It can be tricky when you are trying to do the right things to take care of your body. What should you be eating? How much should you exercise? Do you need vitamin supplements? It seems that there are more questions than answers in most cases, and some people just throw up their hands and give up.
While you certainly don’t want to give up, it’s understandable that you would have a lot of questions. With so many businesses trying to sell you products, it’s hard to know who to trust and what to believe. With the content below, we’d like to bring a little bit of common sense and practicality to the issue of vitamin supplements.
Start with a Well-Rounded Diet
The best place to start with regard to vitamins is to eat an excellent diet that is full of the kinds of foods that will deliver vitamins and minerals to your body naturally. You don’t have to be a dietitian to guess which kinds of foods are going to be best for this purpose – fruits and vegetables, of course! If you eat a range of fruits and vegetables, along with lean proteins (if you eat meat), you should have a great start to a diet that supplies your body with everything it needs to thrive.
During an upcoming visit to the grocery store, pay close attention to what you see and notice how many pre-packaged options are on the shelves. Generally speaking, those packaged choices don’t offer nearly the nutritional value of what is found in the produce section. That’s not to say that you can never indulge in some of those items, but they shouldn’t make up the main portion of your diet (as they do for so many people). Packaged foods are not going to deliver the same kind of vitamin quantity or quality as fresh foods, and it may be hard to meet your needs as a result.
Signs of Trouble
For many people, simply eating a well-rounded diet is going to be enough to get all of the vitamins required for good health. If you are doing a good job of managing your diet and eating a balanced collection of foods, and your health is good, you are probably covering your bases. However, if you are having health trouble in one form or another, it’s worth considering that a vitamin deficiency may be to blame.
One of the tricky things about figuring out whether or not you are lacking vitamins is the fact that many warning signs can also be caused by other health issues. So, while the list below includes some points that are often related to vitamin deficiency, the simple presence of one or more of these issues does not guarantee that vitamins are the problem.
- Canker sores
- Brittle hair
- Poor vision at night
- Hair loss
- Restless leg syndrome
Again, if you have one or more of these issues, you can’t be sure that a lack of vitamins is to blame for the problem. However, you might want to take a closer look with your doctor to determine what it is that’s causing the problem, and what you can do about it.
Shop Smart
If it is determined that vitamin supplements are a good idea in your case, be sure to shop smart and stick with trusted brands. You want to make sure the company behind your vitamins is reputable, as this is something that you are going to be ingesting. In other words, don’t take any chances. If you find a low-cost supplier online that seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Make Your First Appointment
Looking for a trusted and experienced cardiovascular office in Beverly Hills? Dr. David Filsoof and his staff invite you to make an appointment at Beverly Hills Cardiovascular right away. With services like nuclear stress test, echocardiography, and venous ultrasound – not to mention many others – we’ll be able to assess your heart health and help you move forward. To get started, please give us a call during business hours. We look forward to serving you
