The best vitamin supplements are the ones that are customized to meet your own health and nutritional needs. Additionally, all vitamins are not created equal, some vitamins are far better than others in terms of quality and ability to break down and be absorbed by our organs and tissues.While medical experts are in agreement that vitamins are not magic natural healing remedies that protect you from an unhealthy lifestyle, they all agree that a healthy diet, exercise, and taking a few good quality supplements can prevent and improve most diseases. The best vitamin supplements have the following characteristics:
-Quality: Some popular brands are cheaply made and many vitamin manufacturers add too many fillers to their supplements to improve their appearance and prevent them from breaking during transportation. Some of these added fillers and binders take away the supplement’s nutritional value and may be harmful for our health. A quality supplement should be free of corn, soy, artificial colors and harmful oils among many other substances.
-Bioavailability: This means the ability to be distributed and absorbed by tissues and organs. Many popular brand supplements come in hard tablets that don’t dissolve and therefore don’t provide any benefits. Because their ability to absorb and enter the system faster, some experts believe capsules and liquid vitamins are superior to tablets. Nevertheless, caution should be used when choosing capsules; some brands use animal gelatin which may be contaminated with mad-cow disease. Fortunately, most brands now use vegetable gelatin.
Most doctors and researchers agree that the main source of minerals and vitamins should be food, however they also concur that it’s not always practical or possible to get the appropriate amount of these nutrients from food.Confused About Vitamins? Take the Dr. Weil Vitamin Advisor today
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“Which Vitamins Should I Take?”
That’s a great question to ask. One thing to keep in mind is that each individual’s needs and health status are unique and, like anything else you eat, some supplements taken in large doses can be toxic, others may interfere with medications you may be taking. Consider the following vitamin facts:- Certain vitamins should be taken with others, for example vitamin C should be taken in conjunction with E, especially if an individual has an autoimmune illness.
- Certain vitamins may interfere with each other if taken at the same time. For instance, potassium supplements may reduce vitamin B12 absorption.
- People who take aspirin or blood thinners should consult their doctor before taking vitamin E.
- Vitamin E drastically reduces the effect of cholesterol drugs.
- Certain forms of vitamin A supplements are toxic and should be avoided. For example, a plant-based vitamin A (beta-carotene) should be taken over retinoid-based. The synthetic form of E supplements should be avoided and the natural form should be used.
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