Everyone needs a balanced diet! Everyone requires proteins, carbohydrates, fats, fibers, vitamins, minerals and amino acids everyday. The right diet can strengthen the muscles and bones as well as improve overall health. Vitamins are vital substances that are required for normal growth and functioning for the body. They are equally essential for adults and children of all age groups.

Let's face it, due to nutritionally depleted foods available to us, the fatty foods we eat "on the go" along with everyday stress and toxins in the environment and foods offered at most grocery stores, lack the vitamins and minerals we require. Many people eat food that is "dead food", food that does not offer any nutritional value whatsoever.

Our bodies are literally starved of proper nutrients. Even when we obtain our food from natural sources, depletion of nutrients in the soil has made it increasingly difficult to get enough amounts of nutrients from our food. Therefore we all need to supplement in addition to our daily food intake.

There are a total of 13 nutrients, including vitamin A, B-complex, C, D, E, and K. Each vitamin plays a unique role in improving and maintaining your health. Multivitamin supplements play a crucial role in all metabolic process of the body, and they assist in energy generation, growth, reproductionand health of body cells.A good multivitamin is the foundation of health and nutrition.

Multivitamin supplements are specially designed to provide a variety of essential nutrients to the body. Daily intake of multivitamin supplements is suggested to prevent vitamin deficiencies. In addition to these benefits, multivitamins can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Now lets us take a look at the benefits of each multivitamin supplements.

* Vitamin A plays a significant role in normal cell production, improving the vision, healthy growth and development of embryo and fetus, proper development of bones and brain, blood cell formation and proper functioning of the immune system.

* Vitamin B-complex includes vitamin B1 (Thiamine), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B3 (Niacin), Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid), Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxin), Biotin, Folic Acid and B12 (Cobalamin). Every vitamin B-complex vitamin with its unique chemical structure serves a unique function in our body. Vitamin B1, B2, B3 and biotin play a significant role in energy generation. Vitamin B6 is necessary of regulation of metabolic processes.

* Vitamin C includes both L-dehydroascorbic and L-ascorbic acid. Vitamin C plays a crucial role in the formation of connective tissues such as collagen, which strengthens many body parts including blood vessels, muscles and internal organs. Vitamin C is also necessary for the synthesis of important connective tissues such as elastin, bone, fibrillin and fibronectin. It can improve the antioxidant properties that can prevent certain degenerative disorders.

* Vitamin D is vital for bone mineralization and proper skeletal development. It contributes a lot in strengthening the immune system and assisting the formation of blood cells. Vitamin D can protect the body from numerous health conditions such as autoimmune diseases, arthritis, multiple sclerosis and juvenile diabetes.

* Vitamin E or tocopherol is a potent antioxidant that can protect the cell membranes and other fat-soluble parts of the body. It can also enhance the functions of the immune system and help protect the body from cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer.

Vitamin K is a group of Vitamin K1, K2 and K3. It plays an important role in blood clotting and bone metabolism. Calcium is one of the most essential minerals to maintain good health. It is essential for proper development of bones and for nerve function, blood coagulation, normal functioning of heart, energy generation, muscle contraction and proper immune function.

The daily multivitamin pill is no substitute for a for a good diet. But none of us is perfect when it comes to healthy eating. We may know about the virtues of leafy green vegetables and whole grains, but convenience and cravings leave us astray. The multivitamin is partial protection from our lapses.

It's also an easy way to add surplus vitamins and minerals to our diets. By definition vitamins are organic (carbon based) compounds needed in only small amounts. Minerals serve a similar purpose but are inorganic. Historically, nutrition focused on vitamin deficiencies that cause disease.

But with fortification – the systemic addition of nutrients, chiefly vitamins, to the food supply – and no shortage of food, the focus changed to whether vitamins and minerals in amounts larger than we need might protect us against conditions like heart disease and cancer.

The daily multivitamin is usually a good idea but not in megadoses. Every bottle of vitamins has the daily recommendation of the correct dose so it's best to stick to those recommendations. Anything you can do to enhance the strength of you immune system is a good idea for protecting you from all kinds of illnesses and diseases.

From what I've learned in conversations with people, I find many of them don't agree with the idea of taking multivitamins. I also find that those people are not very healthy either. So I'm staying with the idea that multivitamins are essential to good health. I guess everyone needs to make up their own mind how they feel about this idea.

Sonny Julius

Sonnyj@TheSunnySenior.com

http://healthyideas.homestead.com/