MULTI-VITAMINS: Our nutritional "insurance policy"

Better Nutrition, Dec, 1998 by James F. Scheer

Even those who are generally "anti-supplementation," are often "pro-multi-vitamin supplementation." Why? The thinking seems to be that a multi-vitamin provides insurance against nutritional inadequacies. And inadequacies, there are many. The 10th nationwide food consumption survey, the "1994-96 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals," conducted by the USDA's Agricultural Research Service found that adult females failed to meet even the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for five nutrients -- calcium, vitamin E, vitamin B-6, magnesium, and zinc; and, adult males fell short of the RDA for vitamin E, magnesium, and zinc.

Why take a `multi'?

All ingredients in a multi-vitamin/mineral formula are blended to work synergistically -- a harmonious combination that ensures maximum absorbability and effectiveness. While single-nutrient supplements certainly have an important place, a multi-vitamin/mineral formula provides a good nutritional foundation.

Let's take a quick look at how the vitamins supplied in most multi-formulas -- vitamin A, vitamin B-complex, vitamin C, vitamin D, and vitamin E -- serve us.

Vitamin A

A fat-soluble vitamin, vitamin A is essential to vision, bone growth, fertility, and immune function. It also helps to protect against heart disease and cancer and is essential for healthy skin. In the second edition of their book, The Real Vitamin and Mineral Book, Shari Lieberman, Ph.D., and Nancy Bruning, explain that the compounds that make up vitamin A can be broken up into two groups -- the retinoids (preformed vitamin A) and the carotenoids (precursors of vitamin A that the body converts into active vitamin A), the most famous of these carotenoids being beta-carotene.

Note: As is the case with all supplements, if you are pregnant, be sure to discuss supplementation with vitamin A with a nutrition-oriented health-care practitioner first.

Vitamin B-1 (thiamin)

Vitamin B-1 is needed to break down carbohydrates and fats to produce energy. It also contributes to a healthy heart, nervous system, and a dependable memory. In the second edition of their book, Prescriptions for Nutritional Healing, James F. Balch, M.D., and Phyllis A. Balch, C.N.C., warn that antibiotics, sulfa drugs, and oral contraceptives may lower thiamine levels, and that high-carbohydrate diets increase our need for thiamine.

Vitamin B-2 (riboflavin)

Vitamin B-2 helps to convert carbohydrates and fats into energy and contributes to normal growth, vision, and a good complexion.

Along with vitamin B-6, it may help ease carpal tunnel syndrome.

Vitamin B-3 (niacin)

Vitamin B-3 dilates arteries, helps to generate energy, and normalizes cholesterol and triglyceride levels. In his book, The Vitamin Revolution in Health Care, Michael Janson, M.D., says that niacin used to be called nicotinic acid; however, the name was changed because it was sometimes confused with nicotine. He says it helps reduce the cravings for sweets and is helpful for depression.

Vitamin B-5 (pantothenic acid)

Vitamin B-5 helps to keep the adrenal glands equal to life's stresses and essential to keeping cellular metabolism normal.

Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine)

Much research shows vitamin B-6 to be helpful in coping with PMS, depression, and carpal tunnel syndrome. It is also noted for making absorption and function of minerals more efficient.

Folic acid

Folic acid is best known for preventing neural tube defects in newborns, such as spina bifida, but it is also important to heart health, and has most recently been linked with a lowered risk of colon cancer.

One of the reasons folate promotes heart health is that it reduces homocysteine levels; high levels of this compound, which is naturally produced by the body, have been shown to increase one's risk of developing heart disease. In a 1996 study by Tufts University, Boston, Mass., researchers found that people who took multi-vitamins, or ate breakfast cereals or green leafy vegetables (all good sources of folate) had significantly greater blood plasma folate levels and lower homocysteine levels than those who did not.

As for colon cancer, a 1998 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that long-term use of a multi-vitamin containing folic acid, may reduce the risk of developing colon cancer in women by as much as 75 percent.

Biotin

Normality of the circulatory, nervous, and reproductive systems depends heavily on biotin, as does healthy skin and hair.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)

Most commonly thought of as a means to reduce the duration of colds, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the many health benefits of vitamin C. It works with vitamin A and zinc to accelerate wound healing; promotes tooth and bone formation; in addition to protecting against colds, it provides protection against environmental toxins and some cancers, and, of course, scurvy, a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency.

Recent research also shows that vitamin C may be important for eye health and that it may be especially important for complications associated with diabetes: