Vitamins: Are They Really Healthy?

Over-the-counter vitamin supplements are oftentimes taken by people who have little awareness of their effects. Vitamin supplements, of course, can sometimes be healthy; however, there are advantages and disadvantages to taking them. Knowing how vitamins affect you can only help, not hinder, your body's total health. The human body requires micronutrients in order to generate positive growth. These come in the form of micronutrients, which help the body at every stage of development. Micronutrients are derived from food, for the most part, but in some cases can come from vitamins. If you take vitamin supplements blindly, though, without the supervision of a doctor, it's possible that they can be harmful to your health.

The Advantages of Vitamins
Minerals and vitamins protect the body from diseases and illness. The body becomes more prone to illness when a vitamin deficiency occurs. This means that the body has absorbed fewer nutrients than it needs. Vitamin deficiencies contribute to a variety of illnesses. Vitamin A deficiency, for example, contributes to night blindness and dry skin. Vitamin B1 is known to cause extremities to lose their sensations. Vitamins can offer a "buffer" of sorts, which can safeguard a person against illness in the case of an imbalanced diet. The excretory system flushes out water soluble vitamins after they have fully dissolved in the digestive track. Vitamin A, E, and K, however, are fat-soluble vitamins. There are stored in bodily tissues, and too many can contribute to the development of disease. The following vitamins, and their respective deficiencies, might be useful to you:

• Vitamin A (Retinol): Causes night blindness and dry skin. You can find Vitamin A in veggies, liver, whole milk, and butter.
  
• Vitamin B1 (Thiamine): Numbness, tingling/shooting pain in the extremities, general loss of sensation, and deterioration of muscle.
  
• Vitamin B1 is most often found in fish, bran, whole grain, fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): Impaired vision, cracked lips, and mouth ulcers. Find Vitamin B2 in liver, eggs, veggies, and milk.
  
• Vitamin B3: Weight loss, weakness and fatigue, mouth sores, and rough skin. Find Vitamin B3 in seafood, meat, veggies, cereals, and whole grains.
  
• Vitamin B6: Mouth soreness, dizziness, and sometimes nausea and depression. Vitamin B6 is in meat, bran, and vegetables.
  
• Vitamin B12: Fatigue, shortness of breath, tingling and/or numbness in the limbs, feet, or hands. Look for
• Vitamin B12 in milk, meat, and seafood.
  
• Vitamin C: Gums become bruised, swollen, and/or bleed; however, this is a rare deficiency, as Vitamin C is found in many vegetables and citrus fruits.
  
• Vitamin D: Legs can become misshapen or "bow legged." Look for Vitamin D in seafood and eggs.
  
• Vitamin E: Ataxia and peripheral neuropathy; these are disorders of the Central Nervous System. Vitamin E is found in nut oils, sunflower seeds, vegetables, and wheat germ. Folic acid in nuts, liver, vegetables, and whole wheat.
  
• Vitamin K: Abnormal bleeding. Find Vitamin K in veggies.
  
• Pantothenic Acid: Fatigue, coordination issues, and headaches. Vegetables, eggs, liver, and potatoes are high in Pantothenic Acid.
  
  

The Disadvantages of Vitamins
Despite the advantages, vitamin supplements aren't always healthy. For starters, vitamins are not cheap. It's sometimes more cost effective to prepare well-balanced meals at home, rather than compensate for an unhealthy diet through vitamins. You stand the risk of overdosing, as well, which would not happen through proper diet and nutrient-rich meals. Also, it's possible that you may already get enough vitamins in your daily meals; you might overload your system, waste money and nutrients, or overdose unnecessarily. Consuming too many fat-soluble vitamins is very unhealthy. For example, by overdosing on Vitamin A, unpleasant side effects such as blurred vision, ringing in the ears, and hair loss can occur.

Here's what a vitamin overdose looks like:

• Vitamin A: Nausea, ringing in the ears, irregular menses, skin rashes, apathy, and mood disorders.
  
• Vitamin B3: Faintness, peptic ulcers, dizzy spells, gout, and hyperglycemia.
  
• Vitamin B6: Memory loss, difficulty walking, depression, disorientation, and feeling numb.
  
• Vitamin D: Deafness, hypertension, high cholesterol, and nausea.
  
• Vitamin E: Breast tenderness, muscular loss, and a prolonged healing process.
  
  

Always consult doctor, chiropractor or otherwise, before beginning to take vitamins. They might advise you that multi vitamins are advisable, rather than running the risk of an individual overdose.

Multi Vitamins Benefit Many People:
Because vitamins are the most nutrient-rich food, vegetable-heavy diets may offer plenty of nutrients for a healthy organism to thrive. Eggs, milk, nuts, liver, and seafood similarly offer nutrients. Fiber-rich foods such as whole wheat bread can also be beneficial. That said, sometimes people still need supplemental multivitamins. If you are recovering from injury, illness, or surgery, it is especially important to supplement your diet. Also, people with digestive conditions, or those whom may be pregnant may also turn to vitamins. Regardless, if you are thinking about vitamin supplements, or want to know more about your individual vitamin-based needs, call your chiropractor.