The jury is still out on whether or not you need that multivitamin supplement
In a perfect world we would all love a wide variety of foods. We would be able to source and prepare fresh food every day, three times a day at least. Nobody will have allergies or be intolerant of specific food types, and all our kids would just adore their veggies and fish. You would never be in a rush to get something on the table late at night after work amidst countless other family and professional obligations. No meeting, seminar or deadline would ever make it difficult for you to have a healthy lunch. It would also never be necessary to have to grab something on the way to work or on the run to the kids’ soccer matches. In another lifetime perhaps!
Another matter that invariably plays a role in just about any aspect of our lives of course is the cost involved. Have you ever noticed how expensive natural healthy food is in relation to most take-out meals and many of the prepackaged meals or snacks? It really is no wonder that obesity rates in many of the poorer communities are so often higher than in wealthier neighborhoods. All the cheaper snacks such as one-minute noodles, crisps, pies, biscuits and sweets are incredibly high in calories, sugar, fat, and salt – but still offers the body nothing in terms of nutrition. We are all also too familiar with the nutritional content, or rather lack thereof, when it comes to fast food and most prepackaged meals. The result of indulging in these meals and snacks is that your body keeps on demanding food to get more of those missing nutrients, often with disastrous consequences.
Replace all of these processed snacks with natural food and you are far less unlikely to overeat because your body actually gets the necessary nutrients it needs. The reality is that even if you do follow a healthy and balanced diet abundant with natural food, it is highly unlikely that you will ingest sufficient quantities of all the ingredients your body really needs. A daily multivitamin manufactured by a reputable company can help fill in the gaps, and also in the process help you manage your health and weight. While a multivitamin may seem expensive to some, it is still cheaper when you consider the incredible variety of fresh foods you will have to purchase and prepare to obtain the same nutrients.
Just to be clear on this issue; this does not mean that you can eat all the junk food you want as long as you take your daily multivitamin. A multivitamin supplement is not a super fix for all your bad habits by any stretch of the imagination. In End of Overeating, David Kessler explains how addictive many of the ever present processed snacks and fast food products can be. It is scary just how damaging many of these food types can be to your hormones and body. A clear link has been found in many studies between junk food and diseases such as metabolic imbalances, increased weight problems, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and cancer just to name a few.
Results from clinical trials and scientific studies on the use of daily multivitamins are conflicting to such an extent that the medical experts are battling to find common ground. Some studies indicate that a daily multivitamin can help prevent chronic disease and improve general wellness while others suggest that there is no evidence that the human body actually benefits from it.
A 2006 report prepared for the United States Department of Health and Human Services concluded that that regular use of a multivitamin does not result in any significant health benefits in prevention of cancer, heart disease cataracts or cognitive decline. The report did however indicate that multivitamins may prevent cancer in individuals with poor nutritional status. It also acknowledged that the heterogeneity in the population studied make it difficult to generalize findings to include the whole of the US population.
A paper published in JAMA by R. Fletcher in 2002 stated that “it appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements” for the prevention of chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis. A number of studies found that taking multivitamins regularly can reduce the risk of diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer and osteoporosis just to name a few. Numerous scientific reports have been published on the benefits of individual nutrients to the human body, which also have to be taken into consideration. More and more scientists and medical professionals nowadays are of the opinion that taking a daily multivitamin is the sensible approach considering our busy lifestyles.
The conflicting reports and views described above clearly demonstrates the real crux of the matter. The variables involved between participants (tastes, socioeconomic background, culture and genetics) and the complexities of the multivitamin itself result in it being extremely difficult to design and execute fair and objective studies to test the efficacy of multivitamins. Conflicting results are inevitable when faced with so many variables and a body so complex that we will not understand it in totality for many decades to come. We have to make do with the information we do have and continuously interpret new studies and findings against the backdrop of complexities.
It doesn’t really matter whether the issue at hand is lack of time, money or as in many cases both; the bottom line is that in today’s rushed world just about nobody is able to stick to a sufficiently healthy and varied diet all the time. Most of us, despite our best efforts, will be left with deficiencies in various vitamins, minerals and trace elements. A multivitamin, for most of us, is a good insurance policy.
To choose the best multivitamin
This article is written considering the general population with normal aches and pains. If you have a medical condition or are taking chronic medication, speak to your medical professional first.
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