We all need Vitamins and Minerals to keep our bodies running and to perform everyday tasks. The question is from where do we get these Nutrients? The answer is from a Healthy and Balanced Diet. Getting the right Foods ensures that you get the full dose of Vitamins, Minerals, Antioxidants, and Fiber. But the problem is, your food might lack some essential elements especially if you have less time to cook and you choose fast food instead of fresh fruits and veggies. In such cases, you may rely on Multivitamin Supplements to fill up any deficiencies. You can also Buy Vitamin Supplements Online. Let’s take a look at six important points to keep in mind when you take supplements.
1. Stay in touch and up-to-date with recent scandals:
There are so many scandals on the internet related to Herbal Supplements that are being sold in top retail stores but do not contain the actual herbs that are shown on the label. A much higher problem was posed by lesser brands that were substituting herbs with beans, garlic, wild carrot, and rice. For example tablets with Valerian Root that are supposed to help you get some sleep, didn’t have any Valerian Root in them. Similar issues were raised with St. John’s Wort and Ginkgo Biloba. Stores involved in such scandals were Walmart, Walgreens, Target, and GNC. The primary problem is that the FDA regulates Medicines but not supplements which opens a window for Unscrupulous Manufacturers to make fake products. So you better watch out for products sold as Natural Products because 98% of these products contain synthetic compounds and every other thing but natural.
2. Do Some Homework:
You can always ask your doctor to recommend what you should take but if you do some Homework, this can be an eye-opener and will help you decide how long you should be taking such Vitamins and also is there any real need to do so. What you can do is take a look at the Webpage of the Company selling these vitamins. This can help you in immediately deciding whether there are any published studies of proven results related to these Vitamins. This could be a great indicator of a company taking Clients Health seriously. Other useful sources can be MedlinePlus and WebMD.
3. Overdose of everything is harmful:
Studies have proved that taking too much of these Vitamin Supplements can be harmful instead of doing any good. An example of this is the Iowa Women’s Health Study where 38,000 Women were examined and found that taking Multivitamin Supplements actually increased risks of death by 2.4%. This is not an enormous amount but still is alarming.
So to avoid such harmful effects, you should research and find deficiencies in your diet, so you can avoid any overdoses. Patients recovering from chronic diseases may require multivitamins, pregnant women can use Multivitamins, Women trying to get pregnant can benefit from Vitamin-B that contains Folic Acid. Also, Sports oriented people can use supplements while doing intense training and glucosamine sulfate can be used to help protect their joints.
You should look for Recommended Dietary Allowance and Daily Value on the label to avoid any overdoses. For Example, while treating Osteoporosis, the RDA of Vitamin D is 600 units but for people over 50, the National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends taking 1,000 Units.
4. The Popular Vitamin D:
You should know that Sun is your biggest source of Vitamin D. Around 90% of the required amount of your body comes from Sunlight. But if you don’t get enough exposure to Sun Rays then you may have to take a Vitamin D supplement. You can also get Vitamin D from foods like Sardines, Tuna, and fortified Cereals. You also need to take Vitamin D if your one health is bad or if you are worried about Osteoporosis and Rheumatism. It is also used as a cure for high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, asthma, multiple sclerosis, bronchitis, and PMS.
Another benefit of Vitamin D is that it helps your body in absorbing more Calcium from the food you eat. Canada is one of those countries that have endorsed Calcium Rich and Vitamin D fortified foods to help treat and prevent Osteoporosis. As much as 2,000 units are recommended for people above 50 years of age. Calcium can also help you in getting better sleep because it helps in relaxing your muscles.
5. Get to know which Form is best for you?
Once you have decided to take multivitamins or other supplements, you have to decide which form is most suitable for you. You should keep certain things in mind like Effervescent Tablets can have up to 1 Gram of Salt per Tablet, so you need to limit your overall intake of salt as to safeguard against High Blood Pressure and other issues.
One more important thing to keep in mind is to differentiate between Fat-Soluble and Water-Soluble Vitamins like B Vitamins. The thing is that fat-soluble vitamins should be taken less often because they are not excreted. These are usually stored in your liver, so too many of these can damage vital human organs. The most important and common fat-soluble Vitamins are A, D, E, and K., On the other hand, Water Soluble Vitamins like Vitamin B and C are usually washed out of the body, and this why they should be taken more regularly.
6. Buying Vitamin Supplements the right way:
When you are going for an herbal choice regarding Vitamin Supplements, you should keep the following in mind:
- Check and look for NSF International, US Pharmacopeia, or Consumer Lab Labels as these can mean that ingredients inside are actually verified.
- Supplements manufactured outside of the US are sometimes not regulated and can contain toxic ingredients. You may not get to know about this until it’s too late.
- Also, you can look for GMP Label because this means that the company is following Good Manufacturing Practices.
The bottom line is that every type of supplement and herbs can cause side effects and people abuse their use by overdosing or by taking them when there is no need to do so. The FDA received 6,000+ reports of serious incidents related to Supplements in a period of 5 Years.
We hope that this guide helps you in getting a better understanding of Vitamins and Supplements. And you should be able to make better choices regarding selecting and using supplements.
Author: Usman Raza is the co-founder of a Christian SEO Company and marketing strategist working with various brands online. Usman is the content marketing manager at a Content Creation Agency, PSD WordPress, and Nano Hearing Aids. He is devoted to helping small businesses bridge success gaps by providing in-depth, actionable advice on digital marketing, SEO, and small business growth. Follow him on Twitter @usmanintrotech.