Take Your Vitamins!

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There are few things as confusing as how, when, and where to get the vitamins your body needs.

In the best of all possible worlds, you wouldn’t need to take any vitamin supplements: you’d be getting all your vitamins from the foods you eat. Unfortunately, many of us don’t eat the kind of balanced diet that ensures we’re getting what we need.

And vitamins are important! Each vitamin does something specific for your body. If you have low levels of certain vitamins, you may experience health problems. (For example, if you don't get enough vitamin C, you could become anemic, while Vitamin A prevents night blindness.)

There are 13 vitamins that your body needs:

  • Vitamin A: An antioxidant, Vitamin A helps with vision, bone growth, reproduction, cell functioning, and your immune system.
  • Vitamin B: There are actually a number of B vitamins, and they all help your body make energy from the food you consume as well as forming red blood cells.
  • Vitamin C: Another antioxidant, Vitamin C promotes healing and strengthens your skin, bones, and connective tissues.
  • Vitamin D: This vitamin helps your body absorb calcium and strengthens your nerve, muscle, and immune systems.
  • Vitamin E: And yet another antioxidant—are we seeing a pattern? Your immune system and your metabolism count on Vitamin E.
  • Vitamin K: This vitamin makes proteins for blood clotting, bones, and tissues.

The DV (Daily Value) is the measurement you’ll find on food and supplement labels; it’s the amount of a vitamin or nutrient that a person should get for optimum health from a 2,000 calories-a-day diet.

Many people take higher doses of specific supplements in the hopes of gaining other health benefits, like added protection against or treatment of disease.

Is taking doses higher than the DV safe? For many vitamins and minerals, it is, and in some cases, doctors even recommend it. But before you decide to go over the DV, make sure that you check with your physician about your specific health needs.

Most people make sure that they take some supplements in addition to what they get through their food. Once-a-day complete vitamin supplements are usually helpful—but, again, check with your doctor and see what he or she recommends.

At Bliss Shurfine Food Mart, we have daily and other vitamin supplements to help strengthen your immune system and keep you in the best health possible. We’re happy to explain the benefits of each. Come on in and ask us about them!