|

Author:
Freelance Writer

Discount vitamins are readily available for our everyday consumption. Studies are continually being released about different nutrients and supplements that can help us stay healthier. Products are being promoted through every marketing channel, promising better health, disease control, and/or a longer life. Consumers are constantly being bombarded with information about nutrients, vitamins, and supplements and their effect on our health. All of this information can be very overwhelming – kind of like drinking from a fire hose. We can only process so much!

To help make sense of all of the products available, the studies, and the other information, there are four vital things that everyone should know about nutritional supplements:

1. The difference between water and fat soluble vitamins
2. What the different vitamins – A, B, C, D, E, and K – do for our bodies
3. In what foods these vitamins can be found
4. The factors affecting why people may not be getting adequate amounts of these vitamins

Most people do not know the difference between water soluble vitamins and fat soluble vitamins. Water-soluble (B complex and C) vitamins need to be replenished in the body on a regular basis. Fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) are stored in the body’s fatty tissues and liver; therefore, they do not need to be replenished as regularly. Excess consumption of any of the fat soluble vitamins can cause them to build up and even become toxic if the body cannot eliminate them as fast as they are being consumed. While all of these vitamins are essential to good health, and a deficiency of any of them can cause major health problems, it is important to know how much a body needs before adopting a supplement program.

It is also important to know what each vitamin does for our bodies and our overall health and the foods in which a person can find it.

Vitamin A is vital to many functions in the body. It helps our eyes adjust to changes in light (brightness or darkness); it has a substantial role in bone growth, tooth development, and cell division; and it assists in the maintenance of moisture in the skin, eyes, and other mucous membranes. Vitamin A is abundant in many fruits and vegetables, especially those that are yellow or orange in color or green and leafy. The USDA recommends that adults receive no more than 3,000 micrograms of vitamin A per day. A lack of this vitamin can cause night blindness or impaired vision, skin problems, or digestive problems. However, it is important to note that there are far more cases of toxic levels of vitamin A than there are of deficiencies. You should be able to find information regarding your specific needs at some of the better websites selling discount vitamins.

Vitamin B is a water soluble vitamin. Therefore, there is little concern with toxic levels, but it is important to replace the body’s supply of this vitamin on a regular basis. Vitamin B is actually eight different vitamins, some with names you may recognize, such as riboflavin, niacin, and folic acid. Benefits of the B-family of vitamins include enhanced metabolism, better skin and muscle tone, stronger immune and nervous systems, and a reduction in stress and depression. Deficiencies in the various forms of vitamin B can lead to ailments such as insomnia, dermatitis (irritation of the skin), disturbances to mental and neurological health, heart failure, and, in extreme cases, death. The good news is that there are many foods full of vitamin B: Fish and seafood, yellow fruit, green leafy vegetables, brown rice, and milk.

Vitamin C, also water soluble, is probably best known for its disease-fighting abilities. Studies have shown that this vitamin can help prevent everything from the common cold to heart disease and cancer. It can even help flush the body of lactic acid after a strenuous workout or long run. It also aids in the body’s absorption of iron. The most common source of vitamin C is citrus fruit, but it can also be found in abundance in berries and raw vegetables. Those with an inadequate intake of vitamin C may suffer from loose teeth, poor healing, and a compromised immune system. A severe deficiency will result in rickets.

The next fat-soluble vitamin is vitamin D, the most common sources of which are sunlight and fortified milk. It is also found in fish oils and eggs. Vitamin D is very useful in helping the body to absorb calcium, and is therefore essential in the development of healthy bones and teeth. A lack of vitamin D can result in scurvy, a softening and misshaping of the bones, especially in the legs, back, and skull. Osteomalacia is the term used for a deficiency of vitamin D in adults and it usually results in weak bones and muscles.

Vitamin E can be found in vegetable oil, green leafy vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and egg yolk. It is most commonly noted as an antioxidant, meaning it minimizes the damaging effects of oxidation to the body’s cells and organs. Vitamin E also protects vitamins A and C and prevents damage to cell membranes. Short of starvation, it is virtually impossible to have a lack of vitamin E in the body. However, maintaining the recommended daily dose of this vitamin can help sustain a younger-looking appearance and slow the aging of the body’s internal systems. While vitamin E is fat-soluble, it is extremely rare for the body to build up toxic levels of the vitamin.

The primary function of vitamin K is blood clotting, but it also helps promote healthy bones. This vitamin can be found in dark green leafy vegetables, milk and yogurt, and soybeans. Vitamin K is also made naturally within the body by bacteria already present in the intestines. Because the body can produce vitamin K on its own, deficiencies are rare. However, it is important to note that those on anticoagulative drugs or antibiotics are at greater risk of suffering a deficiency. These people should consult a physician before choosing a supplement or changing their vitamin K intake.

Given all of this information, it is easy to see why all of these vitamins are so important and why getting the right amounts can be confusing. The body depends on these nutrients to maintain proper health and to perform everyday functions. Unfortunately, most Americans do not get enough of at least one – quite often several – of these vitamins. While they don’t suffer from a true deficiency, they could certainly be healthier – and their bodies could function more efficiently – if they were getting everything their bodies needed. Why is that such a problem? The answer is lifestyle and dietary changes.

Over the past few decades a major shift has been made in our eating habits and in our levels of activity. Obesity levels are growing at alarming rates and the majority of Americans get less than 60 minutes – if any at all - of cardiovascular exercise per week. Technological advances are strong contributors to these issues. Automobiles have made it possible for families to migrate from the cities to the suburbs. Now instead of walking to work or taking public transportation, people spend hours in their vehicles driving to and from work. Television, computers, video games, and the internet have opened up all sorts of new opportunities to be sedentary. Fast food has revolutionized the way we eat. It’s so much easier – and often cheaper – to run through the drive-through on the way home from work, rather than spend the evening putting a meal together from scratch. And even if we do decide to prepare a meal at home, it seems like most of what is available at the grocery store comes in either a box or can. Neither option offers a well-rounded nutritional value.

Don’t panic! There are things you can do to improve your health without making a major overhaul to your lifestyle. Start small. Gradually add healthier foods to your diet. Snack on an apple or an orange instead of potato chips. Eat more salads. Be sure to include at least one vegetable at both lunch and dinner – and, no, French fries do not count as a vegetable. Discount vitamins can also be an excellent way to supplement your good health and ensure that you are consuming adequate amounts of all of the vitamins just discussed. In today’s fast-paced lifestyle, it is a vast minority who eat a balanced enough diet to get everything they need from food. For the rest, we can be thankful for those discount vitamins.

About the Author :

By a freelance writer sponsored by VitaNet® Health Foods at http://vitanetonline.com/ who sells vitamins and herbs with a selection of Discount Vitamins: http://vitanetonline.com/ from stock and ready to ship. Please link to this site when using article.


Article Source: www.iSnare.com

| Article Keywords: Nutrient Basics

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Nutrient Basics... Nutritional Supplements: The Amazing Vitamin C Body The real facts about Vitamin C may surprise you. First of all what is Vitamin C? Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin. Unlike the oil soluble vitamins such as A and E, Vitamin C cannot be stored by your body. Since Vitamin C is not stored by your body, we need to get it from our diet or from supplements. But Can't Our Bodies Just Make Vitamin C? Great question! Most animals have the ability to make their own Vitamin C. And make it they do... lots of it. It is estimated that if we had the ability to make our own Vitamin C we would make between 3000 an 10,000 mg every day... and 3 to 4 times that amount if we were being stressed by infection. Unfortunately, humans along with guinea pigs, fruit bats and gorillas are the only mammals that need to ingest our daily dose of Vitamin C. The only vitamin we humans have the ability to make is Vitamin D... and we need the sunshine to help us do that. Some very exciting facts about Vitamin C have sprung up within the last few years. First off, Vitamin C along with Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), have been called the most essential of the "essential nutrients." That is, without an adequate supply of these two, you die. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but certainly years sooner than the folks with optimal levels of both in their bodies. Arrrrr!!! Shiver Me Timbers! Remember the stories about the sailors of old and the disease they contracted during long voyages called scurvy? Scurvy was nothing more than not having enough Vitamin C in their bodies. Without an adequate supply of Vitamin C, the blood vessels did not have enough collagen to repair themselves. Some of these sailors literally bled to death through cracks in their blood vessel walls. Fortunately, in 1747 a Scottish doctor got a clue about Vitamin c and linked...