Your questions about vitamins and supplements answered

 Struggling our way out through the pandemic, we all have learned a lesson. This global emergency taught us how important are basic rules to follow. Be it sanitization, keep your surroundings clean, control your activities, or maintain your health inside out, we learned how these minimum habits contribute to our health. Keeping our immune system ready to fight each and everything is what we all need to do at the first go. As we all know of the proverb "Prevention is better than cure," we must always try to keep ourselves healthy enough and start taking measures even before diseases hit us.

Apart from medication and a healthy dietary plan, we all should include essential vitamins and supplements in our diet routine.

A dietary supplement is defined as a dietary ingredient that intends to supplement the diet. For a dietary supplement or ingredient to be a dietary ingredient, it must be a combination of the following:

• A vitamin
• A mineral
• A herb or another botanical
• An amino acid
• A dietary ingredient that increases the total dietary intake
• A concentrate
• A metabolite
• A Constituent or an extract

The concept of vitamins and supplements has always been a topic of doubt and discussion. The topic tends to hold a lot of myths around it. It is pretty challenging to navigate your way through the world of nutrition and primarily how each element functions. Not every single person needs the same supplement to intake. So before you choose a pill, you got to be very sure about what your body needs. You need to have a very clear concept in this regard, and you should separate facts and fiction for that.

So to ease your way out, here are some myths busted, and your questions about vitamins and supplements answered.

How many types of vitamins are there?

Vitamins are defined as the group of organic compounds which should include in our diet in small amounts for normal growth and nutrition.

Vitamins are of two types:

• Fat-soluble
• Water-soluble

The water-soluble vitamins are Vitamin B (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 12) and Vitamin C. They show the following characteristics:

• They dissolve in water
• They are not stored inside an organism
• If there excess in the body, then they are excreted through urine
• If the food is overcooked or boiled, then they are destroyed

The fat-soluble vitamins are Vitamin A, D, E & K. They possess the following characteristics:

• They dissolve in fat
• They are stored inside an organism
• An excess accumulation of them in the body can cause problems.

Does your body need supplements?

The first question you should ask yourself before choosing a dietary supplement is that if your body needs it or not. Not all vitamins and supplements have the same effect on everyone. However, some of us are born with Vitamin deficiency. After consulting a doctor, you should start taking supplements based on what you are deficient in. The kind of dietary intake varies from person to person and place to place. So we must judge precisely what our body lacks. We must intake vitamins only till then that our body supports because excess vitamins will not stop the disease. Only a correct amount of them helps build our immune system.

Who needs vitamins and supplements?

Suppose we take a nutritious diet, then vitamins and supplements. I am not a necessity for everyone. However can benefits this group of people if they take on vitamins and supplements regularly:

• Adolescent girls are more prone to vitamin deficiency. They are at an increased risk of having iron deficiency anemia. So there is recommended to consult a doctor and take on supplements as per requirement.
• Women during pregnancy are recommended to take supplements like Folic acid. Consuming fortified Folic acid and taking supplements of it tends to reduce the chances of having congenital disabilities.
• People with dark skin tend to suffer from vitamin D deficiency, so they recommended taking supplements on that. Breastfed infants and seniors also need that.
• People who have various kinds of food allergies are recommended to intake the supplement they miss.

What symptoms does your body show if you suffer from a vitamin deficiency?

Various deficiencies tend to show different symptoms. However, people with poor diets often face some signs, which shows they always suffer from one lack or another. Here are some common symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Depression
• Leg cramps
• Lack of energy
• Mouth sores
• Poor balance
• Memory troubles
• Numbness
• Breathlessness

However, if you feel any of the symptoms, you should probably consult a doctor before choosing which supplement to take. Usually, various deficiencies required various supplements to fulfill the gap.

How helpful is an excess intake of vitamins and supplements?

Intake of supplements and vitamins without medical consultation is always a risk. You should never exceed the amount of any of your dietary intake, even if it is vitamins or supplements. An excess of Vitamins can lead to several kinds of problems. When it comes to water-soluble vitamins take, our body can excrete the excess amount of Vitamins taken. But everything has got a limit, and if you exceed that, your body will start dysfunctioning. For example, excess of water-soluble Vitamin C leads to triggering of your tummy and cause conditions such as diarrhea and cramps. Too much fat syllable vitamins are very toxic for your body because our body cannot drain the excess of them. Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in our body's fat deposits. So if you accept the upper limit of fat-soluble vitamins, it can lead to several other body dysfunctioning. Even too much zinc can cause your immune system to shred and lowers your good cholesterol or HDL.

Will vitamins and supplements help if you are a picky eater?

No matter how many e supplements you start including in your diet, if you are nosy about every other element on your plate, nothing will help you. Our immune system deserves a balanced diet as well as in some cases, supplements are required. With nutritious food, you are having a package of all the nutrients at a time.

However, sometimes a proper diet fails to give all the nutrients our body requires. That is when the function of supplements comes in. So we always must keep an account of intake of the nutrients. Some groups of people like seniors, pregnant women, and people suffering from diseases need supplements regularly. But for ordinary people, supplements are good only if your body is in high need of them. Account siltation before intake of any supplements is very necessary for a better result.

How helpful are multivitamins?

Multivitamins are combinations of various vitamins, minerals, and other dietary supplements. Multivitamins are trusted to be dietary insurance. But there have been cases where they have failed to prevent heart attacks and strokes. So it is indispensable to count on what your multivitamin is supposed to provide you and if you are getting it or not. For children's multivitamins and not that recommended support, parents should focus on initiating healthy diet habits. Only in some cases, the supplement should be added to keep in mind their body's needs.

Knowing your nutrients is the first step towards a better lifestyle. Once you know what your body needs and what it lacks, you can easily design a balanced diet for yourself. You should always ensure that your diet contains elements with supplements for a healthier lifestyle. A nutritionally balanced diet meets your body's needs and helps your body for healthy functioning and disease prevention.

Certain population groups need artificial intake because of various reasons. So they need supplements apart from their regular diet to complement their body's needs for healthy functioning.

But whenever you choose a supplement, it is always recommended to go through medical consultation. Intake of excess doses can cause a lot of problems for your body. So, one should intake only that amount that is necessary for proper functioning.