Have you taken your vitamins today?

Vitamins, we see them everywhere in nearly every store and there are what seems like a million brands to choose from. Generally, despite the overwhelming number of brands out there, they are going to all do the same thing for us. But why are they so important?

Photo by Kateryna Hliznitsova on Unsplash

If you have ever been asked by healthcare professionals if you take vitamins, there is a reason for that. I didn’t learn the reason why until I took a class on vitamins and minerals. The reasoning behind it is solely based on our diet as Americans and the whole foods that are produced in mass-production settings.

 As Americans, we tend to focus our diet on the number of calories we consume rather than the nutritional value of the food. This can in turn cause vitamin and mineral deficiencies.  The two most common types of deficiencies I run into are vitamin D and iron. When we talk about “whole foods” think about the foods that are grown in the ground like fruits, grains, and vegetables. Taken, we should all have a balanced diet with whole foods, and you would think by eating these foods alone, our bodies would be getting sufficient vitamins and minerals our bodies require. Unfortunately, in today’s world, this is not always the case. What has happened to these foods, they are being overproduced, thus causing the soil they are grown in to be depleted of those essential vitamins and minerals.

Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash

 We all want to think that having a healthy, well-balanced diet is all we need to give our bodies the nutrition it needs, but it is a must that we supplement what our bodies are not getting with those vitamins and minerals. Unless otherwise directed by a healthcare professional, a multivitamin is a great start and will help you put your health in the right direction.