Do Vitamins Work or Is It Just a Trend?

In these recent times, most people in America are embracing the use of vitamins as a way of dieting and acquiring minerals, which are vital nutrients. This is because vitamins play multiple roles in the body. In every drug store, you will be bound to see the multivitamins being sold on the shelves.

Vitamins and minerals are believed to be crucial nutrients, as they stage several functions in the body. Among the many functions are shoring bones, healing wounds easily, and acting as a boost to your immune system. They are also best in converting food into energy, and in mending cellular injuries.

However, issues are rising whether the intake of these vitamins is the right way to get the proper amount of minerals needed for a healthy lifestyle. Keenly read through this article as it is entirely dedicated to proving whether vitamins are essential, or it is just a hoax.

When Are Vitamins Considered to Work?

We can get vitamins and nutrients from the food we consume if it is well-balanced. But in most cases, we fail to take up all that is required from our diets. For this reason, supplements are taken to help reimburse whatever elements might be omitted from our diet.

The reasons for vitamin utilization vary. Some people use supplements to counteract their diets while others need them due to medical situations. Others use them due to poor eating patterns that restrict their ingestion of specific nutrients.

According to Healthcare Weekly, there are over ten minerals and vitamins that are crucial for a great wellbeing. However, people may require different types of vitamins depending on their specific circumstances. Below are certain circumstances that show when the vitamins work and are essential to our health.

Pregnancy and Newborn Babies

Pregnant women are advised to eat a well-balanced diet to help them cover nutritional gaps. They are supposed to take prenatal vitamins. The vitamins consist of folic acid, iron, iodine, and calcium, substances that are highly needed by every pregnant woman.

The nutrients from the prenatal vitamins are essential to the unborn baby as they help in nourishing both the brain and the spinal cord. Some babies, especially premature infants, do need added supplementation of specific vitamins that are not found from breastmilk or formula.

Brain Health

The brain has been known to use the most energy in our bodies. This is mainly because of the roles and functions that it plays for the body. So, some dietary supplements are required to keep the brain active.

According to OxfordAcademy, a current survey discovered that some adults, who are 50 years plus, take supplements to prevent brain aging and enhance memory, clearer attention, and concentration. These are vitamins B, C, K, and E.

However, you are advised to have enough sleep and exercise frequently, to maintain a healthy brain. Thus, if you use the right vitamins and achieve essential lifestyle factors such as diet, sleep, and exercise, you will protect and enhance your brain function.

Eye Health

From the medical researchers, we have had that vitamins and vision supplements can prevent or alleviate eye diseases and problems. The vision supplements are sold over the counters of our drug stores and are said to be very beneficial.

However, one is cautioned to first see a doctor, as the dietary supplements are not curing but act as substitutes for a serious occurrence in the future. The supplements are not for medication but to alleviate eye problems.

When Vitamins Do Not Work

Multivitamins are effective in the above-named cases but there are a few other cases when they don’t work. Therefore, it will be a waste of money for you to purchase them.

It is said that too much of something is poisonous. This applies to vitamins. According to BBC Future, when vitamins are in excess in the body, they become harmful. For instance, antioxidant vitamins gain electrons from free radicals. While this process is beneficial, when there are too many of these antioxidants, they take up all the free radicals resulting in fatal conditions such as cancer.

In the article above, Antonio Enrique, a scientist from Madrid’s Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research, states that it is not a good idea to free our bodies from free radicals. This is equivalent to leaving the body helpless against infections. Let us dive right into a major cause and see when vitamins are just a trend.

Weight Loss

Losing weight is not a stroll in the park. A lot of effort and determination is required if a person would love to shed some extra fats. According to The Shape, a study conducted in 2012 examined the effects of supplementing both calcium and vitamin D on weight loss.

They found that this supplementation blend did not boost weight loss. However, fat loss around the abdominal area occurred. Thus, although researchers believe that vitamins will increase metabolism and hence lead to weight loss, the effectiveness of each supplement has not been proven by scientific studies.

So, it will be right to say that due to the lack of enough evidence vitamins help in weight loss, then purchasing the weight loss supplements will be a waste of money. Following your diet and exercising right, eventually, you will be able to lose weight healthily.

Knowing the Right Vitamins

As much as we would point out that the vitamins do not work, we should also keep in mind that there is a variety of different multivitamins. Therefore, deciding on the genuine one can be such a hard task. As a tip, read through and consider the one with the desired nutrients and a daily value note.

Also, you should be able to differentiate between artificial and natural vitamins. Make sure to get the doctor’s recommendation and be bound to follow them if you wish to benefit from the vitamins.

From the article, you are now aware of the helpful vitamins and the ones that do not work. Make a point of flipping us and be sure of getting more information related to multivitamins. We would also love to hear from you and to get your reviews.