Why Do We Need Supplemental Vitamins?

Even if we were to eat fresh picked vegetables and fruit straight from the garden or orchard we still would not receive the full amount of vitamins and minerals our bodies need for each day. Our farmlands have been drained by decades of farming and the soil is not able to provide the crops with the proper nourishment. Very few people raise and pick their own food and we rely on foods that were picked several days or even several weeks before. They are processed, cooked, canned and placed on a shelf. Our diets are often poor in nutrition. Look at the statistics we have on obesity in our society, even our children are fatter than they were a decade ago.

Everyone needs vitamins to develop, work, and grow properly. Vitamins are important in protecting us against disease, boosting the immune system, and vitamins are needed to help the blood clot if we get a cut. If we are fighting a virus, we need more than the normal amount of vitamins to help fight it. We also need vitamins to keep up our energy level each day. We need certain vitamins to make other vitamins work! For instance, we know that our body needs calcium, but did you know that without Vitamin D it doesn’t work to its peak level?

Vitamins are critical and if the body doesn’t receive the amount it needs it can’t regulate changes that occur in metabolism. It is important that we take in the proper amount of each vitamin to help regulate how macronutrients are used. The absence of just one vitamin the body needs can cause a disruption in the metabolic system in one cell or throughout the body.

The water-soluble vitamins need restocked each day because they are flushed out of the system. Vitamin C is important because it helps turn carbohydrates and proteins into energy. These vitamins travel through the bloodstream and any the body doesn’t use is flushed out. Water-soluble vitamins are rarely found in the foods we regularly consume. A supplement is needed to ensure we are getting enough of these important vitamins.

The fat-soluble vitamins such as Vitamins A, D, E, and K help form skin and help us increase resistance to infections. Once they are consumed they are stored in the liver and fat tissues until the body needs them. They may be stored for a few days or up to six months. These fat-soluble vitamins help fight infections and improve night vision. If you find you are unable to see as well at night, you many not be getting enough of your fat-soluble vitamins, especially ones that contain retinal.

We may think we are eating the right foods and getting all of our nutritional needs. If you are getting sick more often, and staying sick longer, you may not be getting the nutritional vitamins you need. A multivitamin is essential to ensure you are getting all the nutrients your body needs. Please check the labels on the vitamin bottles before you buy to be sure you are getting full nutritional value.