Supplements: Take Care with Vitamins

Alleviate stress

One smart way to alleviate stress is to take supplements that include the B vitamins and minerals, because if you take care with your supplements, your supplements will take care of you.

My conversations with various people have exposed the confusion and misinformation that arises from the overwhelming amount of information presented to the public through the media.

The most recent articles center on the sunshine vitamin. In the past the stars of the vitamin supplement world have been (in no particular order)

• C
• E
• calcium
• folate
• omega 3
• and lately, of course D!

Juices, breads, milk products and eggs are "fortified" ---i.e. the nutritional value of the food has been increased with added vitamins. The food industry certainly keeps attuned to the developments in nutritional studies.

Is it enough?

No.

What about

• magnesium
• zinc
• B vitamins
• copper?

In 2002 the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) recommended multivitamin supplements for all adults to prevent degenerative diseases.

In an article reviewing 30 years of scientific papers that addressed the relationship of vitamins to chronic diseases, Harvard Doctors Robert fletcher and Kathleen Fairfield stated that the North American diet is generally sufficient enough to prevent overt vitamin deficiency diseases such as pellagra, scurvy and beriberi but suboptimal levels of vitamins are associated with increased risk of chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer and osteoporosis.

They noted that a large portion of the population has less than optimal intakes of a number of vitamins and are thus exposed to increased disease risk.

They advise, "It appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements."

They also advised taking multivitamins rather than individual because it's "simpler and cheaper."

Be aware, however, that the optimal level of vitamins and minerals cannot be contained in one pill. It would be at least the size of a golf ball.

Just as scientific studies fail to find the truth because they address supplements in isolation, you should avoid trying to use individual vitamins and minerals because you lose the synergy provided when they work together. You would also need a bio-chemistry degree, a lab and lots of time to work out the balance. So buy quality supplements and the bio-chemists have done the work for you.

To do this you have to trust someone knowledgeable, so ask your doctor for the name of a company that is pharmaceutically manufacturing their supplements. Your doctor can find this information in the PDR (Physicians Drug Reference) or CPA (Canadian Pharmaceuticals Appendix).

Store supplements in a cool dry place (safe from young children), but readily available to you. For storage use pill cases with compartments to see at a glance what you are taking.Other handy containers include fishing tackle boxes with compartments, or similarly sectioned craft or sewing boxes. Small ziplock bags and paper cups can also be incorporated into your system. Load them once a day or once a week to save time.

You need supplements every day. You can't take them occasionally when you feel tired or feel the onset of a cold. Why? Because supplements are not medications. They are food that supplies nutrients to the body, so the body can build resistance. This takes time. To reduce colds and flu it takes a year.

If you have difficulty swallowing pills, click here for instructions on how to take pills.

Try balanced supplements at optimal levels for one year. It will change your life for the better by improving your health and reducing your stress.

To take or not to take Vitamins | Prevention | Choosing Vitamins | How to take Pills | Take Care | Copper Deficiency | Health Studies | Scientific Review