Multivitamins and minerals suppliments are fired up in todays market and for a good sense as well. On the straight note humans are more emphasising on having same type of foods and eating more animals products then green vegetables and fruits.
Have a good amount of variety of vegetables and fruits can complete your everyday vitamin and mineral deficiency, where animal products might be rich in vitamin B12. Today's animals are not treated well and getting vitamins from them is a big question.
If you're having a grass feed meat then the answer can get changed. Although you can question that, plants are also not in the healthy state as well
So! Are we only having carbohydrates from plants and protein from animals. Not always, having seasonal fruits and vegetables can give you all the vitamins and minerals you want. Only completing your macro nutrients (carbs, fats, protein) might not help you in long run. Micro nutrients plays a very important role in human body.
Having deficiency in carbohydrates will not affect your health if then not getting enough vitamin D or C. Immunity problems occurs due to lack of minerals like zinc, magnesium which we can't get enough from our daily foods.
So it might be handy to get a multivitamins and minerals with you and complete your daily micro nutrients, where your body will thank you.
Note: Before having any multivitamins and minerals do recommend your doctor first if you're already having any type of ongoing medication.
So let's discuss about the various benifits of having multivitamins and minerals suppliment into our diet.
No matter how old you are you might need all the vitamins and minerals in your body.
1. Multivitamin and Heart Disease
In today's world, heart disease is causing the no.1 issue for more deaths everyday. Many studies have showed that having multivitamins have significantly reduced the heart disease and failed in many as well, so the studies are mixed
So many studies have shown that heart disease and health attacks can be controlled by having multivitamins and can reduce death from heart attacks, on the other hand many studies have shown no effect on certain patients. Studies link: (link) (link) (link).
More than 14,000 middle aged male doctors are kept in a studies for more then 10years and gave them multivitamin everyday. It found that, their is no reduction in heart attacks or stroke (link)
Studies on a group of women have been done and started giving multivitamins daily for more then 3years, it was found that around 35% in reduction of risk of heart disease (link)
2. Multivitamin And Brain Functioning
Having all the vitamins and minerals helps in hormonal balance and keep brain healthy to do it's work in a peak level.
Several studies have shown that having multivitamin every day improve brain function, improved memory in older adults (link) (link) (link)
Having imbalance in hormons leads to Poor mood. Brain cannot function properly when their is any nutritional deficiencies in your body. Many studies have found that having multivitamin can able to full fill all the deficiency in the brain and let increase the brain function And increased mood.
Many different studies have also shown that, having nutritional deficiencies leads to depression symptoms as well.
How lack of vitamin D might lead to depression (link)
However one studie have shown no change in mood as well (link)
Though it might be a good idea to add multivitamin in your daily life.
3. Multivitamin And Cancer
As like brain functions, all we know that having junk foods and lack in nutritional deficiencies not only hamper our brain but also leads to lower our immunity. Less powerful fighting cells in our body may even leads to cancer.
Though studies with multivitamin can reduce the risk of cancer is also mixed, it might work differently in different individuals.
It's a bitter truth, that Cancer patients have to suffer from many difficulty. It might occurs due to bad choice of living habits and wrong choice of foods.
I'm not saying that having multivitamin can reduce so, neither studies.
Studies shows that having multivitamin suppliment have reduced cancer in some patients but also increased the risk of cancer in some patients as well. (Link) (link) (link) (link)
It might be a lot controversial topic among today's science and nutrition that, can having multivitamin have any benefits on cancer or not. Because multivitamin works differently in different individuals regarding cancer and have no specific answer.
Though One of the studie have examined 5 randomized, controlled trials in 47,289 people. It found a 31% lower risk of cancer in men who took multivitamins but no effect in women (link)
One individual studies with women and one study with men, gives multivitamin daily and have seen the reduced risk of colon cancer
4. Multivitamins And Eye health
Having green leafy vegetables can improve eye health that we always know. Including vitamin A not only helps improve eye but also the other nutrients combined.
Though we know that the age related macular degeneration is a leading cause of blindness worldwide (link)
One study have shows that having multivitamin and minerals can reduce this macular degeneration problem. As many studies have found no change as well while having multivitamin in the first stage. (Link) (link)
Some studies indicates that multivitamins may reduce your risk of cataracts, another very common eye problem (Link)
How Multivitamin Can Be harmful.
Multivitamin and minerals have health benefits if taken in their required dosages, though some of the multivitamin and minerals are okay to have in high dosage, but some should be taken in moderation.
Their are two types of vitamins
Water-soluble and fat-soluble
Fat-soluble multivitamins are A, D, E & K, while having vitamin E and K are intoxic If overconsumed but vitamin A and D can be toxic if over consumed.
I'll discuss some required dosages in my next blog, and understanding more about multivitamin so that one can have multivitamin without harming the body and hormonal disbalance.
Note : Do recommend your doctor or nutritionist before having multivitamin.