Stop me if you’ve heard this before, “A multivitamin is just a waste of money.” I don’t know about you, but if I had a dollar for every time a so-called “expert” told me that rubbish I’d be a wealthy man.
Far too many doctors insist you get all the nutrients you need to stay healthy and fight disease from your daily diet.
But the truth is these so-called experts are simply flat out wrong. And the reason why they’re so off base might shock you.
The fact is your average doctor receives very little nutritional training.
Despite what you’ve been led to believe nutrition isn’t made a priority in medical school, and few doctors do any training on the subject beyond the required basics. If they did they’d know they’re spouting bad science.
Very few of us will ever get all the nutrition we need from what we eat. At some points in our lives a minority of us might come close. But there are a number of things conspiring against us.
Here are the top five reasons most people WILL need to take a quality multivitamin:
(1) Poor soil:
The soil that farmers are growing our food in these days just isn’t the same as the soil your great grandparents and even your grandparents had their food pulled from. Poor farming practices, including simple over-farming and not properly rotating crops, have sucked the soil dry of nutrients.
Mega factory farms have drained the soil of many of the minerals and trace minerals our bodies require. And food grown in poor soil lacks many of the nutrients we need. A good multi can replace what we are missing.
(2) Poor diet:
Let’s be honest, most of us aren’t going to win a prize for healthy eating. Even those of us that do try to eat healthy, and say no to junk food, fall off the wagon from time to time.
And today’s always on the go lifestyle certainly doesn’t help. Sometimes grabbing a fast meal on your way from one place to another is all we have time for. And that means we’re bound to miss out on some of the nutrients we need.
That’s where a good multivitamin comes in. You should, of course, always try to make the healthiest food choices you can, even when you’re on the go. But a multi can fill in any nutritional gaps your diet has left.
(3) Lifestyle:
Believe it or not where we live and how we live can have a huge effect on our nutrition.
A fast faced environment, or a busy stressful lifestyle, can trigger your body to use up nutrients more quickly. And as a result many of us are scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to some nutrient basics such as magnesium, choline, and vitamin D.
Once again a quality multivitamin can come to your rescue. But don’t forget to eat well and work on relieving your stress as well!
(4) Aging:
As we age our bodies get less efficient at absorbing nutrients. This means even if you are doing everything right, eating all the right foods and avoiding the junk, you can still run low on the vitamins and minerals you need.
And that, of course, can put you at risk for illness and disease. A multi can help make sure you’re not deficient in the basics.
(5) Absorption issues:
Even many doctors don’t know that your body can’t effectively absorb some nutrients from your food without certain vitamins and minerals being present. And water-soluble nutrients in particular can present a problem.
You lose your water-soluble vitamins through urine and stool so you need to keep resupplying your body with them every day.
B vitamins are a great example. Your body needs B’s to convert the nutrients from what you’ve eaten into energy. But since B’s are water-soluble it’s easy to run low on them.
A multivitamin can replenish those vitals B’s along with the other water soluble vitamins you lose every day. And make sure to take the supplement with your meals to help you get the most out of what you are eating.
And remember… don’t skimp on your multivitamin. Sure you can pick up a multi at your local grocery story, but the quality will be questionable at best.
Invest in your health and seek out a high-quality formula instead. Sure it will cost you a bit more, but you’re worth it.
While at Northeastern University he achieved “elite” ranking in two weight classes in the demanding sport of Powerlifting. He went on to earn All American status, and eventually won the United States National Championships in 1981 in Boise Idaho.
A lifelong learner, today George’s interests extend to antiaging, health and wellness. He runs a popular website -- Longevity and Antiaging Secrets -- where he shares his research on natural longevity and all the latest breakthroughs in antiaging. In addition, George turned his interest in heart health into another successful website Cholesterol Tutor, where he exposes the myths surrounding cholesterol and keeps his readers up to date on the latest research and news about heart disease.
Latest posts by George Parigian (see all)
- 5 great reasons to take a multivitamin TODAY! - November 14, 2015
