Vitamins and Minerals as Supplements: Why use them?

“Who needs supplements?  If you’re generally healthy and eat a wide variety of foods, including, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, low-fat dairy products, lean meats and fish, you likely don’t need supplements.” (www.mayoclinic.org) For those who may require some vitamin supplementation, here are some potential benefits associated with each:

Vitamin Supplements:

Vitamin A-Helps to maintain healthy vision, keep your skin healthy, protects against wrinkles and acne and helps tight off infections and other unwanted diseases.

Vitamin B12-This vitamin enhances muscle strength, provides energy and helps your nerves function properly.  Insufficient amounts of vitamin B12 can lead to health complications such as fatigue, weak muscles and severe depression.

Vitamin C-Serves a number of purposes including healing wounds, boosting your immune system, protecting artery linings and preventing cataracts.

Vitamin D-Supplements are helpful for babies who are breastfed since breastfeeding does not provide adequate amounts of this vitamin.  Vitamin D has also been known to help fight Osteoporosis.

Vitamin E-This vitamin is known to help protect against heart disease and some forms of cancer.  It also boosts the immune system and helps in healing injuries and wounds.  Some studies provide that this vitamin also helps boost the immune system of elderly people.

Vitamin K-Strengthens bones and is known to help fight Osteoporosis.

Mineral Supplements:

Calcium-Is known to protect bones and make them stronger, but it also helps in lowering blood pressure and preventing colon cancer and PMS (pre-menstrual syndrome).  Make sure you only take the recommended amount of calcium per day.  Too much calcium can increase the risk of prostate cancer in men.

Chromium-This mineral assists the hormone insulin and helps it to operate more efficiently.  When the insulin is functioning at the appropriate level, your blood sugar levels are lower, which is helpful to individuals with type 2 diabetes.  This mineral has also been proven to help with weight loss.

Iron-Lack of iron can cause fatigue and low energy levels.  Iron deficiency is usually found in pre-menopausal women, athletes and vegetarians.  Although iron helps boost your energy levels, too much of this mineral may cause heart disease and can place you at higher risks for cancer.

Vitamin D & Aging

Some people find themselves researching and consuming vitamin and mineral supplements in hopes of increasing their bone density and functional abilities through increased Calcium and Vitamin D. While many practitioners will tell you that the average person does not need a multivitamin, most will agree that aging adults could potentially benefit from a Calcium/Vitamin D supplement. It is certainly possible to consume adequate calcium and Vitamin D through diet alone, especially if you can commit to drinking three glasses of milk daily. But, many adults develop lactose intolerance as they age and are looking for an alternative. Research has shown that consuming a Calcium/Vitamin D supplement can decrease the risk for falls through improved musculoskeletal function. Additionally, many conditions have been linked to hypovitaminosis D (too little Vitamin D) that include the risk for type 2 Diabetes, depression, and development of autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis.  While many supplements are overrated and probably unnecessary for the average, healthy adult… it’s worth asking your physician about Vitamin D and Calcium supplements. 

Vitamin B12: A Closer Look

Vitamin B12 is one of the water-soluble vitamins and is naturally present in some foods. B12 is very important for our bodies. It is required for proper blood cell formation, neurological function, and DNA synthesis. Naturally, B12 is found in animal products such as fish, meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and dairy products. Some people are not able get the appropriate amount of vitamin B12 that they need on a daily basis. Elderly individuals are amongst those who face challenges with vitamin B12. This is due to a condition known as atrophic gastritis. Their bodies are unable to absorb the B12 that is offered through foods. Older adults are not the only persons who run into trouble with vitamin B12. People with pernicious anemia, gastrointestinal disorders, people who have undergone gastrointestinal surgery, vegetarians, and pregnant and lactating women should supplement with B12. Obviously, vitamin B12 is very important to our bodies to maintain proper, every day function. The table below, provided by the National Institute of Health, is helpful if you are wondering how much B12 is essential for you.

Table 1: Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for Vitamin B12 [5]

Age	Male	Female	Pregnancy	Lactation
0–6 months*	0.4 mcg	0.4 mcg
7–12 months*	0.5 mcg	0.5 mcg
1–3 years	0.9 mcg	0.9 mcg
4–8 years	1.2 mcg	1.2 mcg
9–13 years	1.8 mcg	1.8 mcg
14+ years	2.4 mcg	2.4 mcg	2.6 mcg	2.8 mcg

Iron & Teens

It has been said that “good habits formed at youth make all the difference.” Good nutritional habits are no exception. Because nutritional requirements increase during adolescence to support growth and development, teenagers are more vulnerable to a lack of adequate nutrients. Iron is a micronutrient needed by the body to carry oxygen from the lungs to transport throughout the body. Iron deficiency in adolescence can cause fatigue and slow a teen down during some of their most active years. It can also cause cognitive ability disorders. While the body is growing and increasing in bone and muscle, this results in an increase in total blood volume.

During adolescence many young people are involved in sports, and teenage girls begin menstruation. These things contribute to iron less in the body. Between growth and activity level, the adolescent body is in need of more iron. Despite the increase iron demand, teens, more often girls, fail to meet the recommended intake. The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for iron for girls age 8-13 is 8 mg/day and increases to 15 mg/day during age 14-18. For boys age 8-13 the RDA is also 8 mg/day, but only increases to 11/mg a day ages from ages 14-18. For those teens that fall way below the RDA, iron supplementation may be prescribed by a doctor, especially following the diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia. This may not come without complication. Iron supplements can cause nausea, vomiting, constipation, and diarrhea. Some teens may be able to increase their iron intake with diet modification alone. Instead of filling up on fast food and snacks, these growing young adults should be consuming iron-fortified cereals, legumes, spinach, and liver as a part of a well-balanced diet. Adolescence is a stage of life where much learning and growing takes place. It is important to teach young people good nutritional habits that will allow them to grow healthy.

Combatting Deficiency

For almost 100 years, foods have been enriched or fortified in attempt to prevent deficiencies and disease and to improve the overall quality of foods. Enriched foods are those that have nutrients added which may have been lost during processing. Fortified foods have nutrients added to improve overall nutritional value of the food. During processing, some foods lose nutritional value. To make up for these nutritional losses, some grains are enriched. This means the B vitamins, including thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and folic acid, as well as iron are added back to the food. More recently, food fortification has shifted more toward optimizing nutritional value of foods instead of deficiency prevention. Plant sterols and stanols are added to margarine and spreads in attempt to lower cholesterol. Prebiotics and probiotics have been added to a variety of foods to improve gut health. Omega-3 fatty acids are added to some milks to optimize brain, eye and heart health. While fortified and enriched foods can add great nutritional value to the diet, a well-balance diet with a variety of foods should always be priority. Hopefully this information will help you make an informed decision about whether or not supplements are for you. If you’re still unsure talk to your healthcare provider about which supplements may be beneficial for you!