Part 6 of 7 - Vitamins and Food
December 11, 2019 by The Complete Nutra Team
GETTING VITAMINS THROUGH FOOD
There is plenty of debate among nutritional expertsover whether or not vitamins should be primarily attained through food orthrough vitamin supplements. Those in favor of food feel that it is a morenatural way to get their required daily vitamins. The experts who lean towardsupplements feel that they are a more accurate way to ensure good health. Intruth, the answer is probably somewhere in between these two extremes. It isimportant to eat a healthy and balanced diet, but because preparing a diet thatis one hundred percent nutritionally balanced would take nearly as long as afull time job, supplementing through vitamins is great idea as well.
Advantages Of A Balanced Diet
Eating a balanced diet is quite important,regardless of whether or not a person takes supplements. The body requires morethan just vitamins to stay healthy, and the natural balance that fruits,vegetables, proteins, and carbohydrates provide to the body is essential tohealthy living.
Those who eat a balanced diet are shown to be inbetter physical condition, have fewer health problems, feel more energized,have a stronger immune system, and live longer lives than those who are lesscautious about what goes on their plates. It’s important to balance ones dietso that the body is supplied with the correct amounts of vitamins, minerals,and proteins, and eating healthy is a great way to begin this process.
Disadvantages Of Vitamins Through Diet
Getting your vitamins and nutrients from your dietis a wonderful way to help keep your body happy and healthy. However, it isnearly impossible to receive all of the necessary essentials simply from eatingright. Almost no one eats right all of the time, even when they are making aconscious effort to do so. Even when meals are perfectly balanced, they do notalways contain the vitamins and minerals that they are thought to have.
Most people do not realize that cooking foodsvastly breaks down their vitamin content, significantly reducing theirnutritional value. The process of heating the food breaks down the vitaminsstructure. When we eat cooked food, itends up having not even half of the assumed nutritional intake as one wouldexpect. It is for this reason that eating cooked food leaves one at adisadvantage if they are trying to pack all of their daily nutritional needsinto their diet alone.
This is also important to keep in mind that whendealing with children. it’s especially difficult to keep a child eating onlythe healthiest foods and able to receive proper nutrition from their dietalone.
Are All Vitamins Available in Food?
To put it simply; yes. All vitamins are availablein food. However, it is often nearly impossible to get the required daily doseof them through food alone. The recommended doses of some vitamins wouldrequire vast amounts of foods in order to hit the minimum required amounts, andthat is only taking into account one vitamin.
The human body requires many vitamins each day, allwith a certain amounts that need to be met throughout the day. It is virtuallyimpossible to develop eating habits that incorporate the entire requiredvitamin intake for each vitamin, so while yes, the vitamins are theoreticallyavailable in food, no, they are not always available in the correct amount.
How Much Of What Should I Eat?
This is the age old question of the food pyramid.It has been taught to children in school health classes for years now, and hasbecome quite popular with the adults as well over more recent years. Though thefood pyramid has made mild changes over the years with shifts in opinion ofwhat exactly is needed, the prevailing model states the new recommendations.
The new model recommends that carbohydrates shouldbe consumed in six to eleven servings each day. Fruits should include two tofour servings, and vegetables should include three to five servings. Climbinghigher up the pyramid, the dairy group as well as the protein group requirestwo to three servings each. At the top of the pyramid are fats, oils, andsweets, which are suggested to be used sparingly.
GETTING VITAMINS THROUGH SUPPLEMENTS
First and foremost, it is quite important tounderstand that taking daily supplements does not replace eating a healthybalanced meal. Just because one takes their vitamins does not mean that theycan eat fast food and sweets as their primary food source. As with most thingsin life, it is important to attain a balance between the different dynamics.
Supplemented vitamins are not all the same acrossthe board. They should be individually evaluated for both health benefits andefficiency. It’s also a good idea to discuss with your doctor what isrecommended for you specifically. Anyone who is taking any medications shouldalso consult their doctor in case of rare but potentially harmful interactions.
What Is The Advantage?
The main advantage to getting your vitamins from asupplement is that your body is able to expect and predict what nutrition itwill have every day. The food that people eat each day is varied from meal tomeal and therefore provides different nutrients each day, leaving the body inlimbo not knowing what to expect. By taking a daily supplement the body is morenaturally balanced.
Another great advantage of taking daily vitamins isthe knowledge that even if your nutrition slips a little bit one day your bodyis still nourished with its daily requirements of vitamins and minerals.
What Are The Disadvantages?
There are really no real disadvantages in takingmultivitamins when you do so in a smart and sensible way. A possibledisadvantage would be consuming and relying on multivitamins that are notnutritionally sound. Another disadvantage would be relying only on supplementswithout eating a proper diet. However, as discussed earlier, these are allthings that need to be maintained in conjunction with vitamin intake.
Are All Required Vitamins Available As Supplements?
Yes! When perusing the shelves of a localnutritional and health store, you will see that there are many manufacturedsupplements for all of your vitamin, mineral, and herbal needs. These vitaminscan be purchased separately to create a blend of exactly what vitamins you feelare necessary in your system, but there is really no need for this. You willfind that most multivitamins are actually proven quite effective in developinga nutritionally balanced blend for you.
Multivitamins Or Individual Pills?
It is not recommended to simply blindly pickindividual supplements and combine them without the proper research andrecommendations from doctors, herbalists, or health specialists. An incorrectblend of supplements can disrupt the natural balance of the body, so whenchoosing individual vitamins, chose carefully!
In most cases, herbalists and nutritionalspecialists can be found in your local yellow pages. They would be happy to setup a time with you to discuss your daily activities and nutrition, and thenevaluate what supplements would be best for you. A doctor can always beconsulted about vitamin needs as well, though it is important to check withyour doctor regarding his knowledge of herbal supplements. Not all doctors feelthat they know every little detail about modern medicine.
Liquid Or Pill Form?
Newer studies have recently shown that liquid formsof vitamins or gel caps are more effective and more easily digested than thepill form. Allegations have even been made that the pill forms of some vitaminsdon’t dissolve and digest in the body. No scientific studies have proven this idea, and many supplements arenot available in liquid form. At present time, the jury is out on thisquestion. However, some suggest that a liquid or liquid gel form is preferablewhen available.
Stay Tuned For Part 7 Where You Will Learn A Comprehensive Breakdown of Vitamins & Supplements
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. CompleteNutra products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please discuss all specific medical conditions and advice with your healthcare provider.
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