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Vitamins

Next to counting calories, an obsessive pill-popping mania on vitamin supplements may be the most horrendous act in an attempt towards a healthy diet. There are a couple of truths that need to be straighten out amidst all the hubbub about vitamins. One of which is that we need very high intakes of vitamins to be healthy. The truth of the matter is that a multitude of studies have shown that it is seldom for us to need amounts higher than the RDA of vitamins. In fact, taking an excess amount of vitamins is only a waste. Ultimately, the water-soluble vitamins would just be eliminated in our urine. ON the other hand, excess amounts of fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin A, E, D, and K are actually harmful to your body. There’s actually a lot of padded talk about it, putting vitamins in a pedestal as if it’s the cure-all especially since people believe that they can boost your energy. Actually, vitamins yield no kilocalories so they really provide no extra pep or vitality beyond the normal expectations. Contrary also to common belief, thy do not provide unusual levels of well-being nor do vitamins have special abilities to ward off harmful environmental agents.
   
As agricultural lands give way more and more to technological and industrial pursuits, we are always under the threat of “lacking vitamins”. It is a common myth that vitamin supplements are very necessary because our soil is so depleted these days of vital nutrients. In reality, crops really can't grow in depleted soil so there’s no such thing as a nutrient-deficient crop. If a nutrient is low in the soil then chances are, the yield will be low. But lets make it clear that the vitamin content will be continually normal. It is also a myth that you can't get enough vitamins from the foods you eat. In fact, anyone with a reasonably varied diet should not need vitamin supplements anymore because there’s enough just from eating healthy foods.

Now to set thigns straight, there are 13 vitamins essential for bodily functions, no more, no less. These are the Vitamins A, C, D, E, K, and the B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin B6, niacin, vitamin B12, and folate). These can all be obtained from food while vitamin D and vitamin K can be synthesized by the body.

There are what we call the Fat-Soluble Vitamins. Included in the list is Vitamin A which is found in cheese, cream, liver, milk, kidney, and halibut fish oils. Vegetable sources of a vitamin A precursor called beta-carotene though is a better choice and it comes from pumpkin, sweet potatoes, winter squashes, carrots, cantaloupe, pink grapefruit, apricots, broccoli, and spinach. Another one is the Vitamin D which is found in butter, margarine, cream, fish, oysters, cheese, fortified milk, cereals and when can also be synthesized when the skin is exposed to sunshine. Vitamin E is found in corn, nuts, seeds, olives, spinach, asparagus, wheat germ and vegetable oils. Vitamin K meanwhile is found in cauliflower, spinach, cabbage, soybeans, and cereals.

The Water-Soluble Vitamins are those that include Thiamine which is found in cereals, pasta, whole grains, lean meats, fish, fortified breads, dried beans, peas, soybeans, dairy products, fruits, and vegetables. Niacin is found in poultry, fish, lean meats, dairy products, nuts, and eggs.

Folate is found in green vegetables. Vitamin B12 is found in meat, poultry, shellfish, eggs, milk and milk products. Pantothenic acid and biotin are found in fish, dairy products, whole-grain cereals, eggs, legumes, yeast, broccoli, cabbage, white and sweet potatoes. Vitamin C is found in citrus fruits and their juices, tomatoes, broccoli, strawberries, turnip greens, sweet and white potatoes, and cantaloupe.

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