How much should you take when it comes to vitamins?

It’s no secret that getting the proper amount of vitamins and minerals is important to overall health. The best way to do this is through a healthy diet, filled with vegetables, fruit, lean protein, and healthy fats. Because it’s difficult to be consistent when it comes to how we eat, it’s possible that we’re not getting a sufficient amount of vitamins through food alone. Adding a few good quality supplements to your daily routine can help make up for any deficiencies.

Deciding on supplements can be confusing. How many vitamins should you take? There are literally thousands of options on the drugstore shelves, each claiming great health benefits. Once you narrow it down to just the supplements you feel would be beneficial, there’s still the question of how much of each vitamin should you take? Would a multivitamin do the trick?

Researchers at Johns Hopkins published an article in the Annals of Internal Medicine discouraging the use of multivitamins. They cited studies involving people who took multivitamins, but did not experience a corresponding result in a decreased incidence of heart disease, mental decline, or cancer. However, there are several individual vitamins, such as vitamin D, that are known to be lacking in a large percentage of the population and, by themselves, are helpful in supplement form.

Understanding vitamin measurements

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) was originally established in 1941 by the Food and Nutrition Board. These guidelines have been revised many times since then and help people to monitor their diets to make sure they’re getting enough of the essential nutrients. There are several factors that alter your particular RDA guidelines including gender, age, height, and weight. You can find a reference table on the National Institutes of Health website that will tell you the recommended vitamin IU numbers for the different categories.

Vitamins are measured in international units or IU’s. Vitamin IU numbers differ from one vitamin to the next, so it’s important to be aware of the recommended amount for the supplement you’re choosing. In addition, you should understand the source from which the supplement was made. The safest vitamins are those that are derived from a natural source vs. chemically in a lab, and that do not contain unnecessary fillers.

Safe vitamin use

Taking vitamins can be helpful to maintaining good health, but the supplement industry is largely unregulated which leads to a wide variation from one manufacturer to the next. Safe vitamin use means doing your homework. Look into the ingredients and sourcing of the supplement, and be aware of how much you should take to meet the RDA.

Vibrant Nutraceuticals uses only plant-based materials and strives to provide the best bioavailable products. Derived from an organic, natural source, all of our vitamins are high quality. Read more about vitamin D and other nutritional supplements on our website today.