Is a Multi-Vitamin Supplement Sufficient for Total Health?

Despite the growing trend to ‘get fit’, most of America still eats poorly and does not exercise enough. Also, a majority of people still rely only on healthy diet and exercise. A balanced diet and a good daily exercise regimen are two of the most important steps one can take in order to keep the body healthy. But is it enough?

Although some people feel that maintaining a balanced diet and exercising regularly is enough of an effort to look and feel great, more can be done to live a healthy life. Choosing to supplement your diet with more nutrition is one additional option. Multi-vitamins are available in many stores, and are often on sale. It is a common practice for some to pick up a multi-vitamin during weekly grocery shopping. A specialty store, local vitamin shop or health food store will have the necessary items as well as many sites online. Shopping online is a great option because you can often find additional information on the site about the supplements you are considering.

Multi-vitamin supplements, minerals, amino acids, oils and herbs are available in many kinds of stores, and there are several brands to choose from. Selecting which vitamins are best for you comes down to what your body needs, what it appears to be lacking, or even where you live and the current type of climate and season.

It is a common phrase to say, “Everybody’s different”, but, literally, every single body is different than the next. This is why it is important to make your supplement choices based on your very own specific needs, not just what everyone else is using. A multi-vitamin may be a good start, but it is not necessarily enough. Take stock of what you are feeling, and what you think your body may need to feel its best.

If you suffer from fatigue or have a particularly stressful job, you may want to increase your B vitamins, for example.  A multi-vitamin will not necessarily give you a high enough dosage of these vitamins, which are best for fighting off stress and fatigue.  Instead, you may want a B-12 or a B-complex in addition to your multi-vitamin.

Is your hair dry and brittle?  Do your fingernails tend to break or split very easily?  If so, you may benefit from additional oils in your diet. You can take essential fatty acids that are found in fish, as well as flaxseed oil and a host of other beneficial oils for the system to help with the deficiencies in your hair and nails.

Another very good supplement for hair, skin and nails is horsetail, which is an herb. Yet another is the B-vitamin derivative biotin, and another is liquid silicon gel.  Certainly, you will be hard pressed to find any of these in your regular multi-vitamin tablet, except perhaps some biotin, yet if you suffer from skin conditions or brittle hair and nails these may be just the supplements you need.

What about your mood, is it stable, or does it fluctuate often?  Did you know you can actually help regulate your moods with supplements that are not readily available in your daily multivitamin?  It’s true!  You do not have to take potent herbs like St. John’s Wort in order to do so, either.  While this is a wonderful supplement for those with anxiety or depression, there are plenty of other great supplements out there that can help keep your moods on an even keel without the strength of this herb.

For example, the amino L-theanine is known to reduce anxiety and is a very effective mood stabilizer that is available in your vitamin store. It is generally effective in 100 mg or 200 mg doses, and can be taken with or without food. Another good supplement for this is magnesium.  It may seem like just your average everyday mineral, but in certain forms and doses it can have a very calming effect on the nerves.  Moreover, everyone seems to supplement with calcium, and a lot of calcium in the diet – while very good for you – can actually deplete your levels of magnesium.  You can find it in pill form or even in a hot drink version.

Of course, you cannot customize your medicine cabinet to hold every single form of supplement for whatever ailment you may have at any given moment.  A multi-vitamin is a great foundation to start with, and you may need one or two additional supplements to fill in where that vitamin supplement is most lacking for your particular needs.  Pay close attention to what your body is telling you after following a strict diet for a couple of weeks. Also, be sure to consume plenty of water along with your multivitamin. If you still feel like your body is depleted or deficient in some area, figure out what that area is and you can take control and take steps to change it.  There is an entire world of great supplementation out there waiting for you!

Is Acai Berry a Scam?

Supplements & Vitamins

Supplements & Vitamins