Topping Up My Vitamins

30 days to a happier, healthier me - day 19 - take a multi-vitamin daily.

I've been taking a multi-vitamin daily for the past month or so. Many experts believe taking a multi is a waste of time but here's some interesting info I found on The Real Age website -  benefits of taking a multi-vitamin on a daily basis...

Have you been thinking multivitamins are so over? Despite some recent pooh-poohing headlines -- and dissing from a few loud experts -- don't dismiss these nutritional back-ups as another health fad gone bust. New research shows that a multi could help your waistlines and your heart.




Don't get us wrong. A bottle of vitamins can't fill the gaps in a diet that's got more burgers, fries, and shakes than McDonald's on Friday night. But everyone has days when pizz is more tempting than salad or a tight deadline leads to foraging in a vending machine. Besides, some vital nutrients -- like vitamin D3 -- are tough to get enough of from food alone. That's one reason we YOU Docs still recommend a multi: It's insurance against an imperfect diet. But add these two new reasons as well:



1.Multis help you lose weight. If you're female and need to lose a little, get this: In a recent study of overweight women, those who took a standard multi for 6 months lost an average of 8 pounds. Those who got fake pills didn't lose a thing. Why? A multi may help your body slim down by filling tiny nutritional gaps that slow your metabolism (calorie-burning rate). That's not just speculation. The metabolism of the vitamin takers increased by 6%, so their bodies burned more calories 24/7.



The researchers suspect that the extra nutrients help the energy-producing "power plants" inside your cells burn more fat (the plants are called mitochondria, for you science geeks). The nutrient boost may also help your body respond better to insulin and leptin, hormones that affect appetite and weight. That may explain why, in another study, dieters who took a multi felt fuller between meals and had 60% fewer hunger pangs. Add it all up and it looks like feeling extra hungry may be due, in part, to small nutritional gaps a multi can fill.





2.Multis defend your heart. After researchers tracked 34,000 women for a decade, they found that taking a daily multivitamin for at least 5 years makes you 41% less likely to have a heart attack (if you don't have signs of heart disease to begin with). Yup, men get similar benefits.



Multis may protect your heart in several ways. Vitamin C, niacin, and pantothenic acid (vitamins B2 and B5) help several systems discourage heart-threatening plaque. And some minerals, especially magnesium, work to keep arteries flexible and fight bodywide inflammation.


My diet is quite healthy but I don't think taking a multi will do any harm. Anything my body doesn't need will be flushed out anyway.

That's all from me folks.
See ya tomorrow
Love KB
xxx

Previous days to a happier, healthier me are here.