Lately I've had lots of people asking me about vitamins. What brand should I get? Are vitamins good for you? What vitamins would you recommend taking? A multivitamin? questions questions questions. All very good questions.
I don't have time to go into great detail, but I figured I'd touch on a little for today since, well...you are what you eat!
QUESTION OF THE DAY:
1. Are vitamins good for you?
YES! of course they are. Without vitamins, you would...well... die. Let me give you a little background on where the term Vitamin came from.
There once lived a man named Casimir Funk (1912).
He was a Polish biochemist.
As he studied, he became aware that sickness and disease may come about due to a deficiency of something in the diet, and presumed that adding that special something (we know now its really something(S) since there are lots of vitamins we need) may cure the illness.
Anyway, as Mr. Funk studied, he began to realize that this substance was necessary for life (vita). He also noticed that this substance contained Nitrogen, which is an (amine)...
Thus (vita)(amine)=vitamine.
(Later nutritionists and biochemists realized that only a few of these substances contained an amine group, so the 'e' at the end was removed. Anyway, there is your history lesson for the day. :) (http://www.vitaminwonders.net/aboutv3.html))
While I have stated YES VITAMINS ARE GOOD FOR YOU, is it best to get them via supplements?
No.
Your body is pretty dang good at what it does.
Take a few minutes.
Think about all the things your body does without you even thinking about it...or telling it to do.
CRAZY!
As we know, many of our anscestors lived for much longer than we do now, and they did not have supplements! They also did not experience chronic disease like we do now. What were our anscestors doing that we aren't?
They were roaming the forests, hunting their meat, picking their berries and veggies, and pulling their corn, etc.
Did they use hormones to make their crops HUGE and free of any insect bites?
NO.
Did they go to the lab and recreate the vitamins (to the best of their ability) inside this lab and proceed to put them into supplements?
NO.
If they did, would they put the cheapest ingredients they could inside their vitamins to save the most money and make a big profit?
I bet they wouldnt.
Lastly, would they test their vitamins to make sure that what they CLAIMED was in them, was really in them?
I bet they would.
So I may be giving our anscestors the benefit of the doubt, but thats just because I think they were pretty cool. I think they had much more integrity than we do now. I personally think many businesses have become corrupt. You aren't going to convince me otherwise, so just smile and nod if you disagree. haha
The point of these random questions is to lead into my reasoning as to why supplements are not the best way to get your vitamins.
1. Supplements are not regulated. The FDA regulates your food, but not your bottles of multivitamins. Quality, purity, and potency are a mystery. Are you really getting what the label says on the back of your vitamin bottle?
2. As I said, your body is good at what it does. Supplements have different bioavailabilities. This means your body absorbs them differently than it would if it was getting the vitamin from your food. Here's the part that persuades me to get my vitamins from my diet: You will NOT ever overdose on vitamins or get toxic amounts from your food! This only happens from SUPPLEMENTS (and I have experienced what it feels like to get toxic amounts of a vitamin from a simple supplement and I'm telling you first-hand..not only is it painful (depending on the vitamin you overdose on), but it can also be FATAL and have horrible side effects!). When you have tons of Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C) in your body and you don't need anymore, your body will simply absorb less and excrete more. This goes for all the vitamins and minerals you get from your food. Pretty cool huh?
3. Studies have shown that eating your fruits and vegetables provides more benefits than taking a supplement. Why? They have the same amount of vitamin in the supplement as the fruit/veggie...maybe even more in the supplement...
Right now nutritionists do not quite understand why. Theory is, Fruits/vegetables are a unit. You benefit from the entire UNIT, not just the couple vitamins within the fruits and vegetables. Thus, supplements do not contain all the things those fruits and veggies have. Just something to think about.
4. We live in a world full of deception. Companies put cheap ingredients in their vitamins, and often put way more than we need. Our bodies need things in balance and moderation. When we get out of that balance and moderation, we see negative effects. For example, Vitamin E and Vitamin K are antagonists. If you get tons of Vitamin E, you reduce the absorption of Vitamin K, and vice versa. (I won't go into the biochemistry of it for your sakes haha) Both are extremely important, but overdosing on either is not good for your body. Vitamin E can cause an increased tendency for bleeding (definitely not good if you get in a car accident....hello hemorrhage), GI distress (aka nausea and vomiting), increased severity of respiratory tract infections, and muscle weakness. Vitamin K can cause liver damage if ingested in large amounts. In my opinion, I'd rather just stick with getting it from my food and save myself from getting cheap ingredients (meaning not the best forms of the vitamin for our body) and from having these kinds of toxic effects.
5. Have you ever noticed the claims on the supplements and food that say stuff like, "Whole grain oat cereal like Cheerios lowers cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart disease and cancer." Then theres a *star* next to it and at the bottom of the box it says, "This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease." That basically means that what they are saying may or may not be true. They know that the public knows little about nutrition and the rules and regulations with claims, so they try to persuade you to buy their food/supplement because of its "positive health effects," when it may not do anything close to what it says it does, OR it may be up for debate, OR it may be close to what it says it does, but the actual supplement doesn't contain what it "claims it contains." Did i lose you? Just know...it sounds a little sketchy. haha At least I know that my cucumber is a cucumber and the FDA makes sure its not actually a rectangle full of poison. Just saying..
6. Lastly, getting full on fruits and vegetables means your less likely to eat a huge bag of fritos and cupcakes. Besides, research has shown you are more likely to binge on junk food than fruits and veggies, so you're eating healthier, and less. Soooo...I know you are thinking...what you're saying is focusing on getting your vitamins naturally means your body will be happier Danielle? Yes! Sounds like a win-win! haha
Okay, so now that I've probably turned you away from supplements I'll say this.
None of us are perfect.
Sometimes we eat cookies instead of strawberries.
Sometimes we drink a coke (don't do it!) instead of water.
In SOME cases, you may need to occasionally take a vitamin if you aren't getting close to the daily values of vitamins that you need.
If you are going to do that, here is what I recommend.
Look for the USP verified label. (I'll post a picture of it somewhere on this)
This label verifies the following:
1. Trust: The USP Verified mark is backed by USP's nearly 200 years of experience setting standards for medicines and dietary supplements that are recognized in U.S. law and used around the world.
2. Quality: USP has ongoing audits to verify the product is made in accordance with current FDA guidelines.
3. Purity: Testing by USP confirms that the vitamin does not contain harmful levels of specific contaminants.
4. Potency: USP has determined that the vitamin contains the amounts of ingredients stated on the label and that it will dissolve and release ingredients in the body.
(I copied these statements right out of an informative article)
Basically this company checks for quality, purity, and potency, so at least you are getting what you THINK you are getting.
You can find many USP verified supplements at Costco. (I love Costco!) :)
One last thing, magazines will go off about all the different things you need to take, enzymes, etc. Guess what? You're body already makes most of these, so you may just be wasting your money! Be sure to look into things before you go on a supplement buying splurge, and research the hazards associated with taking different supplements.
I hope this helped you to make an informed decision about how to get your vitamins and minerals. I'll continue to answer your other questions as I have time. I plan to post things about each individual vitamin and mineral when I get a chance, and to tell you what foods to eat to get them so stay tuned! I also plan to touch on antioxidants a little! Woo hoo! Eat your fruits and vegetables! Your body will love you, and you'll love your body! :)
Have a WONDERFUL DAY! :) Love you! :) (PS: I did not proofread this, so if i made some grammatical errors, or got confusing, forgive me, and then talk to me sometime and i'll try to explain better :))
