Are Vitamins a waste of money?
For a long time I really didn’t understand the purpose of vitamins. I like many of my doctor colleagues felt this was a total BS ploy from vitamin companies to dupe people into spending hundreds of dollars of their hard-earned money on supplements that they simply didn’t need or that weren’t beneficial to them.
Then I went through (in)fertility. I read everything I could on improving the quality of my eggs and making IVF work for me.
This one event changed my perspective (and also the fact that I did a lot of research) on vitamins and the role they play within our bodies. That was back in 2012. Fast forward to 2020 and now more than ever, I believe that vitamins can be helpful to our overall health and well-being. They are definitely not a cure for diseases and should not be taken as a substitute for a healthy lifestyle. That’s definitely not what I’m saying. What I am saying is that used appropriately in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle and with guidance from a qualified health professional certain vitamins and minerals can help our overall bodily function and optimise our wellness.
The biggest problem we have as a society is that our nutrition is poor and deplete of essential vitamins and minerals. This is largely due to all the processing our food is subjected to before we eat it but also to the ever-growing problem of poor gut health which affects the absorption of these essential vitamins.
Right now a big vitamin that I will emphasise is vitamin C. This vitamin can be taken orally or intravenously to help boost immunity. This is a powerful antioxidant and has a role in cellular repair and function. There are numerous studies looking at the value of taking Vitamin C in combination with zinc to reduce the duration of symptoms in relation to the common cold virus. Zinc is a mineral many of the first world population is deplete in. Zinc is important for DNA synthesis and a healthy immune function.
Plant based diets, veganism and of course vegetarianism has given rise to deficiencies in B vitamins, as these vitamins come mainly from meat sources and many of these essential B vitamins cannot be synthesised within the body. There are 8 essential B vitamins and their role is to help the conversion of food (carbohydrates, fats and proteins) into energy for cellular function and synthesis. A lack of B vitamins will leave you feeling amotivated, fatigued and brain fogged to name a few symptoms.
Vitamin D, being from England where no-one sees the sun, everyone is deplete. I was surprised to see that many Australians despite the climate are also vitamin D deficient especially during the winter months. I suspect this comes from two reasons; 1. We avoid the sun to reduce the risk of skin cancer (and so we should be) 2. Everyone hibernates in the winter months and since we don’t make vitamin D, we’re not getting it from the sun. I am in no way suggesting you should start sun bathing! Melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers are too big a risk to bake yourself for some vitamin D. My advice would be to supplement in the winter months.
Last but definitely not least, magnesium. So I’m jumping on the magnesium band wagon. I didn’t actually believe this one until I started taking this myself. I took this particular one because my husband nagged me to do it. Everyday he would ask if I felt any different and I would shrug my shoulders. Then I ran out and with my regularly moving bowel also ran out on me. It was then that it dawned on me that the magnesium was playing a role in my gut health. I also noticed that I felt generally better in myself with the magnesium, my mood was better too. Since then I take magnesium every night before bed.
Vitamins I take are; Vitamin C and Zinc combination Metagenics, I would also recommend Armaforce by Bioceuticals which I give to my 6 year old. I’m a meat eater so I don’t take a B vitamin regularly (I do get a b12 shot every 3-6 months) but if you are vegan/vegetarian or plant based I would recommend you have a blood test to check your B12 and your iron levels. I also take a vitamin D supplement and I take magnesium (diasporal brand) each night.
