Vitamin Supplements: Good or Bad?
Best Vitamins & Supplements
The fact that the body needs vitamins is undeniable. Vitamins are substances that are necessary for the growth and development of the human body. Most of them are not produced nor stored by the body, thus they must be consumed through diet. However, some people think that vitamin pills are enough to maintain good health. They substitute these vitamin supplements to a well-balanced diet believing that they are enough.
Are vitamin supplements good or bad? These are the questions that commonly run to the minds of both users and non users. Vital as doctors proclaim they are, a good diet is still best in order to maintain a healthy life. For instance, calcium is essential for teens and adults to protect them against osteoporosis in later life.
Vitamin supplements cannot make up for calcium-deficiency during the early years. All that one really needs is a well-balanced diet to acquire the nutrients one needs. A balanced diet can provide an individual with all the vitamins and minerals that his or her body needs. Increasing your consumption of fruits and vegetables is the most important advice for they contain more than the basic vitamins and minerals that can be put into one pill.
The question, "are vitamin supplements good or bad?" has not been certainly answered by most health experts. Although recent studies show that they extend the life span of an individual a little, some still claim that they actually shorten it. Whichever is the truth, it is essential to know when is the right time to take vitamin supplements. It is not necessary for the elderly to take vitamin supplements except when they have loss of appetite, dental difficulties, digestion and swallowing problems, and being homebound.
Other people who might need vitamin supplements are women who are pregnant and who are trying to be, homebound women, vegans who never eat dairy products or meat, and most of all malnourished people.
In conclusion, vitamins can be neither good nor bad. The question "are vitamin supplements good or bad?" can be answered depending on the amount taken. Vitamin supplements when taken in an adequate amount and dosage can help boost the body's immune system. However, they can involve possible dangers when taken in mega doses which can cause toxicity. This holds particularly true with fat soluble vitamins which are stored in the liver. When they reach their highest toxicity level, they can cause irreversible liver damage that may lead to death.