Many Benefits To Multivitamins

by Shelley Boettcher

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Want to improve your health quickly and easily? Take your vitamins.

We don't mean handfuls of complex and overpriced supplements. We're not talking about individual vitamin capsules and mineral tablets.

We're talking about a plain and simple multivitamin from your local pharmacy, the one-a-day kind that contains a little bit of everything, from vitamin A to zinc (or a similar combination).

"I look at multivitamins a little like an insurance policy," says Dawn Peacock, a registered dietitian with Women's Health Resources, part of the Calgary Health Region.

In a perfect world, she says, our bodies would get all the nutrients they need from our diets. But these days, few of us manage to eat a full range of foods every day.

"For people who don't eat well, it's an absolute necessity," says Dr. Ted Jablonski, a Calgary physician. "For people who eat a really well-balanced diet, it may be less critical."

Still, he says, there's no easy way to calculate if your body has received enough vitamin C or iron or vitamin D each week.

That's why a multivitamin, taken daily, can help remedy any deficiencies.

"A good one-a-day vitamin, made by a good, legitimate company, is probably all that most people need," says Jablonski. "It may fill in whatever nutritional gaps there may be in your diet."

Even if you eat properly, your digestive system may not work as well as it should. That's why a daily multivitamin is especially important for older people, notes Peacock.

"When you're past the age of approximately 50, you digest foods differently. You don't absorb the nutrients in your food as well as when you were younger," she says.

"A multivitamin can give you that extra boost."

But if you're on any medication, check with your doctor or pharmacist first before taking any dietary supplement.

For instance, a multivitamin that contains vitamin K could counteract the effects of blood-thinning medication, notes Jablonski.

According to the Mayo Clinic, children don't need large amounts of vitamins and minerals.

Still, as any mainstream baby book or pediatrician will tell you, kids do need a regular variety of vitamins to ensure proper brain growth and development.

"Most adults generally eat a good variety of foods, just because we get bored if we eat the same thing all the time," says Jablonski. "But kids will get on food jags where they'll only eat hot dogs and macaroni for weeks at a time. Kids who don't eat a good variety (of foods) will get deficient in some things.

"You can't go wrong with a chewable multivitamin that's geared for kids once a day. It's simple and can be very effective."

Having problems remembering to take your vitamins? Consider one of the following ideas:

• Keep your multivitamins on your desk at work. You'll be able to pop one on your coffee break -and maybe you'll inspire a co-worker or two to take one, too;
• Store your vitamin bottle next to your toothbrush. Throw one back each day after you brush and floss; or
• Try keeping a bottle by your coffee maker. While your coffee is brewing, you can swallow your daily dose.

Should you take a daily multivitamin?

According to the Mayo Clinic website (mayoclinic.com), a vitamin supplement may be a good idea if:

• You're a fussy eater. You skip meals or don't eat a variety of fruits and vegetables every day;
• You're a vegetarian. You may not get enough iron, calcium and B vitamins from your diet;
• You're on a diet.

Low-cal diets (less than 1,200 calories per day) limit the amount of nutrients you get each day;

• You're pregnant (or trying to become pregnant). Your body needs extra calcium, iron and folic acid, especially important to protect your baby against birth defects;
• You're female and post-menopausal. You need calcium and vitamin D to protect your bones from the drop in estrogen that women generally experience after menopause.
• You're a smoker. Tobacco inhibits your body's absorption of many essential vitamins and minerals; or
• You drink lots of alcohol. Years of drinking too much alcohol can impair your body's ability to absorb many minerals and vitamins.

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