Benefits of Vitamins and Herbal Supplements

In today’s world, there is lots of information out there to inform the public. With television and the internet not to mention all the books that have been published, it is almost difficult not to hear about the benefits of vitamin E or how harmful it is to mix your prescription medications with herbal supplements. Trying to make sense of it all is another matter altogether.

I have studied for years about the benefits of certain vitamins and herbal medicines. What I have learned with all this study is how much I still have to learn. I do know this, taking a lot of stuff that you don’t know much about is not the right thing to do.

Years ago, I taught aerobics and watched everything I put into my mouth, but as the years have gone by I have gotten much more moderate in my approach to my health. I am healthy, I am reasonable, but I am not by any means a fanatic.

My thoughts about taking supplements are this: think about your life, think about what you want and how to achieve it. For instance, if you are too heavy and are thinking about taking something to help with, say, curbing your appetite, don’t do that. There is nothing out there to help you with that safely; this is something you will have to do on your own. It is called willpower. Make up your mind to cut out the potato chips or the soda and exercise on a daily basis. This is something that will work. Stick to it and you will see the results. The rule of thumb for weight loss is 2 pounds a week. Any more than that might not stay off and the point of this is to be healthier, so keeping it off is important.

Exercise is another thing to think about. Starting slowly and building up to a weekly program is the smart way to keep going. Walking is a great way to start and if you are trying to lose more than 20 pounds, the only way to protect your joints. If you are running with more than 20 pounds to lose, the extra weight on your joints can cause permanent damage. Knees and ankles, not to mention your hips need to be protected. Later in your life you will be glad that you protected them.

Taking a multivitamin is a good idea; make sure it contains the proper amounts of the things you are looking for. Vitamins like A and E are oil based and will build up in your system, B vitamins are water based and you get rid of them every day. I take a good B complex every day and I think it makes me feel better. Especially younger women need to take some B vitamins if they are in child bearing years. Older women and men need to take some vitamins to keep up their energy levels and keep their cholesterol in check.

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