Essential Vitamins - Essential For Life

Taking nutritional supplements is now commonplace and it is
known that regular use of multivitamins with minerals can be
essential for long-term vitality and health. A nutritional
supplement is distinctly different from an herbal remedy, which
uses natural materials to treat an illness or condition, such as
the use of herbal teas sometimes used to clear mucus from a
baby's lungs. A supplement is precisely what the word suggests.
It supplements the diet and ensures the provision of the range
of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, such as
antioxidants, required for the body to function as it is
intended to do.

For example, vitamin B12 is present only in animal tissue, so
vegans will require a vitamin B12 supplement to avoid a
deficiency. The same is true of alcoholics, where intake and
absorption are reduced.

The benefits of such supplements are well known and accepted
and many people need to supplement their daily diets in some
way. However, while nutritional supplements can be carefully
chosen to provide the substances that are required to ensure
good health, how do you know that what you are buying is
actually doing you good? In fact it is very difficult, and the
form they come in is important.

Many nutritional supplements come packaged in a gelatin
capsule. The problem is that gelatin is not easily digested and
can form sticky glue that results in the supplement itself being
difficult to digest and result in reduced assimilation into the
body. Gelatin is made from raw materials like hooves and other
parts, and can contain the various chemicals, such as hormones
and antibiotics, used in many forms of animal feed. Gelatin
capsules are bad news to many people.

The common tablet can also contain toxins, in the form of the
binders needed to hold it together. Also, the high pressures
required to form the tablet also give rise to high
temperatures, which can destroy part of the nutritional value
of the main ingredient. Nutritional supplements in tablet form
can be difficult to assimilate into the body, and if they are
taken regularly, the toxic ingredients can accumulate in the
body, giving rise to longer-term problems.

Many nutritional supplements contain flow agents, such as
magnesium stearate, which allows a powder to flow freely,
titanium dioxide as a whitening agent and flavoring agents such
as monosodium glutamate that some people are allergic to.

You will note that all of these ingredients are present either
to present the product in a more palatable or better-looking
form, or as a means of delivery to the mouth. It should seem
obvious that the simplest way to do this is in the form of a
liquid.

The main problem with the individual vitamins and minerals,
supplied as individual chemicals in a mixture, is that they are
easily destroyed by stomach acid. Gelatin, particularly, can
increase stomach acidity. Natural substances are absorbed at
well over 60% compared to around 10% of individual chemicals.
This is because the natural materials come attached to proteins
that the body easily assimilates. Therefore, nutritional
supplements in form of liquids, extracted from the natural
fruits and vegetables, are significantly more effective than
the individual mixtures that most people take.

Liquid supplements can provide a wide range of nutritional
needs in a form that is very easily absorbed the body. Mixtures
of minerals and vitamins are readily available in liquid form,
and can be flavored with natural fruit juices. In addition to
these traditional supplements there are many others, such as
the acai berry, a very rich source of amino and fatty acids,
essential for the generation of enzymes and proteins that
ensure the correct chemical balance in the body for the
production of enzymes and proteins. These are necessary for the
development of strength and energy.

Pomegranate and blueberry juices are very rich in antioxidants.
These are necessary to destroy the free radicals that form in
the body and that can cause cancers and heart disease. Other
supplements rich in antioxidants are ascorbic acid (Vitamin C),
beta-carotene, grape juice and cranberry juice.

When choosing which nutritional supplement to buy, determine
first where your diet may be failing you. Most people who eat a
balanced diet do not need to take daily vitamin and mineral
supplement, since there are enough vitamins in their diet.
Occasional individual mineral supplements might be required for
specific conditions and antioxidants are always a useful
supplement to take, though even with these, overuse can cause
problems.

The form in which they are supplied is important to how much
benefit you get from nutritional supplements, and to what
degree they are absorbed in a useful form by the body. Liquid
supplements are undoubtedly the best form, though not all
vitamins are water-soluble. However, where available, this
should be the preferred method of consumption.

About The Author: While engaged in business as an indepedendent
representative for New Vision International
(http://www.newvision.net/efrisbee), Michelle Tucker's overall
goal is to help circulate informational information about good
health and wellbeing. "Everyone deserves to live the best life
they can."

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