Getting the right amount of critical vitamins and minerals will benefit your health in the short and long term. Not everyone is getting enough vitamins through the foods they eat, so many people are looking to supplements to improve their vitamin intake. With so many vitamins, minerals and multivitamins on the market, how do you know which supplements are right for you? Looking for a safe multivitamin can seem intimidating. Follow these simple steps to start learning choose the right vitamins.
Instructions
1. Check for the U.S. Pharmacopeia Dietary Supplement Verification Program (USP-DSVP) mark on the bottle. This indicates that the vitamins meet with high standards.
2. Read the label for additives. Do you really need sugars or artificial coloring in your multivitamin? The average American diet contains enough of these substances. Leave them out of your vitamins.
3. Consider your age and gender. Many multivitamin companies now specifically formulate vitamins for women, seniors and other groups with specific nutritional needs.
4. Ignore the marketing strategies. Terms like "high potency" and "time release" may not mean anything in terms of how your body absorbs the supplements. Also, many herbs have not been scientifically proven to aid your health.
5. Think about taking extra vitamin D, especially if you live somewhere with limited sun exposure. If you spend a winter in the Pacific Northwest or Chicago, you are probably not getting the recommended amount of sun for your body to produce enough vitamin D. Take 1000 mg supplement in addition to your current routine.
6. If you are a woman, add an additional calcium supplement in the evening, separate from your multivitamin. Getting too much calcium at once can reduce your absorption, but it important to have plenty in your day.
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