ISU Bengal

Issue date: 10/31/07 Section: Life

There tends to be mixed views on whether or not everyone should take a daily vitamin and mineral supplement and there are many reasons why some people do not take a daily supplement.

There are many things to be considered when deciding if a daily supplement is best for you. If you decide to take a supplement, there are many things to know about what to look for while browsing supplements.

The main thing to keep in mind if you choose to take a daily supplement is that the supplement does not mean that you do not need to eat any fruits, vegetables or whole grains. Vitamin and mineral supplements are only meant to supplement the diet as a "nutrient insurance" if you are worried that you may not be eating enough of the foods high in vitamins and minerals.

Furthermore, by relying on a supplement for vitamins and minerals, a person misses out on other important chemicals found in foods, called phytochemicals, that help protect the body and work with vitamins and minerals. Not only is a person who relies on supplements for vitamins and minerals missing out on phytochemicals, but they are also missing out on fiber as well as the taste, texture and flavor of foods that make eating enjoyable.

A good way to check nutrient status and determine if a person needs to include a supplement (and also what specific vitamins and minerals are lacking or are high) can be done by using a nutrient analysis program such as the program on the food guide pyramid website at http://www.mypyramid.gov.

This program allows a person to add foods to be analyzed and then the total days intake is analyzed for calories, protein and fat as well as many vitamins and minerals. The program also keeps track of several days of consumption and uses graphs to track nutrient intakes.

By looking at several days, it is easier to understand what a person may be low in. Just looking at one day does not give a comprehensive picture of the diet as a whole because people generally do not eat the exact meal each day of the year.

Another interesting fact to consider when purchasing a supplement of any kind is that supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Because supplements are not regulated, a person buying them must trust that the company put the same amounts of the vitamins or minerals in each pill as they state on the label and that the nutrient is in the same form as the label states.

Vitamins and minerals can have different conformations which leads to some variations of the vitamin or mineral being better absorbed than other forms.

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