Vitamin Absorption Is Everything
Eating well, exercising regularly, minimizing stress, and limiting our exposure to toxins are the foundation of prevention. But because of our busy and stressful lives, most of us can use a vitamin and mineral supplement to make up for the deficiencies in nutrients caused by our lifestyle and by the food supply.
Taking a vitamin and mineral supplement can help save us from some chronic diseases, but when you take those vitamins and minerals, do you know if you are absorbing them? Keep in mind that unless your body absorbs them, they are not helping you at all.
In fact, if you swallowed a nail, you will be ingesting a lot of iron, but how much your body will be able to absorb and use? Very little, if any, since the iron in a nail is not in a form your body can use. Fortunately, you can get supplements that can be maximized for good absorption.
When buying vitamin and mineral supplements you may want to remember a few guidelines:
Buy a full-spectrum supplement
Vitamins and minerals work synergistically in the body, so don’t load up on one or two nutrients.
Buy natural supplements
- There is evidence that several nutrients are better absorbed and used in their natural form, particularly vitamin E and beta-carotene.
- Studies show that synthetic forms of some vitamins such as vitamin E and beta-carotene may actually interfere with the absorption of the natural forms.
Buy mixed supplements
- Check that the vitamin E in the supplement is a mixture of tocopherols and tocotrienols, not just alphatocopherols
- Buy a supplement that has mixed carotenes not just beta-carotene
Time it right
- Take supplements immediately before or after a balanced meal (follow instructions on the supplement bottle)
- Don’t take supplements on an empty stomach. Vitamins need food to be absorbed.
- Include some fat in your meal so that the fat soluble vitamins –A, E, D, K- get absorbed
Divide your doses
Your body can absorb only so much at one time. Divide your total daily supplement by three and take this amount with breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Exercise
Studies show that regular exercise –at a minimum, a half hour of moderate aerobic such as walking, running, or biking, three times a week- helps your body use nutrients more efficiently.
To your health!
Emilia Klapp, RD, BS
www.TheDiabetesClub.com
www.Discussion.TheDiabetesClub.com
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