Every time you walk into a store and go down the vitamin aisle you can’t help but notice all the different choices and brands of vitamins out there for us to take. As you know some of these vitamin supplements aren’t very cheap and can get costly. I am sure almost everyone you know takes a vitamin or a multi vitamin in some way shape or form, but the question is are we really doing out selves any good? I am sure it makes you feel like you are taking better care of yourself and feeding your body what it needs to be healthy but is that the case?
Well there has been some recent scientific evidence that some of these vitamins we are taking aren’t really helping us out like we thought they were. Take vitamins A and E for example, earlier this year US scientists discovered that taking vitamins A and E does not lower your risk of cancer, which was supposedly one of the major benefits of taking those vitamins. Vitamins C and E have been linked to lowering the risk of heart disease but that has been disproved as well. It has also been said that vitamin C helps prevent cancer and it has been concluded by doctors that vitamin C doesn’t play a significant role in cancer prevention. In fact doctors at New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have stated that vitamin C not only protects healthy cells, but cancer cells as well. So are vitamins or multi vitamins worth it, and should we be taking them?
Well every nutritionist I have spoken with has said NO, you don’t need to take vitamin supplements to have a healthy diet. We get a ton of vitamins from the food we eat. If you have a well balanced diet you should be getting what your body needs from the foods you are eating. However, they say the exception is if you are elderly or have been suffering from a long term illness. You should be seeking a balanced diet instead of seeing vitamin supplements as the solution. What that means is staying away from totally refined food which is vitamin depleted. Instead go with wheat bread, vegetables and a moderate amount of meat and eggs and you should be getting all the vitamins your body needs.

This is not to say that vitamin supplements don’t do you any good, just that in a lot of cases they aren’t necessary to have a healthy balanced diet. Another thing to remember before you spend your hard earned money on vitamin supplements is that the nutrients are released in the stomach and a lot of them are destroyed by stomach acids, which will then be disposed of as waste when you go to the bathroom.

Some Foods that will give you the vitamins you need:
Vitamin A: full fat dairy products, spinach, broccoli, tomato juice, peppers, mango, dried apricots, butternut squash, carrots, sweet potatoes and pumpkin
Vitamin B1: whole grains, flour, bread and green leafy vegetables
Vitamin B2: eggs, milk, and cheese
Vitamin B3: high protein foods like meat, and peanuts
Vitamin B5: chicken, eggs, beef and broccoli
Vitamin B6: fish, chicken and wholegrain cereals
Vitamin B9: raw fruit
Vitamin B12: fish, dairy, and meat
Vitamin D: Exposure to sunlight, oily fish, and dairy products
Vitamin C: Oranges, Kiwi fruit, blueberries, strawberries, tomatoes
Vitamin E: Broccoli, nuts, soy beans, brussel sprouts, spinach and eggs.