Nutrition News Roundup: A Word on Supplements

Taking any supplements in addition to your regular diet requires much thought and should involve the input of your health care professional. After all, there is a wide variety of supplements, ranging from vitamins and minerals to beneficial oils, such as Omega 3 fish oils. And being deficient in any of these nutrients can be harmful to your body, for example night blindness can result due to a lack of Vitamin A, enlargement of your thyroid gland can occur due to an iodine deficiency, and a lack of Vitamin can retard growth. The benefits of  vitamins and minerals function beyond preventing deficiency diseases, they function to regulate your immune system, protect against cancer, stimulate absorption in the GI tract, protect against heart disease, and lots more!

----Not all vitamins and minerals are created equal! ----
Vitamins are either water soluble or fat soluble and the solubility determines how it is absorbed, transported, stored, and excreted in the body. For example, a water soluble vitamin like vitamin C compared to a fat soluble vitamin like Vitamin E is easily absorbed in the blood and is just as easy to excrete. Therefore taking in excessive amounts would less likely pose problems and reach toxic concentrations as excessive amounts of vitamin E would. Vitamins are also sensitive to temperature so eating them in their raw form will provide you with the most amount of nutrients.

----Now For the Scoop!----

A new study shows high humidity and temperatures, such as those found in the bathroom and kitchen, can degrade the effectiveness of vitamin C and shorten the shelf life of vitamin supplements. When these vitamins are stored in places with high humidity and temperatures, it may cause a water-soluble vitamin to dissolve, you’d be better off eating a sugar candy! Talk about money gone down the drain!

SO…. Not only is it important to make sure you are getting the right amount of vitamins and minerals (talk it over with your doctor/RD) but also you must remember that cooking methods count… and so does the area where you store them!

For more info check out http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/05/health/webmd/main6269878.shtml