Multivitamin supplements can optimize body's metabolic performance

Mar 22 2011

Eating well is a difficult task for most people given the frantic pace of everyday living. Convenient pre-packaged and fast foods, rich in calories and low in nutrients, offer an easy solution to those short on time, but neglect to provide daily essential nutrients.  And the short-changing of necessary nutritional requirements for good health is furthered by routine stress itself.

Important nutrients — vitamins and minerals — consumed in ideal amounts can optimize health, which in turn can reduce the risk of chronic diseases. But with the challenges of hectic lifestyles, how can we ensure the entire family's diet provides even adequate amounts of nutrients to promote wellness? Simply, with the daily use of a good quality, well-balanced multivitamin/mineral supplement.

Vitamins and minerals work synergistically and function interdependently as regulators to ensure that the necessary biological reactions for proper functioning of the body, and specifically those vital for growth, maintenance, immune function and reproduction, happen.  Although these essential components need to be supplied through our diet, they are often lacking.  Information gathered from a number of national data sources, including NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) finds that 9 out of 10 people fall short of the Daily Value (DV) recommendations in their diet. The top six under-consumed nutrients include potassium, fibre, vitamin D, calcium, magnesium and vitamin A.

And that's not all.  Most people are unaware of the nutrient deficiencies caused by taking prescription medications, which can inhibit the absorption, synthesis and storage of various nutrients.  For instance, long-term use of a commonly prescribed anti-diabetic drug can deplete B12 and folic acid levels, increasing weakness and tiredness. Some cholesterol-lowering drugs may negatively impact on coenzyme Q10 levels, thus decreasing energy levels and increasing fatigue. A class of medications called ACE inhibitors, used to treat high blood pressure, may decrease the levels of zinc in your blood, potentially lowering immunity and slowing wound healing.  Birth control pills can reduce vitamin B2, B6, B12, folic acid, magnesium, vitamin C and zinc. Thiazide diuretics deplete coenzyme Q10, magnesium, potassium, and zinc levels. Knowing how prescription drugs impact on dietary nutrients can help one   counteract negative effects through diet modification and supplementation.

Certainly, eating and living well is the ideal way to obtain the essential vitamins and minerals your body requires. And to give you that extra boost, include a high-quality multivitamin/mineral supplement each day alongside a healthy diet and lifestyle to help support and optimize your body's metabolic performance.