Multivitamins Essay Example

Attention:

Gardening for hours, cleaning the entire house and arranging the closets are the chores that would make 49 year old women from the Mid-West can do with the energy she gets from multivitamin supplements! The 49 year old woman flattered on amazon.com concerning the multivitamin that she had been consuming for an entire week. I gave it a thought and realized that it was the vitamin. The 49 year old woman goes on and says “I feel so much better overall than I’ve felt in several years. I will always take these.”
In this case, the woman is not alone. Research shows that many Americans also admit to taking multivitamins, as well as other minerals on a regular basis; up to 1-14 pills a day at a cost that can hit 75 dollar a month.

As the Nutrition Action Health letter stated:

Do multivitamins provide any tangible benefits? Can you get too much of the required nutrients out of the multivitamins? If in case one is the market looking the multivitamin supplements, what would they be looking for?
There are higher chances that there are bottles of multivitamins in people houses. Probably, they take one or even more every day or even just once in a while.
Do people really need multivitamins? There is not so much proof, which tells that people who use the multivitamins are healthier that the ones who do not take them. However, taking something that may be absent in your body does not cause much harm.
My advice to the Americans is that they should not misuse their hard earned money on the multivitamin supplements that have more than what they may require or more of what they should actually get. Here’s a guide from recent studies: Nutrition Action Health letter published the following research

Establish credibility:

Among more than 182 000 middle aged, as well as, older women and men who live in Hawaii and California, the ones who used multivitamins were known to have longer lives and there were hardly diagnosed with conditions such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. However, the ones who did not take the multivitamins lived for fewer years and were always diagnosed with cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
The 41% of the more than 161 000 postmenopausal women in the Women’s health initiative who were constantly using the multivitamin had similar chances of being diagnosed with ovarian, breast, and other forms of cancer with the ones who did not use the multivitamins supplements.
One quarter of the more than 83 000 men aged 40-84 in the doctors’ health research study were using multivitamins. However, their chances of dying from stroke or coronary artery disease were equal to the men who did not use a multivitamin supplements.
For instance, adults of an older age who are healthy and were being given multivitamins in various countries like Canada and the US, for close to 1.5 years had similar chances of contracting infections, colds and other diseases with the ones who did not take the multivitamins. They would also fall sick and miss on their planned activities.
Additionally, performance on memory and cognitive tests were no higher in healthy German women age 60-91 who took a multivitamin for six month.

Insurance of Diet

“Even if multivitamins won’t prolong your life or keep you from getting sick they can still fill in the gaps if you get too little of some vitamins and minerals from your food” says Susan Roberts, who is a nutritionist and psychiatry professor in Boston at a University called Tufts University.et.
According to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee up to 7 important nutrients were pointed to be consumed in small portion in the past year. Two of the nutrients are potassium and fiber, which are not available in significant amounts from multivitamins.

Preview main ideas;

But the other five are.
Vitamin D, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Iron and Calcium.
Is there a downside or safety concern of taking a multivitamin every day?
Researchers are concerned about three nutrients. Folic Acid, Selenium and Vitamin A
Multivitamins and what you should know about.
Body:
I. Nutrients we benefit from supplementing
1. Potassium
Potassium is part of multivitamins, and it among the well-known nutrients that are very important to the human body. Potassium is mainly obtained from vegetables, grains and citrus fruits. Nevertheless, it can also be obtained from other sources such as chicken, Salmon, whole milk, almonds, as well as, fresh fruit juices. The benefits of potassium include the fact that potassium reliefs people from blood stroke by ensuring that the brain functions in a normal way thus instigating neural action and rise cerebral activities. Potassium is also relevant in in restoring blood pressure hear, kidney disorders, stress and anxiety because when the level of potassium drops, the level blood sugar also drops. Adequate potassium is constantly needed by the body to control the relaxation and contraction of body muscles. Potassium is also know to help in the metabolic processing carbohydrates and fats; hence playing a relevant role in the generation of energy from different nutrients.
2. Fiber
It is actually almost impossible for the human body to function fiber. Fiber has been known to have various benefits to the human body. Fiber is obtained from whole foods such as green beans, vegetables, berries, flax and tubers. To start with, fiber is important because it helps in the reduction of diseases such as heart diseases, stroke, diverticulitis, skin diseases, and kidney stones. A diet high in fiber helps to control the blood sugar of the body, which protects the body from the above disease and conditions. Additionally, fiber intake and more especially psyllium husk helps to remove yeast and fungus from the human body; thus preventing them from be automatically remove out through the body skin that brings about acne and skin rashes
3. Folic Acid
Folic acid has a lot of medicinal and nutritional importance to both men and women. It is obtained from beef liver and kidney, mushrooms beans yeast, and leafy vegetables like broccoli, lettuce and spinach. Some fruits like Water melons, bananas, lemons oranges and tomatoes are also high in folic acid. Folic acid is useful in restoring folate deficiency in the body. It also helps in the treatment of anemia, as well as the regulation of the bowel in order to properly absorb nutrients. Miscarriages in women are also prevented by folic acid. Pregnant women or women who might get pregnant are usually advised to take a diet rich in folic acid to prevent miscarriages and birth defects that occur due neural tube defects.
II. Nutrients we might hurt ourselves when supplementing

Folic Acid

Folic acid may have many benefits especially to pregnant women, but it also has very risky harmful effects to the human body. Folic acid is very harmful t the cancer patients because it is known to interfere with cancer during the chemotherapy treatment. The drug used during the treatment is called methotrexate and it is an antifolate agent, which prevents the metabolism of folic acid in the body. Folic acid is also harmful to patients with leukemia; hence leukemia patients are usually advised to take a diet low in folic acid.

Selenium

Selenium is usually not safe when take in large portion for a long time because it increases the chances of selenium toxicity. On the other hand taking small portions of selenium for a long time also increases the chances of one becoming diabetic. Other side effects that are associated with high dosages of selenium are vomiting, fatigue, poisoning, irritability and loss of hair amongst others.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A has the following hurtful effects to the human body. To start with, it cases stomach pain to some people. Additionally Vitamins A also bring about diarrhea, nausea and vomiting to the human body. Vitamins A should mostly be taken on an empty stomach if possible. However, if it causes severe side effects when taken on an empty stomach, one can take it with other foods so as to minimize the way the body absorbs the Vitamins A. Nevertheless, people should not take vitamins A with other foods that contain coffee, tea, cereals or dairy products.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is evident that multivitamins are very essential nutrients in the body. They have very many benefits but they also have severe harmful side effects as well. Most Americans over rate the multivitamins and they spend a lot of money on them. They believe the multivitamins supplements will make them healthier and prolong their lives. It is true that the people who take the multivitamin supplements have an advantage over those who do not take but it is not as much as people expect. In fact, the supplements have some risky side effects that may out do the benefits in the long run.

Works Cited

2012 - Daily multivitamin supplements did not reduce risk for major CV events over greater than 10 years in men. (2013). ACP Journal Club, 158(4), 1. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-158-4 201302190-02008
Grodstein, F., O'Brien, J., Kang, J. H., Dushkes, R., Cook, N. R., Okereke, O., & Sesso, H. D. (2013). Long-term multivitamin supplementation and cognitive function in men: a randomized trial. Annals Of Internal Medicine,159(12), 806-814.
Li, K., Kaaks, R., Linseisen, J., & Rohrmann, S. (2012). Vitamin/mineral supplementation and cancer, cardiovascular, and all-cause mortality in a German prospective cohort (EPIC Heidelberg). European Journal Of Nutrition, 51(4), 407-413. doi:10.1007/s00394-011-0224-1
Marra, M., & Wellman, N. (2008). Multivitamin-mineral supplements in the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program: not a one-size-fits-all quick fix. American Journal Of Public Health, 98(7), 1171-1176. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2007.122762
Schardt, David. 2011. "Multiplex: What you need to know about multivitamins." Nutrition Action Health Letter 38, no. 7: 1-7. CINAHL with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed January 11, 2015).
Summaries for patients. Does long-term multivitamin supplementation help cognitive function in men?. (2013).Annals of Internal Medicine, 159(12), I-24.
Summaries for patients. Does long-term multivitamin supplementation help cognitive function in men?. (2013). Annals of Internal Medicine,159(12), I-24.
Vergne, Y., Matta, J., Morales, L., Vargas, W., Alvarez-Garriga, C., & Bayona, M. (2013). Breast Cancer and DNA Repair Capacity: Association With Use of Multivitamin and Calcium Supplements. Integrative Medicine: A Clinician's Journal, 12(3), 38-46