Food Nutrition Labels Nutrients
Posted in Health and Nutrition on 06/17/2009 11:17 pm by Steven NerenbergNutrition/vitamin experts- Can taking a multivitamin eliminate the need to eat foods with vitamins/minerals?
If your health depends on the food you eat, and the healthiness of food depends on the nutrients it gives you, can taking a multivitamin with the same nutrients eliminate the need to eat some nutrient-rich food (or are these in fact the same nutrients? ..”nutrients” because I don’t know what else to call them)? If so, why doesn’t everyone take a multivitamin?
I always hear how something is so healthy because it’s full of protein or full of beta-carotene or full of whatever.. but I can find these things on the label of a multivitamin or at least as a supplement.
What are the benefits of actually eating the nutrient-rich food rather than taking a vitamin? If you do eat the food, should you still take a multivitamin? What kind of people should take multivitamins?
If you answer all these questions, I will love you forever.
No, and the absorption of the vitamins and minerals from foods is very different to that of supplements. You may take 100% of ____ for a day in pill form, but your body might only use 5% of it because it’s excreted too quickly or it can’t be absorbed. The nutrients in food form are better absorbed and used by the body.
A multivitamin is not necessary, it’s basically like an insurance policy in the event that you ‘forget’ to eat enough potassium rich foods one day. It is NOT a replacement for a well rounded meal. So long as you are eating properly you should get everything you need from your foods. However, there are some things that are harder to get from foods, like folic acid and vitamin D, so those supplements are good to take as needed.
They’re most valuable for people with dietary imbalances. Women, for example, are prone to anemia. Therefor, a multivitamin that contains iron will be beneficial; however, iron may also cause constipation. Elderly and pregnant women also benefit from a multivitamin.
In short, they’re not a miracle drug and they’re not a safety net to justify eating crap foods.
They don’t fight aging, make you live longer, or stop cancers. They’re not that amazing.
If you eat properly there is absolutely no reason to take them, which is why (to answer your question) not everybody takes a multivitamin.
Also, beta-Carotene is a PIGMENT found in fruits and plants, it’s not going to be listed in an ingredient list. It’s what makes carrots orange, for example. It’s a source of vitamin A, which will be listed. (Well, there’s a lot more to it than that, but you probably don’t care about the biological aspect). Basically what the point of all that is that you’re supposed to eat colorful foods because they have more nutrients. Oranges, reds, greens, yellows, blues and purples should all be present in your meals.
Low calorie, high nutrient “super foods”
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