You eat your fruits and vegetables. You try to eat balanced meals. Hey, you might even eat a little more than you should from time to time. Sure that means extra calories, but that translates to extra nutrients too. There’s no need for a multi-vitamin, right?
Wait! Don’t answer that yet!
First, the classic argument goes that throughout history people got all the nutrients they needed through eating a balanced diet. All we need to do is drop the deep fried ding dongs and stuff ourselves with seaweed. Then, like people who lived before us, we won’t need vitamins.
Great! So I don’t need vitamins?
Whoa, before you start a bonfire with your Flinstones chewables, keep reading.
The fallacy in that argument is that our lives have changed in more ways than just what is on our plates at dinnertime. We live in a world with over 70,000 manmade chemicals in circulation. You would have to hide out in a bunker in Antarctica to even attempt to avoid this modern phenomenon. Our bodies have the arduous task of detoxifying from all these chemicals. I’m not talking about the type of detox where you consume nothing but turnips and tree bark for a week. I’m talking about the detoxification done by our livers on a daily basis. This detoxification requires large amounts of nutrients. In the past, nutrients were reserved almost exclusively for helping carry out our basic bodily functions like digestion and hormone production.
What is a body to do with so many extra demands but without extra nutrients? Well, it can’t stop carrying out basic functions so it stops detoxifying. As toxins build up in our bodies, we feel and look worse. A lack of detoxification can lead to things like headaches, fatigue and eczema.
“What do I care?” you say. I’m full of energy and I haven’t had an itch since 2003!
Well, this imbalance can make our insides sluggish and can lead to inflammation. Eventually the imbalance may make its way to metabolism and be a hurdle in any attempt to lose weight.
Hmmm, so maybe these vitamin things might be valuable after all. Vitamins are a good option for most people. This doesn’t mean you get to turn your nose at broccoli and carrots in favor of Frappuccinos. Vitamins go hand in hand with a balanced diet.
Oh, and it goes without saying, you should always speak with your doctor first before embarking on any new health program. Even if you live in a bunker in Antartica.
Glad to read this post, Erica, I always insisted I would not become one of those folks who eat all these vitamins. Ahem. Then I discovered that I needed calcium with D and b12 (as a vegetarian) and selenium for the thyroid… You get the idea.
Nice to know it’s a practice that makes sense!