To take vitamins or not to take vitamins?

It's best to eat right, but if you find it difficult, a multivitamin can help

It's absolutely important that our body gets the nutrients it needs to function effectively and efficiently. However in this modern time it has become more distinct that we tend to supercede health with convenience and instant gratification. In this fast paced world where career and education demands all our time, we learn to favor what's quick and easy to obtain especially when it comes to food. We turn to fast foods and junk foods instead of the good old balance daily diet. The lack of balanced diet in addition to the daily stress of pollution depletes our body of nutrients. Is it any wonder why cancer and other chronic diseases became rampant during the turn of the century? It's up to us to replace these nutrients. We can do this through healthy nutrition, or better yet, through healthy nutrition and proper supplementation.

For the average person, it's difficult to get the proper amount of nutrients needed from food alone. Have you ever wondered how many people actually eat five to ten vegetables and fruits a day? Or who drinks seven to nine glasses of water each day? Even the healthiest of eaters cannot be assured that they are getting the recommended amount of vitamins and minerals. Mainly because it's hard to judge exactly how much nutrients you are getting from the food you are eating.

In a report printed in 1940 regarding the nutrient content of spinach, it laments the high depletion percentage of iron and other minerals found in the plant mostly due to soil depletion, mono-cropping, artificial fertilization, and lack of varieties. Since that period, nutrients in both fruits and vegetables persistently depleted, not to mention that certain forms of cooking in fact destroy the vitamins and minerals in the food. This is why taking a multivitamin supplement would be so advantageous.

Eating a balanced diet and then supplementing it with a quality multivitamin will be the most logical and sound decision to make. We'll be able to get the nutrients that our body needs from the food and then back it up with the multivitamin for a powerful effect.

There are four forms of mulivitamins available in the market today, that's capsule, tablet, soft gel, and liquid. Liquid multivitamins will be the easiest for our body to absorb because there's literally nothing for our digestive system to breakdown. Capsules and soft gels are also a good choice when it comes to the forms of multivitamins with regards to absorption rate. While tablets on the other hand, will be the hardest for our body to breakdown and absorb. Remember, that no two individuals will respond similarly from taking any type of vitamin or mineral supplement, because each individual have different metabolisms, eating habits, exercise regiment, or sleeping habits, and are under different amount of stress or even take their supplements differently.

I often heard it say that supplements are expensive, and many feel they cannot afford them. I find it ironic though that those same people who cannot afford to take supplements can afford to buy soda, latte, cigarettes, alcohol, or coffee, why not save your money for your health? There are cheap supermarket multivitamins that are inexpensive however they cannot compare to a quality, more expensive ones. The best way is to decide how much you can afford to spend and then do a research on the net on the multivitamins that fall within your price range.

Multivitamins are probably the single most important supplement you can take. If you aren't taking one, you really should start doing so.