One-a-Day to the Fountain of Youth

by Phillip Tomlinson

Looking for the fountain of youth?  How about making one simple and easy lifestyle change you may have overlooked?  This one change will not only ensure that all your nutritional bases are covered, but may be a homerun in keeping your health on the right track and your energy at peak level.

In fact, the hardest thing you may have to do is down a glass of water with your multivitamin.  

AN EASY LIFESTYLE CHANGE

Yes, that’s right.  if you are not  supplementing your diet with a multivitamin, you may be overlooking one of the easiest lifestyle changes you can make in your quest for the fountain of youth.

Studies have found that daily multivitamin supplementation may help prevent cancer.  In one, the National Institute of Environmental Health and Sciences reported that results from a women’s test group suggested that “regular vitamin supplementation was associated with a significantly reduced risk of BCC – basal cell carcinoma – a form of skin cancer.”

It also found that multivitamins may “prolong life for women by preventing parts of their DNA from shortening.”

But wait a minute!  For all you men with the urge to throw yours in the trash, you should know that other studies suggest that we may all benefit from taking a daily multivitamin.

PUT AGING ON HOLD

In fact, skipping that multi could eventually lead to DNA damage as was found by University of California researchers when they starved human cells of vitamins and minerals.  The implication was that a multivitamin may help protect our chromosomes and, thus, us from aging.

So, safeguarding your DNA with a multivitamin a day is as a good a place as any if you are looking for a starting point.

SAFETY IS JOB ONE

Which multivitamin should you take?  For starters, warns industry watchdog Consumerlab.com, you can’t just assume any brand is safe, since there are no standard manufacturing rules for supplements.

Alarmingly, according to ConsumerLab, it was found that, in one trial, half of the 21 brands that were tested had too much or too little of certain vitamins, “or where contaminated with dangerous substances such as lead.

Two safe and dependable choices? 

Centrum and One-a-Day Women’s which were found to be free of impurities and accurately labeled.  But with this knowledge, you’ll also need to choose the formula that’s right for you.

A CONSIDERATION FOR CHILDBEARING

Science suggests that women in their childbearing years should choose a multivitamin with about 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid – strong enough to make and maintain new cells.

On the other hand, the conclusion was that pregnant women should take a multi with 600 mcg of folic acid – a nutrient which also reduces the incidence of neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida.

Of course, it goes without saying  that pre-menopausal women should choose a compound with iron to replace that which is lost during menstruation.  Menopausal women should go without iron, since research suggests that too much iron may increase the risk of heart disease.

MEATEATING IRON MEN

Men whose diet contains regular servings of meat need not take a multivitamin with iron.