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Super Supplements: In a perfect
world, we would get all necessary nutrition from a variety of wholesome
foods. However, with the yummy taste and convenience of processed and
refined foods, we don’t always eat nutritious wholesome foods. The success
of the fast food industry is a testament to the fact that sometimes our
natural instincts don’t always encourage us to reach for fresh wholesome
foods. Since many of us don’t always eat what we should, it is nice to know
there are some supplements that can help us avoid deficiencies and may even
prevent illness.
There are tons of supplements out there with new ones coming on the market
everyday, so frequently it is hard to know what to do and which supplements
are best to take. Few expect that supplements will cure everything, but you practically have
to be a nutritionist to wade through all the information and then it may
change again as new information is revealed every day. We looked at what
some of the research indicates for various supplements including vitamins
and minerals and found a few studies that make sense for staying healthy and
may even help in preventing some chronic diseases. Everyone has to make a
decision for themselves in this regard, preferably with the help of medical
professionals, but we hope this information will provide some ideas to
consider.
Multi Vitamin/Mineral: Many nutritionists and health proponents
recommend taking a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement to avoid nutritional
deficiencies and cover baselines of health. This is especially helpful for
people who don’t always eat healthy. In addition, there are a few studies
that indicate that people who regularly consume a multivitamin/mineral
supplement have a reduced risk of some diseases, including heart disease and
colon cancer, and may also have a stronger immune system response. At a
minimum, it is important for a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement to include
the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of folic acid and selenium, which are
important for heart health and cancer prevention respectively. Some of the
one-a-day multi-vitamin/mineral supplements don’t include the total RDA of
some minerals like calcium and magnesium, which are bulky and would require
you to take several pills a day. That is probably okay for people that
consume calcium and magnesium from other sources like dairy, vegetables and
grains. To prevent osteoporosis, women especially should consider calcium
and magnesium supplementation to ensure they are get the RDA. See calcium
supplements below. Note that for best absorption, many recommend that multi
vitamins and minerals be consumed with food.
Vitamin C: Some vitamins have been shown to be valuable at
levels higher than the recommended daily allowance (RDA), and Vitamin C is
one of those vitamins. Vitamin C amounts necessary to ward off several
chronic diseases seem to be greater than the RDA of up to 75 mg necessary to
prevent scurvy. For example several studies have shown that amounts between
110 and 205 mg/day of Vitamin C consumed in the diet, provided greater
protection against several types of cancer. An analysis of several studies
indicates that intakes of more than 700 mg/day provided a 25% reduction in
risk for coronary heart disease. Another study showed that 500 mg of Vitamin
C per day resulted in improved relaxation of blood vessels for people with
hardening of the arteries. Relaxed blood vessels can help reduce damage in
the case of heart attack and stroke. Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant vitamin,
which helps to explain its role in combating several diseases aggravated by
oxidative stress, including some cancers, heart disease and
neurodegenerative diseases. Getting plenty of fruits and vegetables in the
diet can easily provide more than the RDA of vitamin C, with one average
size orange providing 70 mg. However supplementation may be helpful for
those that do not get several servings every day from the following foods
that provide substantial amounts of vitamin C: broccoli, grapefruit,
kiwifruit, kale, oranges, red bell peppers, strawberries, or other citrus
fruit.
Vitamin D: Most multi-vitamins contain vitamin D and now many
calcium supplements include vitamin D, to help prevent bone loss associated
with osteoporosis. These supplements generally provide the recommended daily
allowance (RDA) of 400 to 600 International Units (IU) of vitamin D per day.
However recent research suggests that Vitamin D may be important for
immunity and preventing diabetes, cancer, macular degeneration (a disease of
the eye), and may even help prevent tooth loss. Some researchers suggest
that the current RDA may be too low and that we increase vitamin D intake
closer to 1,000 IU per day, especially in the fall and winter, when we have
less sun exposure. Vitamin D comes in several forms, and studies have shown
that the version called vitamin D3, also known as cholecalciferol, is more
effective in increasing levels of vitamin D in the blood. For more
information on Vitamin D’s benefits, check out www.vitamindcouncil.com/news.shtml
Calcium and other vitamins and minerals for bone support: Calcium
supplementation is important for reducing the risk of osteoporosis,
especially for women. Studies also show that calcium may reduce the risk of
colon cancer for both men and women. Many multivitamin/mineral supplements
(especially the one-a-day kinds) do not include the recommended daily
allowance (RDA) for calcium, so it is important to add additional calcium
supplementation in those cases. The RDA for calcium for women between 9 and
18 years is 1300 milligrams (mg), for women between 19 and 50 years the RDA
is 1000 mg, and women over 51 the RDA is 1200 mg. Along with calcium,
several other vitamins and minerals have been found to be important for
maintaining bone health including vitamins D, B12, and K, folic acid, boron,
manganese, magnesium, and zinc, so it is important that these are included
in daily multivitamin/mineral supplements. Magnesium deficiency may be
another cause of osteoporosis, so it is important to get a multivitamin or
calcium supplement that also includes magnesium. Studies show that the body
does not absorb more than 500 milligrams of calcium at one time, so finding
calcium supplements that have 500 milligrams of calcium with about 250
milligrams of magnesium may help provide for optimal absorption. And calcium
citrate appears to be more easily absorbed than calcium carbonate, which is
a common form of calcium used in supplements. Note that it may be
unnecessary to include calcium supplements with meals that contain dairy,
which is a rich source of calcium. For example, one 8-oz glass of milk
contains 300 mg of calcium.
Essential Fatty acids (EFAs) are a type of fat that we need to obtain
from our diet, because our bodies cannot create them out of other
components. There are two types of EFAs including omega-3 and omega-6 fatty
acids. EFAs are used for many biological processes in the body, from the
inflammatory process to being a part of the outer membrane of cells. Some
research suggests that we are getting too much omega-6 relative to omega-3
fatty acids, because we consume many vegetable oils that have higher
concentrations of omega-6 compared with omega-3. However heat, light, and
air destroy EFAs, and most sources of omega-6 EFAs that we typically consume
are heated before consumption. For example many vegetable oils, nuts, and
seeds, such as corn, soy, and sunflower seeds are good sources of omega-6,
but these sources are typically eaten cooked or roasted. When these oils are
used in margarine, they are often hydrogenated, which is even worse. And
olive oil, which is often used uncooked in salad dressings, has very little
omega-3 or omega-6 EFAs. Some theories say that when we do not get enough
EFA’s our bodies will substitute other less desirable fats, such as oxidized
(rancid) fats or transfats, in important biological processes, and some
theorize that these undesirable fats end up in the plaque that clogs our
arteries. Cold water fish and flax seed are good sources of omega-3 EFAs.
Good sources of omega-6 EFAs include raw nuts and seeds and cold pressed nut
and vegetable oils, such as walnut, sunflower seed, corn and soy. Some nuts
like walnut and are good sources of both omega-3 and 6. It is hard to figure
out how much to get, so if you are not eating a lot of fish already, it may
be a good idea to add omega-3 supplements like cold-pressed fish oil or
flax-seed oil. Taking an omega-6 supplement can ensure that you are getting
sufficient quantities of this essential oil. Supplements such as evening
primrose, black current, or borage oils not only provide omega-6 fatty
acids, but they are also good sources of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) which is
one type of omega-6 fatty acid that has been studied for its role in
relieving symptoms of diabetes, cancer, alcoholism, premenstrual syndrome,
rheumatoid arthritis, and cardiovascular disease. |
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