Life is hectic in New York, NY, which is why most people try to stay healthy the easiest way, by taking vitamins, rather than making lifestyle changes. It’s easy to understand. They’re promoted on TV, social media and on the radio. The commercials can be pretty convincing, especially if you want a quick fix for your health. However, there are many things people who take them regularly didn’t know that might change their mind or make them change their regimen.
Have you ever heard of Jack LaLanne?
Jack LaLanne was a health guru that started on TV with a local 15-minute program on fitness in San Francisco. He believed so much in fitness, he paid for the program himself. On the program, he advertised his own fitness products and his gym. It was much like the infomercials of today. However, by 1959, the show went national, with the television executives paying him. He had a lot of first on his show, including being the first person to sell vitamins on TV. He also was the first person to produce a nutrition bar for a snack. If you get weary hearing vitamin commercials, blame Jack.
Vitamin supplements pale in comparison to a healthy lifestyle.
A healthy lifestyle includes diet, exercise, getting adequate sleep, adequate sunlight and hydration. In fact, one study proved it in 2019. They compared groups of people who modified their diet to make it healthier, to those taking supplements. The people with the healthier diet lived longer. Much of the reason has to do with things vitamins don’t have that real food does, phytonutrients. Another study found that many of the beneficial effects from vitamins only came when the vitamin was consumed in food, not in pill form.
You can overdose on vitamins.
There are two types of vitamins, water-soluble and fat-soluble. Vitamin C, for instance, is a water-soluble vitamin. If you take too many, your body flushes it out in your waste, but before that, expect stomach cramps and bloating. If you take too much over a longer period, it can cause kidney stones. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin and is stored in fat tissues. It can build up, just as vitamin A, K and vitamin E can, causing toxicity. Too much vitamin D can cause bone pain, abnormal heart rhythms, high blood calcium levels, stomach pain, muscle weakness and fatigue, to name a few symptoms. It’s all about how much you take and whether you need it. It’s almost impossible to overdose on vitamins from food sources.
- Not all vitamin products are equal. Some vitamin forms are more bioavailable than others are, meaning the body can absorb the nutrients better. Those that aren’t bioavailable are often flushed down the drain in the bathroom, unprocessed.
- Some vitamins, like vitamin K and vitamin D, are hard to get from food. While you can get vitamin D from sunshine, it’s not always possible in northern locations. Both are necessary for maintaining calcium in bones.
- Covid patients were tested and found that those with a vitamin D deficiency were more apt to develop more severe symptoms. It was also found that people of color, the elderly and obese people had a higher incidence of vitamin D deficiency.
- One supplement that’s important for every woman of childbearing age is folic acid. If the mother doesn’t have adequate folic acid in early pregnancy, it can lead to birth defects.
For more information, contact us today at UpFit Training Academy
