According to Advances in Nutrition (Vitamin/Trace mineral supplements), “The fraction of population that is elderly has been increasing, as has the consumption of vitamin/trace mineral supplements, which is now a Multibillion dollar industry. Yet the rationale for such supplement intake by the majority may be questioned.” () Questions like, are vitamin and mineral supplements necessary for life, or is our body capable of generating enough micro-nutrients from everyday nutrition and the environment?; and are vitamin supplements supposed to be used as substitutes for the natural intake of vitamins from whole foods, for people who do not have deficiencies? These are the questions most people need to ask themselves every day. Vitamin supplements are used widely throughout the world. Vitamin supplements were never supposed to be used as a substitute for a healthy whole foods diet, yet advertisements and social media have portrayed supplements to be the norm for Americans today. Most people buy into the whole vitamin supplement craze. Today, vitamin supplements are found in many forms like pills, liquid, chews, and even powdered formats. Instead of maintaining a balanced diet, most Americans would rather ingest a few pills. The prices, however, can range from affordable to thousands of dollars. Overall, Americans spend more than 10 billion dollars each year on vitamin supplements that they don’t even need, hoping that it would act like a barrier against some of the major chronic diseases.
Vitamins are organic and non-caloric micro-nutrients that are essential to life. They are broken down into two major classifications: Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) and Water-soluble vitamins (C, B). Vitamins a...
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...e benefits outweigh most of the risks. Only because you can manage what you put into your body.
Works Cited
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Brownstein, Joseph. “Some common vitamin supplements could increase death risk, study finds.” 10 October 2011. Vitals on mnsbc.com. Web. 11 January 2012. http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news
"Discard the Vitamins and Eat More Fruit and Vegetables," which was made by Morley. Although, this doc. was biased to one side I was still able to find evidence for my side on this. Now in this doc. they talked about how they were researching people as said in this quote, "A recent study followed women from Iowa who were between 55 to 69 for 22 years." In this quote they said they followed women from 55-69 for 22 years that took vitamins but, the thing is that they watched them for 22 years they will start dieing due to other circumstances other than multivitamin. They also say that in this doc. we should be eating foods instead of vitamins as said from, "These studies suggest we waste a large amount of money on vitamins and other supplements…" But, my question to that is what about people who have allergies they need to get vitamins somewhere and if they can't get them from the foods they should get it from vitamins or, even better, multivitamins which can help on multiple levels of
The more the merrier right? Overtime people have continuously believed that vitamin supplements help the human body sustain a healthier body and well-being, however, have failed to realize the harm that vitamin supplements can do to the body; this is indicated by Paul Offit, the author of “The Vitamin Myth.” He states that over time researches and various studies have proved that Linus Pauling, the soul of the vitamin myth, statements of what vitamin supplements could do for the human body and or life. For example, the National Cancer Institute in 1994, researched smokers who were given various supplements over a period of time however those who were given supplements eventually showed signs of a more dangerous health state than those who did
According to the 2002 Harris poll, seven out of ten adults in the United States take vitamins, minerals, herbs, or other supplements (Schardt 2). Due to media advertising, dietary supplements are becoming more popular. Companies compete to have the best supplements. It is said that forty percent of American adults take vitamin supplements and over the counter products, which total in several billion dollars (Farley 2). Although many of the supplements claim to be healthy and help lose weight, the dangers are endless. Dietary supplements can be illegally spiked and are not safe. Therefore, putting regulations on dietary supplements and their safety hazards is necessary.
Eating healthy can be an effective and beneficial way to live a long a vigorous life. Certain foods are considered the key to daily nutrition that every person needs in order to completely function throughout the day. These foods that are considered “healthy”, provides individuals with vitamins, minerals, nutrients and replenishes the necessities that the body needs to stay well. On the other hand, eating healthy foods can sometimes be a long-term obligation and be somewhat expensive. In many case, organic food is considered healthy but has been found to be somewhat more expensive than regular market food. In many instances people do not consider all aspects of
Vitamin D (Calciferol) is a fat soluble steroid prohormone that was first identified as a vitamin in the 20th century (Holicks, et al, 2011 ). It has two major forms- D2(ergocalciferol) and D3 (cholecalciferol) (Holicks et al, 2011, BMJ). The sources of vitamin D in human include sunlight (80-90%) and dietary source (10-20%) (Mithal et al, 2009). Dietary sources of vitamin D includes – salmon, canned fishes (sardines, tuna, mackerel) , cod liver oil, shitake mushroom, egg yolk, fortified mils and orange juice, infant formulas, fortified yoghurt and butter, fortified cereal as well as supplemental oral vitamin D.
81 year-old, female, who lives alone in public housing and who makes financial ends meet on a fixed income comes into the Nutrition Wellness Center today, seeking a nutritional assessment and counseling. Miss E has some health concerns and complains of difficulties to chew and swallow, tiredness and weakness and sudden weight loss. Client states that she is currently not taking any medications but wonders if she should be taking a daily vitamin supplement due to her recent health status. Miss E currently lives alone and lacks the support from family and friends. She lives in an apartment that is equipped with a two-unit cook top for a stove and a small refrigerator and very little storage space. Due to her fixed-income, Miss. E shops twice
When it comes to supplements, I feel that there is a lot of misleading health benefits from actually taking them. As I learned from monitoring my own nutrient intake, our diet sometimes is lacking of important vitamins and minerals. There are so many supplements that promise curse and longevity by taking their pill, however, their claims have not been to my standards scientifically supported. In contrast, vaccines still have a negative stigma or attitude concerning side-effects which sway parents away from having their children receive these lifesaving vaccines. There is volumes of clinical research that supports the benefits of vaccines against deadly diseases and dispels most concerns over any serious
The 13 well-identified vitamins are classified according to their ability to be absorbed in fat or water. The fat-soluble vitamins-A, D, E, and K-are generally consumed along with fat-containing foods, and because they can be stored in the body's fat, they do not have to be consumed every day. The water-soluble vitamins-the eight B vitamins and vitamin C-cannot be stored and must be consumed frequently, preferably every day (with the exception of some B vitamins, as noted below).
Maintaining a healthy diet has many positives that go along with it. Like me, when I eat healthy, I feel more energized and more motivated to accomplish everyday tasks. Though feeling fit and motivated is important, for some, the main concern is their appearance, which is normal; but they do not understand that nutrition is the main contributor to weight lose. By eating clean, one will become the desired shape they strive for. As gym owner and personal trainer, Joe Howard, says, “Abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym.” This goes to show that even if one goes to the gym and pushes themselves to the limit, they will not end up with their desired figure if they do not eat healthy. Other than appearance, there are many positives that come from eating healthy. In an article about why proper nutrition is important, Case Western University lists many positives such as; the delay of aging, boosting of the immune system, limit tiredness and fatigue, and even enhance one’s ability to concentrate and alter mood (Why is Proper 1). These are just some of the rewards from eating clean. In order to maintain these benefits, it is important to understand what to fuel one’s body with and the reasoning behind
Vitamin E is the general classification for a group of eight fat-soluble compounds of tocopherols and tocotrienols. Vitamin E functions primarily as an antioxidant, but also has other roles in the body [1].
When one hears the three words: vitamins, nutrients, and minerals, they think of one thing-being healthy and noticing what your intake is daily. Nutrition is all about vitamins and nutrients. Firstly, vitamins are an organic compound required by the body in small amounts of metabolism, to protect health, and for proper growth of children. Vitamins also assist in the formation of hormones, blood cells, nervous systems chemicals, and genetic material. There are 13 well-identified vitamins. Some examples of the 13 well-identified vitamins are: A, D, E, and K-fat contained foods, B, C-consumed immediately. A well known and commonly used in commercials for orange juice vitamin is vitamin C. Vitamin C or ascorbic acid is important in the synthesis and maintenance of connective tissues. The lack of vitamin C will result in a sickness called scurvy. Scurvy harms the gums, mucous membranes, and the skin. Another well-known vitamin and is also used to commercial to give more information about this beverage is the vitamin in milk. The vitamin in milk is vitamin D. If you do not drink milk and obtain this vitamin, your bones and teeth will become soft and weak. Lacking one or more of the 13 well-identified vitamins will cause sickness and weakness to your body. Secondly, nutrients are how the body assimilates certain compounds. Nutrients are classified in 5 major groups: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals. One of the five nutrients is carbohydrate. The carbohydrate group principally consists of sugar, starch, dextrin, cellulose, and glycogen. In more basic terms, carbohydrates are sugars needed by human and other living organisms. Some types of foods that contain carbohydrates would be candies, ice cream, fruit juice, soda, chocolate bars etc. Lastly, vitamins are connected to minerals. Minerals are also a very important part of a healthy person. There are 11 major groups of minerals. They are: calcium, chromium, copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, selenium, and zinc. All these terms look very familiar if one has taken chemistry. These are the elements of our world. One of the more common minerals that most people have heard of is calcium. Calcium also helps with the structure and strength of teeth and bones. Vitamins and minerals work together to help humans maintain a healthy body. For example, vitamin D works with calcium to help for and maintain the strength of teeth and bones.
Holick, MF 2007, 'Vitamin D Deficiency', New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 357, no. 3, pp. 266-81.
“Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin D.” nih.gov. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 25 November 2011.
Vitamins, a group of organic substances required in our diets in small amounts for growth and nutrition, are usually found in foodstuffs or taken as supplements. Yet vitamins probably present a wider gap between myth and reality in the layman's understanding than almost any other area of our diet. Surveys have found that while a majority of Americans do take vitamin supplements on a regular or occasional basis for reason of health concerns, there exists enormous confusion about the actual purpose and benefits of this practice ("Use of Vitamin and Mineral Supplements in the United States," 1990:161). Most people have a recognition that Vitamin C prevents scurvy, that Vitamin A is found in fish-liver oils, or that Vitamin D is found in dairy products; many people believe that Vitamin E preserves youth and prevents sterility, or that Vitamin C can present colds and cancer. Beyond this, however, there is still considerable ignorance and widespread myth.