Experts recommend that healthy people get their vitamins and minerals by eating nutrient-rich foods instead of taking supplements. Few studies show a clear relationship between supplement intake and disease prevention, unless those diseases are caused by a nutritional deficiency. It's best to improve your diet before using supplements, advises Dr. This is because vitamins and minerals are most powerful when they come from food. In foods, they're accompanied by many other beneficial nutrients, including hundreds of carotenoids, flavonoids, minerals and antioxidants that aren't found in most supplements.
In addition, foods taste better than supplements and are often less expensive. For people who can't make dietary changes or for people with genuine deficiencies in one or more nutrients, a supplement may be helpful. Look for a multivitamin complex with B vitamins (especially folate), vitamin D, iron, magnesium, and calcium. Choose a well-known brand that has been around for a long time and that has probably been carefully tested, says Dr.
Those under the care of a doctor should always follow their doctor's advice regarding supplements. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans say that your nutritional needs should be met primarily through diet, although you can supplement them with vitamins if your needs cannot be met by food alone. If you're not sure how to eat a healthier diet or if you should take a supplement, consider talking to a healthcare provider. So while needing to take a vitamin probably means that you're interested in living a healthy lifestyle, a vitamin supplement in and of itself may not help you lead that lifestyle.
Information published by the World Cancer Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research recommends meeting nutritional needs only through diet and not using dietary supplements to prevent cancer. Thomas encourages people to buy good quality supplements and to stick to amounts close to 100 percent of the daily value (DV). Thomas uses vitamin D as an example, a supplement that can help lower blood pressure with an approximately four-point drop in systolic blood pressure and a three-point drop in diastolic blood pressure, but only if you have low blood levels of the nutrient. With all of this in mind, there are some people who might want to consider taking a regular vitamin supplement.
According to an article published in the Journal of Nutrition, people who took a vitamin or supplement were more likely to have a lower body mass index, have a more nutritious diet, consume more vegetables and less fat, not smoke and be more physically active. This explains why some studies show benefits with supplements and others don't. It really depends on where you start and where you end up. The American Heart Association also recommends eating a healthy diet for heart health instead of taking supplements.
However, a study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry found that the beneficial cancer-fighting compounds in cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, are better absorbed when consumed as food than when taken as a supplement. It may be easier to simply take vitamins or supplements to replace what you lack in your diet instead of worrying about what you eat.
