How to Make Vitamin Supplements Work

Like mineral supplements, vitamin supplements have both a good side and a bad side. On the good side, we don't all manage to consume all the vitamins we need, and in fact we often don't even realize that we need increased levels of certain vitamins to be well. On the bad side, overusing vitamin supplements can make us sick - just as sick as not having enough vitamins in our diets. Misusing your vitamin supplements can lead to a vitamin overdose (also called vitamin toxicity) or even vitamin deficiencies in certain cases.

Some things you probably didn't know about taking vitamins:

* You don't need a daily vitamin for every vitamin
* Nutritional supplements don't necessarily provide all your vitamins, and sometimes they give you too much of some vitamins.
* The best vitamin sources aren't pills, but salads.

How do you ensure that your vitamins do what they're supposed to do, instead of doing more harm than good?

1. Make sure you really need it. For instance, if you eat lot of fruit, it's unlikely that you are lacking in vitamin C; because the most efficacious dose for most people is only slightly higher than you'd get from eating a balanced diet, you're probably fine.

People who really need supplements generally fall into one of the following categories:

* Pregnant women, especially pregnant women with bad morning sickness, and lactating women.
* People with diagnosed nutritional deficiencies
* People with specific dietary intolerances that prevent them from getting enough of certain items - like those who have lactose intolerance, who must look elsewhere for vitamin D and calcium, or wheat allergies, which can make it difficult to get enough iron.
* People who have undergone gastric surgery or who have diseases that make it harder for their bodies to absorb nutrients.
* People on special diets: vegans, extreme low calorie diets, etc.
* Elderly people whose bodies are unable to efficiently absorb nutrients from their diets, especially if they already have a reduced appetite.