Are Some Vitamins Better Than Others

Supplements Containing Vitamins A C And D

Children aged 6 months to 5 years should take vitamin supplements containing vitamins A, C and D every day.

Find out more about vitamins for children or ask your health visitor for advice.

A GP may also recommend supplements if you need them for a medical condition. For example, you may be prescribed iron supplements to treat iron deficiency anaemia.

Calcium: The Excess Settles In Your Arteries

Calcium is essential for strong bones and a healthy heart, but too much is not a good thing. In fact, an excess of calcium, which is described by the NIH as more than 2,500 mg per day for adults ages 19 to 50, and more than 2,000 mg per day for individuals 51 and over, can lead to problems.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, Researchers believe that without adequate vitamin D to help absorb it, the extra calcium settles in the arteries instead of the bones.

In addition, an analysis of 10 years of medical tests on more than 2,700 people in a federally funded heart disease study, published October 10, 2016, in the Journal of the American Heart Association, suggested that taking calcium supplements may increase plaque buildup in the aorta and other arteries. In contrast, a diet high in calcium-rich foods, such as dairy products and leafy greens, appeared to be protective.

Get calcium from your diet if you can, advises Dr. Millstine, noting that research shows that calcium is better absorbed through food than through supplements.

Calcium deficiency, or hypocalcemia, may be detected by routine blood tests. If you have low calcium blood levels, your doctor may prescribe a calcium supplement.

Do I Need Vitamin Supplements

Most people do not need to take vitamin supplements and can get all the vitamins and minerals they need by eating a healthy, balanced diet.

Vitamins and minerals, such as iron, calcium and vitamin C, are essential nutrients that your body needs in small amounts to work properly.

Many people choose to take supplements but taking too much or taking them for too long could be harmful. The Department of Health and Social Care recommends certain supplements for some groups of people who are at risk of deficiency.

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Expensive Vs Cheap Vitamins

With so many vitamin options on shelves and online, it’s hard to know which one is right for you. When it comes to the bottom line, according to Carol A Rice, Ph.D., R.N., cheap vitamins are just as good as expensive vitamins. There are some things that you should look for on the vitamin label before making your final decision. You should always, of course, consult with your physician or pharmacist about possible interactions with other medications before you take them.

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Vitamin D Is Needed For Calcium Absorption

In order for your body to absorb and use calcium, you need vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin.

Since vitamin D deficiency is very common , this can be an issue.

While you can take a separate vegan vitamin D supplement, most calcium supplements have vitamin D included.

You should be looking for one that will give you at least 800 IU per day of vitamin D.

Additionally, vitamin D3 is much better absorbed than vitamin D2 , so look for D3. Ill point these out clearly in the mini-reviews later on.

To add one more level of complexity, vitamin D also requires vitamin K to be used properly, which is why youll see many calcium supplements also have vitamin K.

Recommended Reading: What Vitamin D3 Does To Your Body

Stress Depression And Anxiety

Some vitamin and omega-3 fatty acid deficiencies can lead to emotional disturbances. However, if you are feeling run down, it is more likely to be due to stress, depression or unhealthy lifestyle habits , rather than a vitamin deficiency.

Feeling under pressure doesnt automatically lead to a vitamin deficiency, so taking a vitamin supplement wont necessarily make the stressful feelings go away. More serious mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, arent caused or prevented by vitamins, although a healthy diet can help support a person to better cope with their condition.

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What Is The #1 Pharmacist Recommended Seal

For nearly 2 decades, U.S. News & World Report and Pharmacy Times have collaborated on an annual survey that goes out to pharmacists nationwide. The survey asks pharmacists for their top picks of various healthcare-related products, including vitamins and supplements, and these are issued with seals. Anyone looking for this seal should be sure that it reflects the current years winning products.

Standard Process says that it performs various testing and quality control checks at different stages of production and that these analyses are similar to those of the USP.

However, no third-party organization has certified these products.

The company sells gluten-free products for people with non-celiac gluten sensitivity or celiac disease.

Health Experts Reveal The Danger Of Cheap Multivitamins

Cheap multivitamins are made from low-quality ingredients that make them less effective and even potentially dangerous for your health in the longer-term. Unfortunately, nowadays it’s very difficult to take all the daily nutrition that you need only from food.

For this topic, we reached out to 27 health experts and asked them the following question:

Are there any things that make regular multivitamins unhealthy and what is their impact on consumers health?

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Most Vitamin Pills Are Useless But Here Are The Ones You Should Take

It seems like simple, obvious advice: eat your vegetables, get some exercise, and – of course – take your vitamins. Or not.

In fact, recent studies skew in the opposite direction, having found that certain vitamins may be bad for you.

And a large new study out Wednesday suggests that despite this growing knowledge, Americans’ pill-popping habits have stayed basically the same over the last decade.

So here are the vitamins and supplements you should take – and the ones you should avoid:

Multivitamins: Skip them – you can get everything you need with a balanced diet.

For decades, it was assumed that multivitamins were critical to overall health. Vitamin C to “boost your immune system”, Vitamin A to protect your vision, Vitamin B to keep you energized.

Not only do you already get these ingredients from the food you eat, but studies suggest that consuming them in excess can actually cause harm.

A large 2011 study of close to 39,000 older women over 25 years found that women who took them in the long term actually had a higher overall risk of death than those who did not.

Vitamin D: Take it – it helps keep your bones strong and it’s hard to get from food.

Vitamin D isn’t present in most of the foods we eat, but it’s a critical ingredient that keeps our bones strong by helping us absorb calcium.

Antioxidants: Skip them – an excess of these has been linked to an increased risk of certain cancers, and you can eat berries instead.

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Are Prescription Prenatal Vitamins Better Than Over The Counter Ones

Prescription prenatal vs OTC prenatal vitamins. Which one is right for you? Read our guide.

Most people can agree that prenatal vitamins are considered an important addition to a nutritious diet around the time of pregnancy. In fact, both the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend prenatal vitamins both before conception and throughout pregnancy.

Put simply, prenatal vitamins are vitamins that contain more folate and iron than your standard multivitamin since these nutrients are especially important to the growth of the developing fetus. What might be news to some women, however, is that there are both over the counter and prescription prenatals.

So, on top of the sheer number of prenatal vitamin options on store shelves to choose from, women have to also decide if they want a prescription or over the counter prenatal? Way to make a hard decision even harderbut never fear, weve got you covered with this explanation of the main differences between over the counter and prescription prenatals.

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Eggs And Cholesterol: How Many Eggs

Studies have shown that healthy adults can enjoy an egg every day without increasing their risk for heart disease. A study by the Harvard School of Public Health found no significant link between eating eggs and developing heart disease among healthy individuals. And health authorities have since removed the daily upper limits for cholesterol intake. However, if you have high cholesterol or known risks for heart diseases, the National Cholesterol Education Program recommends not eating more than 2 egg yolks per week .

Folic Acid Supplement In Pregnancy

If you’re pregnant, trying for a baby or could get pregnant, it’s recommended that you take a 400 microgram folic acid supplement every day until you’re 12 weeks pregnant. Folic acid supplements need to be taken before you get pregnant, so start taking them before you stop using contraception or if there’s a chance you might get pregnant.

Folic acid can help to prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida.

Find out more about vitamins, supplements and nutrition in pregnancy.

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Best Budget Option: Amazon Elements Calcium

Amazon Elements is simply Amazons brand put on top of a manufacturers product.

But they choose their manufacturers carefully, and have a lot of transparency.

The best parts of this supplement are:

• 1 capsule per serving
• Good amount of algae calcium
• Vitamin D2 and magnesium included.

The only slight con is the vitamin D, which is why this isnt the best overall for me.

First of all, theres only 600 IU, which is decent, but again, you ideally want 800 IU+.

Secondly, its in the D2 form, which means that youll absorb even less.

So if you go with this option, and dont get much sun, you should still buy another vitamin D supplement to go with it. This may work out to be more expensive than some of the options here.

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Mental Health Clinic Opens Inside A Walmart

“We were surprised to find so few positive effects of the most common supplements that people consume,” Jenkins said in a statement. “In the absence of significant positive data… it’s most beneficial to rely on a healthy diet to get your fill of vitamins and minerals.”

Some supplements did stand out: Folic acid alone and B-vitamins with folic acid may reduce stroke, the analysis found. But niacin and antioxidants were associated with a higher risk of death.

Another study, , confirmed earlier research showing that people who take supplements, including vitamins and minerals, do little or nothing to reduce their risk of heart disease.

That research came after a Viewpoint article, published in JAMA in February, noted that more than half of Americans, or 52 percent, report using at least one dietary supplement, even though supplements arent a substitute for a healthy diet and provide little if any benefit for healthy adults.

The commentary aimed to separate facts from fiction, said Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, the lead author, chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Fish Oil Supplements: Choose Fish Or Flaxseed Instead

Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil has been touted as a means to reduce heart disease. However, more and more evidence shows that fish oil supplements have questionable heart benefits. A study published January 3, 2019, in The New England Journal of Medicine found that omega-3 fatty acid supplements did nothing to reduce heart attacks, strokes, or deaths from heart disease in middle-aged and older men and women without any known risk factors for cardiovascular disease. An earlier study, published in May 2013 in NEJM, looked at people at high risk for cardiovascular disease and also reported no benefit.

According to the NIH, omega-3 deficiency is very rare in the United States. Still, many people fail to consume enough omega-3s daily for optimal health. The best way to get adequate amounts is by eating a variety of foods that are rich in them, including:

• Fish and other seafood, especially cold-water fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, herring, and sardines
• Nuts and seeds, such as flaxseed, chia seeds, and walnuts
• Plant oils, such as flaxseed oil, soybean oil, and canola oil
• Fortified foods, such as certain brands of eggs, yogurt, juices, milk, and soy beverages

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How Can I Know If I’m Not Getting Enough B12

B12 is a pretty common vitamin deficiency, impacting up to 15 percent of the general population, per the NIH. There are a few health conditions that make it more likely that you’ll struggle with this, Warren says. Those include Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, Graves’ disease, and lupus.

However, it’s also possible for you to struggle with a B12 deficiency even if you don’t have an underlying health condition. Strict vegetarians and vegans are also at a higher risk of developing a B12 deficiency than lacto-ovo vegetarians and non-vegetarians, according to the NIH.

Gans says that if you’re not getting enough B12 on a regular basis, you could suffer from vitamin deficiency anemia, a condition in which your blood lacks enough healthy red blood cells. This can lead to numbness and tingling in your hands and feet, mental confusion, weight loss, and generally feeling wiped out and weak, as reported by the Mayo Clinic. If you suspect that you’re deficient in B12 Warren recommends that you talk to your doctor, who can order a blood test to help determine if that’s the case.

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Do Kids Need Supplements

Gummy vitamins are often targeted at kids. Theyre easy to eat and come in fun colors and shapes increasing the odds that kids will actually take them. They might be especially appealing for kids that resist pills.

But, are they a good idea?

Some vitamins are also stored in the fat. This means any excess will stay in the body, potentially causing harm in the future.

Kids with a well-balanced diet shouldnt need many, if any, nutritional supplements. And, of course, getting the nutrients from the diet will always be much healthier.

If youre concerned about your childs health, the first step should never be to simply add on supplements. Instead, talk to their doctor and go through any tests needed to find out what the underlying issue actually is.

Even so, supplements do have their merits.

Despite parents best efforts, many kids wont be eating the perfect diet, not all of the time. Financial constraints may limit the options and available time may do so as well. Some kids also simply refuse to eat all thats put in front of them and might avoid some foods entirely.

For these situations, supplements may make sense. But, even if thats true, multivitamins are rarely the answer.

Instead, its better to focus on supplements that you know are necessary. The most powerful examples are as follows:

The site Children’s MD goes into these various nutrients in more depth, including doses and why they are so significant.

What About Adults?

Times When Supplements Are Needed

Soy Isolate: Careful With The Estrogen

Tofu, tempeh, and soy milk are all good , fiber, and a number of minerals. Some women also take soy in supplement form because the plant contains estrogen-like compounds called isoflavones that may help relieve symptoms of menopause. However, concerns have been raised that the isoflavones in soy supplements may contribute to an increased risk of breast cancer.

The good news is that large-scale studies have not shown any increased breast cancer risk from eating whole soy foods, such as tofu and edamame, according to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

In fact, at least one study, published March 6, 2017, in the journal Cancer, which looked at 6,235 breast cancer survivors, linked eating the equivalent of one serving of soybeans a week to a 21 percent lower risk of death from all causes during the nearly 10-year follow-up period.

But not enough research has been done on soy protein isolate the powder formed by removing the protein from the rest of the plant to know its effect on breast cancer risk, Millstine says.

The bottom line: If youre concerned about breast cancer, stay away from soy supplements and soy-based protein, Millstine advises. Soy intake from foods has not been shown to be of concern though.

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