KissMeGoodnight
eRomance Series:
Secrets To Looking Young,
Feeling Young and Being Young
( 17 pages )
BENEFITS
OF VITAMINS & SUPPLEMENTS
Supplements –
Is taking supplements beneficial? Visit your local supermarket,
drugstore or health food store and you will find rows upon
rows of vitamins and supplements. Each is minutely measured
giving you the RDAs, DVs, IUs, milligrams and so on. It’s
enough information to make your head swim!
Some studies suggest
that specific vitamin and mineral supplements can help reduce
your risk of heart disease by 30 to 40 percent and even slow
the progress of the disease according to Jeffrey Blumberg,
M.D. associate director and chief of the Antioxidants Research
Laboratory at the U.D. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition
Research Center on Aging in Boston. They are relatively inexpensive
and easy to obtain over the counter.
Vitamins are also
credited with boosting the immune system and it is believed
that older people who take vitamin and mineral supplements
do have stronger immune systems.
Generally speaking,
the immune system begins to decline around age 50 and by
age 60 may already be seriously compromised. The belief is
that if your immune system can’t protect you, the door is
thrown wide open for cancer and other serious diseases to
waltz right in.
So, the answer
is yes, supplements can help but don’t expect them to work
miracles. You can’t continue to do the steak and eggs or
burger and fries thing and think that popping a pill will
be a cure-all because it isn’t!
If you are over
55, vitamin supplements will help prevent disease even though
it may take at least six months to a year to register the
improvement. That’s not an excuse to put it off, because
the sooner you begin, the better the results.
Let’s take a look
at weight for instance. If you take in too many calories
and gain weight you increase the risk of cancer, heart disease
and stroke. But, cutting the calories to either lose or maintain
your weight may result in deficiencies in vitamins and minerals.
You can replace key vitamins and minerals lost by dieting
with carefully selected supplements.
Another challenge
is compensating as the body’s systems begin to slow down.
As we age, our systems are not working as efficiently as
they once were. For example, you don’t have as much stomach
acid that helps to get nutrients from food. That means that
as much as 40% of the nutrients you ingest may go unused
resulting in deficiencies of vitamins D, B6, B12, riboflavin,
folate and calcium.
Your body’s system
for storing the nutrients isn’t as efficient either because
the percentage of body fat increases with age. While your
metabolism keeps you alive and healthy, it also produces
by products that can be harmful including free radicals and
other compounds that cause damage to cells’ DNA and can lead
to many of the effects of old age.
As we get older,
the body reduces the amount of antioxidants it produces and
it will become more difficult to get enough antioxidant protection
just from your food. Although you can get most of the nutrients
you need from a multi-vitamin, you may want to take extra
supplements of certain vitamins and minerals to promote optimum
health.
As a cautionary
measure, however, make certain that you are not exceeding
the recommended ranges. You can get too much of a good thing.
It is also advisable to consult with your physician regarding
any supplemental regimen as some supplements may have adverse
interaction with certain medications you are taking.
While we won’t
delve into the vast subject of supplements here, there are
a few suggestions we would like to share with you.
Avoid multi-vitamins
with time release formulas. By the time they dissolve they
may be too far down the intestinal tract where absorption
is poor.
Store your vitamins
away from hot or humid places. It is better to keep them
with your spices rather than the bathroom or near direct
sunlight or heat.
Take your vitamins
with a meal. Some nutrients are only released with fat so
taking them with your low-fat meal is optimum.
Check the expiration
date on the bottle. Buying a large amount just to save a
few dollars isn’t a bargain if you won’t be using them before
their effectiveness expires.
If you drink even
moderately, take extra vitamins and minerals.
If you want to
lose weight, take more calcium. If you don’t consume enough
calcium your body will over produce calcitriol. This hormone
promotes fat storage in the body. But, calcium supplements
won’t be as beneficial as dietary calcium. Have four daily
servings of nonfat or low-fat dairy products.
 
> Home > Look
and Feel Younger Main Page
|
