Vitamins

"Do Americans have a healthy diet?"

Just look into the shopping cart of the average consumer at the grocery store and see what people are buying. White bread, sweets, soda, commercially prepared and canned foods, red meat, potato chips and the like comprise the bulk of the food people purchase. Few customers have their carts filled with fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grain products. Refined and processed foods make up the bulk of the American diet. These foods do not contain the same nutrients of their unprocessed counter-parts. White flour is a prime example. Eliminating just 10% of the whole wheat from our flour in the refining process causes significant reduction in nutritional value. "Enriched" flour has only a few nutrients replaced. It is like having a robber take $100 from you, then give you $28 back and claim that he has enriched you.

Our world is chemically polluted and stress-filled. Our nutritional requirements have increased, but the number of calories we require has decreased. We need more nutrients from less food.

The solution is to supplement our diets with nutrients that are eliminated by processing, refining or cooking. Supplements are just that, something to supplement the diet. By themselves, supplements do not produce health.

Also, in taking any supplement, one must observe common sense and good judgment. The adage "if a little is good, then more must be better" is not always the case. Some vitamins although necessary for healthy body function, can also be toxic if abused. Only buy supplements from reputable companies and be sure to closely follow all label directions.

The Function of Vitamins

Vitamins are essential to life. They contribute to good health by regulating the metabolism and assisting the biochemical processes that release energy from digested food. They are considered micro-nutrients because the body needs them in relatively small amounts compared with nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and water.

Enzymes are essential chemicals that are the foundation of human bodily function. They are catalysts (activators) in the chemical reactions that are continually taking place within the body. As coenzymes, vitamins work with enzymes, allowing all the activities that occur within the body to be carried out.