The health benefits of taking vitamin supplements may be somewhat offset by some disadvantages, but there is no question but that supplements provide some of the micronutrients needed for overall health. These nutrients are required for full functioning of the bodily systems and for normal growth patterns. In order to perform the tasks required for good health, the body needs to take in the nutrients from either the foods that are eaten or the supplements taken in liquid or pill form.
Missing micronutrients in your system can cause certain types of disease. Scurvy is a well known example. Sailors who missed out on Vitamin C in their diets during long voyages developed the symptoms of scurvy. When limes were added to the diet, the symptoms disappeared.
The ample supply of a wide variety of foods in Western countries makes it easy to get all types of foods at the supermarkets. Even though healthy foods are available, if you don’t eat a balanced diet with a variety of all types of nutrients you may develop shortages of certain vitamins and minerals. Supplements serve as a back up for those micronutrients that are not taken into the body in sufficient quantities on a daily basis.
Even those who do eat enough of the right kinds of foods may have some eating patterns that make it difficult to get enough of certain kinds of nutrients. For example, if your main time to eat is at dinner, you may not be getting adequate water soluble vitamins during the day for your body to perform at its highest potential. Water soluble vitamins dissolve in the fluids of the body. They are not stored, but excreted through the kidneys. In this instance, a supplement that contains water soluble vitamins can help to balance the intake.
Other people who would benefit from a vitamin supplement would be someone who is on a low calorie diet. A calorie intake of less than 1600 calories daily may need a vitamin supplement pill daily in order to ensure adequate nutrition. Nursing or pregnant women might need additional nutritional help with their diet. If you are allergic to foods in a specific food group or simply don’t like one of the major food groups, you might need nutritional supplements. Others who need supplements are those with a digestive problem or when you are healing from a major injury.
If your appetite is depressed, as sometimes happens because of aging or if you are too busy to eat properly each day, you may want to consider taking a daily supplement. Before doing so, be sure to contact your physician or a nutritionist about the risks and benefits of taking the supplement. Supplements taken as part of a daily routine can help to make sure that you get certain vitamins that you might otherwise miss.
Although the benefits of supplements are obvious, you should also be aware that there are some concerns in taking vitamin supplements. The cost can be high and too much of some vitamins can tax the liver and kidneys. Avoid overdosing by only taking a supplement under the supervision of a nutritional counselor.
Take advantage of the health benefits of taking vitamin supplements for optimum health. Your first source of nutrients should be the balanced and healthy foods that you eat. The supplements become an insurance policy when you are missing some of the needed micronutrients.
