So you want to see your loved ones healthy and full of energy all year round. To strengthen immunity, increase efficiency and improve the quality of life, we often take multivitamins for the whole family. This inspires confidence that the body is provided with everything necessary, which means it will work perfectly. Is it really? What are modern vitamin preparations? About all this today in our article.
The total composition of popular complexes
Today, everyone knows that multivitamins are complex supplements containing all the substances necessary for the body (in a daily dosage). By taking one capsule per day, you provide yourself with vitamins until the next day. This is especially important with severe physical and emotional stress or an unbalanced diet. Today on the market there are two types of drugs: one includes only a set of vitamins, the second additionally fills the body's needs for minerals and trace elements.
The amount of biologically active substances in each complex is different and depends on which company produces multivitamins. As a rule, these are vitamins A, C, D, E, B, nicotinic, folic and pantothenic acids. Of the minerals usually include such important elements as calcium, iron, zinc, iodine, copper, chromium, selenium.
This diversity is the plus and minus of these complexes. Multivitamins are universal drugs that contain a fixed set of substances and do not take into account the individual characteristics of the body. In order for one of their types to suit everyone, manufacturers significantly reduce the dosage of vitamins and minerals. Usually it does not exceed the third part of the daily requirement. Accordingly, such a dosage will not harm, but if there is an acute shortage of a particular element, then this cannot be solved. It is necessary to pass laboratory tests and undergo a course of treatment with a single drug.
Vitamin Myths and Misconceptions
There are a lot of them in modern society. Any ailment is considered to be a sign of a lack of vitamins, and therefore a trip to the clinic is replaced by the purchase of a bright box. This is not entirely true. Only a doctor can make the correct diagnosis and make an appointment. Whether it is overwork, a commonplace ARI or any other disease, complex measures are needed, not just multivitamins. The composition of these drugs includes several dozen useful substances, but all this can be obtained in a natural way, just eating right.
Large-scale studies have been carried out, which showed that taking vitamin complexes does not protect you from colds and flu, cannot serve as a prevention of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, natural biologically active substances that enter the body with food are absolutely safe, which cannot be said about the tablet form. This is a medicine that should not be taken constantly and without good reason.
Natural sources of essential substances
Surely many of you bought multivitamins. The price for them is usually quite tangible. I'd like to believe that such a beautiful and expensive package is fraught with a real salvation for your body. In fact, a complex preparation can contain only a dozen or two useful substances that are produced chemically. And it is still unknown how much they are absorbed by the body. The simplest and most affordable foods give you several times more vitamins and minerals, and it is in the form in which your gastrointestinal tract is ready to take them.
Speaking of healthy products, everyone immediately remembers fruits, less often vegetables. But that is far from all. The essential vitamin B12 is found in seafood, oily fish (salmon, trout), and beef. The second representative of this group - B6 - you get from chicken, chickpeas, bananas and potatoes. Folic acid contains beans, lentils, asparagus and orange juice. Vitamin E can be obtained without problems by eating vegetable oils, nuts, carrots and pumpkin. And the body extracts the familiar ascorbic acid (C) from apples, cabbage, bell pepper and many other products.
Do not forget about the need to eat eggs - this is a real storehouse of amino acids and vitamins. Whole grain cereals provide a complete set of minerals. And besides, there are also many vitamins. Building a balanced menu is not so difficult. It should include fish, meat, vegetables and cereals, eggs and dairy products. Then you do not have to buy multivitamins. Their price today ranges from 250 to 1000 rubles per package for 20 days. Multiply this amount by the number of people in the family, and you will understand how much you can save per month.
How to choose the right
If the fast pace of life does not allow you to eat right, then pharmacy complexes of vitamins will come to the rescue. Today there is plenty to choose from, shelves in pharmacies are full of elegant packaging, among which you need to find your own. First of all, you need to pay attention to the manufacturer. More trust is caused by well-known brands whose product quality has been tested by time. Be sure to check the packaging for the presence of such important substances as folic acid, iron, zinc, vitamins D and C. Their needs vary depending on gender and age, but this will be discussed below. In resolving the difficult issue of how to choose the best multivitamins, the reviews of friends will help little, because we are all different, each has a different rhythm of life and, therefore, needs.
Children's health is the most important thing for parents
Probably the most topical issue in this thread is multivitamins for children. The child grows and changes rapidly, his energy expenditures are incommensurable with ours, even if an adult leads an active lifestyle. Kids are so curious and restless.
Often parents are faced with a problem, trying to provide good nutrition to the child. He refuses meat and fish, does not eat cottage cheese, does not like vegetables. You have to persuade for hours to eat a spoonful of porridge or a slice of cheese. That is why multivitamins for children are perceived as a kind of lifebuoy, which will help compensate for the lack of necessary substances.
Here you can advise only one thing: directly from the period of pregnancy, go yourself to a healthy diet. It is known that we get food cravings while still in the womb, therefore, gobbling up cakes and sandwiches with sausage, waiting for the baby to appear, it is difficult to hope for the baby’s love for porridge. From the first lure, start giving vegetable, not fruit, purees, refuse breakfast cereals and other processed foods. Bring sweets home as little as possible.
The best vitamin complexes for children
The most popular brand is the Alphabet. Made in Russia, they are of moderate cost and excellent quality. The main advantage is that vitamins and minerals are divided into groups and divided into three doses per day. At the same time you give the child one tablet, and all its components are not only combined, but also complement the action of each other.
The second place is taken by the MultiTabs vitamins, Denmark. These are fruit-flavored chewable tablets that contain 11 vitamins and 7 minerals. Convenient form of administration, one tablet once a day.
Syrups "Pikovit", "Sanasol" are intended for children from 2 months. It is a convenient form for the smallest. But before buying this or that complex, be sure to consult with the local pediatrician.
Vitamins for Beauty and Health
Female beauty is a very fragile thing. Silky hair, beautiful skin and neat manicure are the result of not only proper care, but also good nutrition. Often women complain that when they get married, they begin to look worse. Affect worries, stress, childbirth, permanent employment, snacks on the go, abuse of diets. If all this is about you, then it is advisable to start using multivitamins. Reviews of friends and a pharmacist can serve only as a guideline, choosing a complex for yourself, pay attention to the content of the following substances:
- Vitamin D - at least 600 IU. Bone health, strong immunity and normal blood pressure depend on it. It is really produced under the influence of sunlight, but if you work mainly indoors, how real is contact with the sun for you?
- Iron - at least 18 milligrams. This condition is necessary, since monthly blood loss must be compensated.
- Folic Acid - 400 micrograms.
The best complexes for lovely ladies
The first in the ranking is the Lady C complex (formula "More than multivitamins"). Reviews say that this particular drug seriously stimulates mental and physical activity, normalizes metabolism and hormonal levels, and improves skin and hair condition. In addition to vitamins and minerals, the complex includes extracts and extracts of various plants.
In second place in popularity is the "Alphabet". Next are the Vitrum, MultiTabs, Complivit complexes, and closes the list of the most popular Centrum complexes.
Stress resistance and performance
These are the qualities that men need to maintain daily. Serious daily stresses, stresses, life at an accelerated pace - all this gradually undermines health. Nerve cells need special nutrition in order to have time to recover. When choosing multivitamins for men, you need to pay attention to the content of vitamins C, E and B. The first and last are used by the male body in shock doses. A sufficient number of them allows you to maintain vigor, energy and activity throughout the day, normalizes and strengthens potency, tidies the nervous system. With an irregular or unbalanced diet, special multivitamins for men come to the rescue.
The best complexes for men
The “More Than Multivitamins” complex has proven itself best today. This drug is specially designed for men who lead an active lifestyle. Moreover, for those who are subject to significant physical and mental stress. These multivitamins ("Mens" formula) contain 20 vitamins, 11 minerals and 4 extracts of medicinal plants.
In addition, you can drink "Duovit" for men or any universal vitamin complex. In combination with good nutrition, they will not cause an overdose and compensate for the lack of those substances that are consumed the least.
Brief conclusions
Vitamins and minerals are essential substances that must be present in the diet daily. You can go in two ways: to diversify and optimize your menu as much as possible or to resort to the help of special complexes. Their use in childhood is especially relevant, since this is a period of rapid growth. Do not forget to take them during pregnancy, as the mother's body must provide the fetus with everything necessary for development. For adults, the need for vitamins remains relevant during periods of increased physical and mental stress, as well as recovery from a serious illness.