Did You Know Just That Many Cancers
Are Linked To A Vitamin Deficiency?
Why
Take Supplemental Vitamins?
Why take a Vitamin?
By: Dr. George Obikoya
High
fructose corn syrup. Bleached flour. Ingredients that can't
be pronounced. Even fresh fruit...freshly picked apples
lose vitamins by the hour. By the time fresh fruit gets
to the store, sits on a shelf, is purchased, sits in the
refrigerator, is cooked, and finally eaten, only a very
small fraction of the nutritional value is left to be absorbed.
The vital vitamins and minerals in the food supply today
have been extremely diminished. Many nutritional experts
agree that even if one were to eat 100% raw and organic
fruits and vegetables, picked and eaten same-day straight
from farmland, decades of farming has left large amounts
of contracted land depleted. One would have to consume 8-12
times the amount of produce, in some cases, to absorb what
much of the farmland contained decades ago. While 1 out
of every 10,000 or so people even pick their own food, the
rest of world relies on several-days to several-weeks old,
processed, canned, previously cooked, etc. food to remain
healthy. Even if one were to ignore literally thousands
of reports on how diets today are poor, a third grader is
able to make the stark observation that the majority of
America and many parts of the world is obese.
Now
that it has been clearly established that so many diets
today are very nutritionally poor, identifying exactly what
is missing and how to replenish just that is needed.
Everybody
critically needs vitamins to work, grow, and develop properly,
which makes them extremely important on a daily basis. But
it doesn't stop there. The human body also requires vitamins
to do many things, such as ward off disease, boost immune
system response, and even improve overall moods! When the
skin gets a cut, the human body needs a good number of vitamins
to clot. When one gets sick, the body requires a more than
average amount of vitamins to help fight the virus (it is
good to note here again that the typical diet does not even
provide the average amount of vitamins needed on a daily
basis). Some vitamins even help produce energy throughout
the body. People still feeling tired regardless of making
good efforts to eat all the right things may very well be
not consuming the appropriate amount vitamins. When this
happens, there is a very high chance the body isn't getting
the vitamins needed to convert what is being eaten into
energy. Vitamins are even involved in making sure objects
are seen in color. Calcium, as so many have thought was
an end-all solution to osteoporosis and calcium deficiencies
does not work optimally unless sufficient amounts of Vitamin
D are provided!
Most
people don't realize just how extremely critical vitamins
are. If the body doesn't get the vitamins it needs (read
on to see why 100% of the US RDA is just a FRACTION of what
you need each day), there is much improvement needed for
a healthy living! For starters, vitamins regulate reactions
that occur in metabolism, unlike other dietary components
known as macronutrients (fats, carbohydrates, proteins).
One can consume all the right amounts of these fats, carbohydrates,
and proteins, get all the exercise needed, but unless there
ALSO are VERY ADEQUATE amounts of vitamins in the body to
regulate how these macronutrients are used, benefits achieved
will be SLIM TO NONE! To repeat, a VERY ADEQUATE amount
of vitamins are needed to get the benefits of exercise and
macronutrients. Absence of just a single vitamin blocks
one or more specific metabolic reactions in a cell and eventually
may disrupt the metabolic balance within a cell and in our
entire body.
With
the exception of Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), all of the water-soluble
vitamins (meaning vitamins that need to be replenished EACH
and EVERY day because they are flushed out) assist enzymes
that function in energy transfer/metabolism of fats, carbohydrates,
and proteins. In other words, it is extremely difficult
for our bodies to break down these nutrients into energy
we can use without vitamins. THESE VITAMINS ARE SCARCELY
FOUND IN ANY OF THE FOODS IN A TYPICAL DIET. SUPPLEMENTATION
IS NEEDED!
A
few good questions one can generally ask themselves are:
"How many times have I gotten sick in the past
five years? How long did my symptoms usually last...3 days?
5 days? a week or more?" Chances are, most
will answer:
"a good number of times and at least 3-5 days or more"
respectively.
Some of the fat-soluble vitamins (Vitamins A, D, E, K) help
form skin and mucous membranes, which thus increases resistance
to infections. Once fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K)
are consumed, they are stored in the liver and fat tissues
in the body until needed. Some are stored for a few days,
some for up to six months. Not only do these fat-soluble
vitamins help anti-infection defenses, they help keep night
vision at its best. Individuals tending to go blind during
the night may not be getting enough Vitamin A (retinol).
On
the other hand, water-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin C
and the B group of vitamins, are different. They are not
stored nearly as much in the body. Instead, they travel
through the bloodstream. Whatever the body doesn't use is
released through urination. These kinds of vitamins need
to be replaced often for that very reason.
A
good multivitamin is the foundation of health and nutrition.
Take a look at our scientific reviews of many of the popular
brands for factors such as ingredients, areas of improvement,
quality level, and overall value.
http://www.vitamins-nutrition.org/vitamins/why-take-vitamin.html
