Vitamins

I believe that we have been given everything we need to eat a healthy diet here on this earth. I am not a fan of major vitamin supplementation unless there is an obvious deficiency from lack of specific food sources. I do see a benefit in taking a daily vitamin at different stages of your life, but I don't see the need to take a cocktail of different vitamins every day. Before you start taking any vitamins, it is important to know some basic vitamin science.

Fat Soluble vs. Water Soluble

Water soluble vitamins include vitamin C and what are known as the B complex vitamins (niacin, folate, riboflavin, vitamin B12, thiamin, biotin, pantothenic acid and vitamin B6). Because these vitamins are water soluble, they are not easily stored in the body and need to be replenished daily. One misconception about water soluble vitamins, is that more is better. In reality, anything over 100% of the RDA is unnecessary unless you have a deficiency. Vitamins that say 1000% of the RDA just mean that your urine will be very vitamin rich, because your body takes what it needs and then voids the rest in your urine. It is very difficult to overdose on water soluble vitamins.

This is a label for a basic B complex vitamin. As you can see, some of the % DV's are ridiculous. Who needs 6,667% of Thiamin?

Fat soluble vitamins are stored in the liver, and are released over time. Fat soluble vitamins include vitamins A, D, E and K. Because these are stored in the body, take care not to consume an excessive amount.

Here two great article about water soluble and fat soluble vitamins:

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09312.html

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09315.html

It is also important to look at the inactive ingredients list. When I was an athletic trainer, one of our collegiate football players took a vitamin supplement that had alfalfa as a filler. He didn't pay attention to the fillers on the label, and was allergic to alfalfa. He went into anaphylactic shock and got to the point where he could barely breath because his throat was swelling shut. After the epi pen, he was fine, but it was scary.

The USDA has a great food data base that lists the nutritional content of most foods (http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/list). Once you educate yourself about which foods are high in which nutrients, you can manipulate your diet to meet your nutritional needs without having to take a ton of supplements.