Supplements versus Food

Sure, you still need to eat right, but nutrition and supplements are not an either-or issue. The two enhance each together, not cancel each other out. You don’t always get optimal amounts of all the vitamins and minerals from food, just as pills don’t contain everything that food has to offer.

For one thing, supplements can replace the vitamins and minerals, but they will never supply the thousands of other health-enhancing phytonutrients obtained from real foods. Second, while a well-chosen supplement can improve some of the nutritional shortcomings of a good diet, it can’t compensate for bad eating habits. You know deep down in your heart that you can’t live on French fries and hamburgers, then take a vitamin E supplement and think you’re doing fine. So eat right, but also take a multivitamin as a good safety net for those days when you eat well, but not well enough.

What should you look for in a multi-vitamin?

•Select a broad-range multiple vitamin and mineral supplement. Choose one that contains vitamin A, D, E, and K, all of the B vitamins (vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, niacin and folic acid), and the trace minerals (chromium, copper, iron, manganese, selenium and zinc).
•Ignore chloride, pantothenic acid, biotin, potassium, choline and phosphorus since the diet either already supplies optimal levels of these compounds or supplements contain too little to be useful. Also ignore nickel, iodine, vanadium and tin, since it’s not clear whether they’re essential for people.
•Read the column titled “Daily Value” on the black label. Look for a multiple that provides approximately 100%, but no more than 300% of the Daily Values for all nutrients provided. You want a “balanced” supplement, not one that supplies 2% of one nutrient, 50% of another, and 600% of another.
•Supplement your multi-vitamin. All one-pill-a-day multiples are short on calcium and magnesium, so consider taking a calcium-magnesium supplement if you consume less than three glasses of milk and several servings of magnesium – rich soybeans, wheat germ and dark green leafy vegetables each day. Look for one that supplies these two minerals in a two to one ratio, such as 500 milligrams of calcium to 250 milligrams of magnesium.