What is it about multi-vitamins?
Brand Names, Doctors, Eating, Fast Food, Food, Nutrition, Production, Products, Restaurants, Retail, Services, Shopping, Supplements
Why do we need to take vitamins?
Has our food supply become so deplete of vitamins and minerals that we are required to pop pills in order to fill the void? The food we grow and import are subjected to more pesticides, varied farming methods, GMO productions than at any other time in the history of farming.Considering the modernization and the increased output in order to feed a hungry world does this mean that what we ingest is just not as nutritious as it was back in the days of your grandmother?
Yes to an extent.
While modern agricultural techniques have far out surpassed farming methods of days gone by, the real reason behind the need for supplements is two fold.
1. Nutrient levels in corporate grown food has become lowered due to mass production techniques and short cuts in order make produce bigger and reach the market faster.
2. America’s eating habits have gone from the well prepared, slow home cooked meal to quick pre-prepped dinners and fast food outlets.In the past families would have the time and be able to spend a good portion of the day cleaning and preparing meals that would cook for hours, the aromas and tastes building up in the senses as the day turned into evening and the family all sat down to a meal together.
Today we open a can or pour stuff out of a pack, pop it in the microwave and within 3 minutes or so we have a hot meal. Not the tastiest or nutriuos of meals but it’s quick. And that’s the bottom line to our intake of food and why we need to off set a lifestyle that runs at light-speed.
The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is a government regulatory body that oversees all food and ingestible products for this country. This includes but not limited to, pharmaceutical drugs, over the counter medicines, produce, poultry, meat, seafood and packaged candy and drinks.
The FDA does not regulate any supplements such as vitamins or minerals that you would find at your grocery or health store.That is not to say that they aren’t involved at all. In fact the FDA watches carefully what the Nature Products industry does. Not how they make the products or even if it has any health value, no, what the FDA keeps an eye for is whether or not these manufacturers make any about their product.The government is not as concerned so much about the product’s efficacy as to whether or not it will compete with a drug.
That being said, how do you know whether or not your multi-vitamin is any good?
The first thing to realize is that these products are made to make money. In order to legally make health claims the product has to meet certain levels of potency. Not so much to produce a health benefit but because your pill has to show that it has the correct amount of that particular ingredient that reflects the government’s agreement as to substantiate a claim.
This means that within a particular multi-vitamin product it must contain a certain percentage of A, B, C, D or any other vitamin that is documented in enough scientific studies to justify it’s value.The Daily Value on a label is based on a simplification of the RDA or recommended daily amount that the FDA has determined will, on paper, supply your body with a nutritional value. The percentage doesn’t take into consideration a person’s age, gender or weight.
The way a particular ingredient is measured is shown as either an “I.U.”, for International Unit, which is the accepted global standard to measure fat-soluble vitamin and minerals. The initials - “mg” or “mcg” stands for milligram and micro-gram, respectfully, for water - soluble supplements.When you’re on the look out for a supplement be aware that more is not necessarily better. “Mega’ doses of ingredients are not always beneficial and in some cases, such as too much Vitamin A, larger doses can be lethal.
Also be sure and check the USP stamp on the label as a sign that the manufacture meets standards for purity, disintegration and dissolution as set by the U.S Pharmaceopia. Supplement manufactures want to make a profit and in order to make a multi-vitamin that does, corners have to be cut.
This is where the minimum daily requirements come into play. These are the bare basic needed to make a claim of benefit but it doesn’t really mean that there will be a true health effect.
Most of the time in order to create a multi-vitamin that would really pack a punch and have a life altering effect, the pill would be very large or you’d have to take about 6 of them to make the difference.Since the American public isn’t interested in trying to swallow a big horse pill or be bothered with taking something two to four times a day, we’re left with a one a day supplement that “meets the daily minimum daily requirement”.
Clearly the best way to get your vitamins and minerals is with organic whole foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables as well as lean meats, wild fish and organic, hormone free chicken and turkey. Ingesting real whole food brings a lot more nutritional value to your body than just the vitamins and minerals.Veggies and fruit are forms of roughage which is required to keep your intestinal track clean and function properly, the natural sugar in fruits give you energy without having to kind of crash so often associated with energy drinks or candy.
And the mere act of chewing your food is exercise for your jaw, gums and teeth.
Chewing strengthens the muscles which help give your face a younger look and a better smile.Preparing the food is just as important so it’s best to give yourself some time to cook or if time is a problem, steaming or stir frying can be a quick but healthy solution.
As with any thing you are going to ingest, vitamins should be checked out.
Remember that these companies say they are in it for your health but the bottom line is that they are there to make money.
Torchon @ September 15, 2008