3 Reasons Why You Need a Multivitamin

So, one of the things I would hear from people who are against supplementation is that as long as you eat healthy, you don’t need multivitamins. Before, I used to believe that — until I realize that none of us eat healthy enough to avoid multivitamins.

Here are just a few reasons why you may not want to put that multivitamin back on the shelf.

1. Nobody Eats “Healthy” Enough If I asked you if you eat healthy, you would either say yes or no. If you say yes, your definition of eating healthy is that you eat salads, an apple, a granola bar, and cut down on the beer. That’s not eating healthy. That’s just restricting calories. Eating a salad or an apple doesn’t provide enough nutrition for the body on any typical day. Even as a fitness trainer, I know I don’t eat nearly enough to satisfy my nutritional needs through food alone.

If you want to truly eat healthy enough to get all the vitamins, minerals, fats, carbs, and protein that your body needs for EACH DAY, then you’ll be eating WELL OVER 2,000 calories of food. This in itself is not bad, but it requires A LOT of eating, and many of us just don’t like to eat too much. And when I say 2,000 calories of food, I mean to say that MOST of those calories need to come from fruits, veggies, and grains. No fruit, vegetable, or serving of rice would provide enough calories for your body. You would pretty much be eating all day, and with many of us with busy schedules, we just don’t have the time to eat, eat, eat — at least not the healthy stuff.

Long ago before 9 to 5 jobs, people farmed their lands. They actually had more time than we did to eat all day. I mean, they didn’t farm all day every day. But people had more time to eat than we do today, and had a heck of a lot of freedom that we don’t have. Now, we’re always at work and always looking for more work to do. We barely eat, and when we do, we usually eat the bad stuff.

So, unless you could chow down over 2,000 calories of food, MOST OF WHICH coming from fruits, veggies, and grains, then you need a multivitamin.

2. “Healthy Foods” Are Nutrient Deficient Unless you grow your own food or get all of your foods organic, you could be sure that the fruits and veggies you get don’t have as many nutrients as you think they do! Due to all the chemicals put into soil of commercial farmers, fruits and veggies grow lacking a lot of nutrients. Besides the lack of nutrients, you’re also getting chemicals put into your body. But this food is “healthy,” right?

So, if you could wolf down over 2,000 worth of food (most of which are fruits, veggies, and grains) and ensure that your food is organic, then maybe you won’t need a multivitamin. But if you live in an industrialized nation, let’s assume that you need a multivitamin.

3. Everybody’s Nutritional Needs Are Different If you exercise regularly or work in a physically labored job, you need more nutrients than someone who laze around all day or someone who are overall sedentary. The more physical labor your body does, the more nutrients it needs. If you don’t eat over 2,000 calories worth of organic food (most of which are fruits and veggies and grains) AND you participate in physical activities on a daily basis, you NEED a multivitamin.

As a personal trainer, I believe very much in supplementation. I am ALWAYS exercising, either because I’m teaching a class or because I’m doing my own exercises. I don’t eat enough to supply my body with the nutrition it needs. This is why I believe in supplementation. Now, I don’t believe in being a supplement junkie. In fact, if you only had a multivitamin, that would be good enough for me!

However, I do take extra supplementation for several reasons. One is to keep my dandruff under control. If you’ve read my article about eliminating dandruff, you’ll see that I took supplements to get rid of it. I take a supplement to help repair the lining of my intestines so that nutrients could be absorbed better. And because I am always exercising, I do take a supplement for my joints, as well as calcium.

Now, is this going overboard? I am taking about 6 supplements! You may think it’s going crazy, but you wouldn’t question a doctor who prescribes 10 medications for you, would you? As a former paramedic, I’ve ALWAYS seen patients with a laundry list of medications they would take. Nobody questions that, but when someone takes a few supplements, we think they’re junkies. No, they’re not junkies: they are simply practicing their own preventative treatments. The best way to prevent disease is by giving your body what it needs: nutrition. You can’t go wrong with nutrition — but some medications could out-right kill you.

Aiyo A. Jones, M.S.
NCSF-Certified Fitness Trainer
Raleigh, NC
www.21dayhealthchallenge.com


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