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Are Vitamins Really Good? As the 20 th century draws to a close medical sciences concerns differ significantly from those of earlier years. According to the Background on Adult Nutrition from the Family Haven site: prior to World War II, Americans main nutritional problems stemmed from lack of sufficient food or variety of foods. Nutrition scientists of that era focused on defining essential nutrients, primarily vitamins, in order to outline the minimum food intake for good health. (Flex) Vitamins are essential to keep you healthy, maintain a good metabolism and to stimulate growth especially in children. They aid in the formation of hormones, blood cells, and genetic material. It is important to begin administering vitamins to children during the prenatal stage and to continue proper nutrition throughout the babys childhood.
Childhood dieting is vital in ensuring quality adulthood, for example the article states that, approximately one in four major cardiac defects could be prevented by peri conceptional multivitamin use. (Health & Wellbeing) These days many kids are falling short of their nutrition, while taking lunches to school with chocolate bars, potato chips, and sodas. Not only do these products lack proper nutrition but can cause a child to reach obesity. Many of the vitamins that should occur in a childs lunch such as calcium, zinc, and iron are merely absent. Statistics have proven that at least 80 % of children fall short of these essential vitamins which ensure proper growth and brain development. Children in the United States are showing signs of low vitamin E serum levels, which is know to impair the immune system and increase the risk of diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, and atherosclerosis.
Many babies are lacking vitamin D because the mothers milk, in this case the mother should seek a supplement to ensure proper bone growth and strength. Children lacking in the proper nutrition and vitamins are victims of obesity. In several research studies vitamin A has shown to be a preventative against stomach, esophageal, oral, and pancreatic cancer. Also, vitamins A, C, and E have been shown to prevent lung cancer.
Another vitamin that has shown some form of cancer prevention is folic acid; it decreases the risk of colon cancer as well as enhances the speed to repair damaged DNA. The vitamin B complex, composed of eight forms of vitamin B, works together to absorb and burn energy. It helps convert proteins, carbohydrates and fats into fuel and in the brain it helps synthesize mood controlling chemicals. Vitamin B is also good for the body because it helps fight cancer, cardiovascular diseases and mental deterioration.
Nutrition is probably the most important thing for being healthy. Vitamins are regulators of many complicated processes in peoples organisms. You are what you eat. That is what we have heard many times, but if it is true then millions of Americans are not healthy, because typical American survives on the consumption of big Macs and French fries and is chemically treated. Because of this lots of Americans are use supplements that contain vitamins, but if a person eats healthy and well-balanced food vitamin supplements are not necessary.
A well-constructed diet supplies not only needed daily allowances of vitamins, but also other important non-nutrients that vitamin pills lack. Nutritionists also are convinced that substitution of healthy food with vitamins makes a person think that it is fine to eat almost everything as long as you eat vitamin pills. This all creates not healthy food diet chosen by lots of Americans. It is suggested that only 9 % of adults have well-balanced diet. Then the rest 91 % has to take vitamins, which provide useful supplements to our bodies, bud actually do really vitamins help us and are they useful? There is no doubt that it is true, however a century ago peoples diets were based on natural food that provided body with all the needed substances.
What for should we eat vitamins if it is just enough to go to the store and pick up healthy food, which will satisfy needs of organism in vitamins? The answer to this question probably lies in peoples understanding of importance of diet and in peoples attitude towards health. A study by the National Food Consumption Survey report only 3 % of the population ate the recommended number of servings from the four food groups. Only 12 % consumed 100 % of the RDA for all of the top nutrients like protein, calcium and vitamin A, B, and C. (Natural Health) Over 70 % of men and over 80 % of women failed to get even 2 / 3 s of the RDA for one or more nutrients. (Natural Health) Diets in high school students were found to be inadequate as they only consumed 56 % of their calories from the Basic Four Food Groups. Foods most frequently eaten are cakes, candy, soda pop, butter, and jellies and jams. So what are the people to do about this bottomed out problem.
Are we suppose to turn into nutrition freaks or do we forget it and live our drained out lives depressed, out of money, stress out, and tired. Definitely, it is much easier to stop somewhere for 10 min. and eat big Mac and take one pill in the morning, rather then selecting different products and then preparing delicious meals, which will be rich with vitamins. Simply speaking, people are lazy and are convinced that everything will be fine if to take that pill in the morning.
However, this might lead us the situation in the future, when people will eat who knows what. We know that you can get a good nutrition from a balanced meal, but know that most Americans do not get that kind of nutrition that is needed. So should we be heading towards something new like dietary supplements? Some nutritionist say that we should not. Other say if were not getting enough nutrition out of our meals, then lets do something about it and put our bodies in better shape. Two ways come to my mind with thinking about nutrition values, dietary supplements and multivitamins.
When it comes to supplements, it is a brand new world out there. In fact, supplement technology has come so far in the past five years that for the first time in the history of nutrition it can honestly be said that a good diet and supplement programs can provide better gains than a typical body building diet and low dose steroid program of years past. The big question of course is, are dietary supplements and multivitamins necessary? There is simply much more scientific evidence that supplementation can be beneficial for your health and fitness then there is to the contrary. While you should try to eat a variety of foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables, it is not always possible. Regular supplementation maybe the best way to insure your body gets the nutrition it needs.
Therefore, it is possible to conclude that vitamins are really good, because they help us to keep our body in shape providing it with lacking elements. Bibliography: Supper Supplements. Flex. September 1998.
pg. 221 - 222. What Does Your Body Need. Natural Health, web Vitamins. Health & Wellbeing, web
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Research essay sample on Dietary Supplements Proper Nutrition
