an effort to provide us with the
ultimate health.
There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. An excess
amount of vitamins in your system could cause bleeding,
negative interactions with some prescription medications.
Listed below are some vitamins and how overdoses can affect
you.
Vitamin A - Too much vitamin A can cause neurological
problems
Vitamin D - Too much vitamin D disrupts the balance of calcium
in the body that can lead to calcium deposits in the soft
tissues of the body.
Vitamin C - Too much vitamin C can lessen the effectiveness of
other medications.
Vitamin E - Too much vitamin E can cause blood not to clot and
can cause other bleeding issues.
Vitamins are just one tool among many that are available to us
to help us get healthy and remain healthy. Vitamins alone will
not do this. A healthy diet, exercise, and regular health
checkups will do this.
No one knows better than I do how important it is to eat
properly and take care of my body. Also, like many others I
have a tendency to be drawn to the junk food much to my own
detriment. You don't have to be an Olympic athlete to get some
exercise in. I also take vitamins and other supplements to help
my body work better.
There are a variety of opinions about vitamins, supplements,
and healthy eating. Vitamins are generally ok unless they are
fortified with iron. The effectiveness of vitamins with iron is
often hotly debated. Too much iron can cause iron overload and
it doesn't get 'washed' out of the blood as efficiently if at
all. There is a disease called Hemochromatosis, which is fatal,
as it attacks liver function. It can be controlled and there
must be liver function tests done among other things. The
controversy continues to reign.
You have complete control in this area. Do your research; there
are a great number of websites that provides information on
supplements and how they work. You should sit down with your
physician and discuss your options. S/he may suggest you meet
with a nutrition specialist as well. Get smart and be healthy.
A little knowledge is a very good thing and in the case of
vitamins the more you know how they work and how they could be
harmful, the safer and healthier you will be. Trust your
instincts, know your body, and get help if you need it. Good
eating, good exercise plenty of water and common sense will
help you to meet your goal of good health.
About the Author Martin Smith is a successful
freelance writer providing advice for consumers on purchasing a
variety of products which includes
Vitamin C and
Herbal Supplements, and more! His
numerous articles provide a wonderfully researched
resource of interesting and relevant information.
About the Author
Martin Smith is a successful freelance writer providing
advice for consumers on purchasing a variety of products which
includes Vitamin C and Herbal Supplements, and more!
http://www.1st-vitamins-n-supplements.com
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