How to Determine What Vitamins You Need

With people across the United States spending billions of dollars each year buying vitamins, multi-vitamins, and herbal supplements, one would think that everyone knows what type of vitamins they need. Unfortunately, the reverse is really the truth. The reason for such regular purchases is more based on a thin notion of what vitamins represent—good health—and not on sound knowledge of the benefits of these supplements.

This makes it difficult for most people to know what vitamins they need to be taking. The assumption that vitamins supplements are viable substitutes for naturally occurring vitamins found in fruits and vegetables is a false one. At the same time, the truth is that fewer people are making wise choices about their diet, a crucial factor to overall good health. This makes vitamin supplements a good way to make up for the lack of natural vitamin sources.

If you are interested in determining what vitamins genuinely meet their needs, and then you should based what ones you buy off your actual personal needs or situation. The first example that comes to mind is multivitamins formulated for women. The same may hold true for those made for men and children as well.

Besides these considerations, you should choose vitamins that are easily absorbed into the body. In fact, with many multivitamins, this is a good indication that it is a quality product. The fact that it dissolves easily should be a clue to how it will perform in the body.

You may include herbs and supplements like flaxseed oil and fish oil with the use of vitamins. For women, calcium is a very important vitamin. It is also important to know what vitamins may become dangerous or harmful if taken in excessive doses. The best example of this is overdosing on iron. Ingesting too much iron can lead to liver problems.

Even vitamins like vitamin A and C can have harmful side effect if taken in excessive amounts. For instance, if you take twice the recommended daily value of supplemental vitamin A, you may increase the risk of birth defects as well as liver damage. Vitamin C has some uncomfortable side effects too. Too much may cause problems with the gastrointestinal system and diarrhea.

Another thing you might consider is the recent finding of a study held by the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force that noted that supplemental vitamins are largely useless if a healthy adult is already eating fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. The reason for this is that the body will eliminate excess vitamins, even multivitamins.

The main point is that you should know what sort of natural vitamin intake levels you have. This will help you determine if supplemental vitamins will be a good option for you.

Shaun Kilgore writes about how get a nursing assistant degree.