How Can a Vitamin Supplement Help You?

Taking a daily vitamin supplement has been hyped as the "miracle cure of cancer," or even "the fountain of youth." The truth is, vitamins haven't been proven to

On the other hand, vitamins aren't "snake oil", they do have tremendous benefits (especially if you are vitamin deficient). But what can they do?

Below you can find information on what vitamins are. What they can do. And tips for buying the "right" vitamin supplement for you.

What are Vitamins & What Do They Do?

Vitamins are defined as - "Any of the organic compounds used by the body in small amounts for metabolism in order to protect health, aid metabolism, and for proper growth in children."

Vitamins work by acting as catalysts in combining with proteins to create metabolic active enzymes. These metabolic active enzymes work in term to create 100's of chemical reactions in your body.

Without vitamins these chemical reactions would slow down.

On the other hand, many diseases such as Scurvy (vitamin C ), Rickets (vitamin D), and Night Blindness (vitamin A), have been found to be caused by vitamin deficiencies.

2 Types of Vitamins

There are 2 types of vitamins - water soluble, and fat soluble.

Water soluble vitamins (B's & C) must be consumed daily because they are not stored in the body and are eliminated.

Fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) are stored in the body's fat cells, thus the amount needed by your body is far less than water soluble vitamins.

"Do I Need a Vitamin Supplement?"

The short answer, Yes! Pretty much anyone can benefit from taking a daily vitamin, but especially those who:

• Tend to catch every cold that comes along
• When they do catch a cold, have trouble getting over it
• Regularly have swollen lymph nodes
• Have a "high stress lifestyle", which can deplete B vitamins
• Exercise regularly (which depletes vitamin and mineral stores in your body)
• Are vegetarians or on a low carb diet.
• And especially those who have a not so good diet (fast food for lunch, supper, and cold pizza for breakfast)
• Along with these, caffeine and alcohol have been shown to also deplete vitamin supplies in the body

Taking a comprehensive multi-vitamin is a lot like life insurance... it can give you the "peace of mind" that your body is getting the nutrients it needs for your optimal health and performance.

In a broad sense, here is what each vitamin does:

Vitamin A Crucial for creating bone mass and maintaining healthy teeth. Also protects red blood cells and strengthens your immune system.

Vitamin B1 Plays a major role in processing protein, fat, and carbohydrates into fuel for your body.

Vitamin B2 Aids in amino acid and fat digestion and also enables your body to use Vitamin B12 optimally.

Vitamin B3 Helps your body release energy from carbohydrates.

Vitamin B5 Plays a major role in helping your body turn nutrients into energy.

Vitamin B6 The principle vitamin in converting nutrients into energy in your body.

Vitamin B9 or Folic Acid Helps in the normal development of cells (especially in pregnancy). It is recommended that pregnant women take 400mcg. of Folic Acid a day to prevent certain birth defects.

Vitamin B12 Promotes a healthy nervous system and aids in the production of healthy cells in your body.

Vitamin C The “grand daddy” of antioxidants. Benefits overall health, but it’s major benefit is to your immune system. Bonus- If you happen to be a pirate, vitamin C also prevents Scurvy (Arrrr!!!)

Vitamin D Critical for bone health and development and immune system function.

Vitamin E Vital for immune system function. Also a principle antioxidant that reduces free radical damage after hard training.

Vitamin K Essential for proper blood clotting in your body.

Choosing the Best Vitamin Supplement for You

You can get a vitamin supplement in many different varieties - 1 tablet a day or even up to 10 plus a day!).

The thing to remember is that vitamins are micro nutrients... your body only needs them in trace amounts (but it does need them). So for example, taking 10 grams of vitamin C a day, isn't necessary.

Also, unless you have major vitamin deficiencies, you probably won't notice any dramatic affects from taking a vitamin supplement (no matter how expensive they are).

Tip 1- If you are using a Meal Replacement Powder, they typically already have all the vitamins and minerals your body needs.

Tip 2- Rather than buying single vitamins (A, B's, C, etc), buying a multi-vitamin will in most cases cost the same, but will give you much broader protection. Of course if you'd like extra protection, taking single vitamins in addition to a multi-vitamin is a good idea (example: antioxidants like vitamin C).

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