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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. If you are looking for a high quality liquid multivitamin, we suggest that you take a look at the Multivitamin Product Comparisons.