When you read the labels of your supplement, it says 50% of Vitamin A, 10% of Calcium, 42% of Iron, 8% Magnesium, and 30% Zinc. “Why is that?” you may ask. First off these manufacturers know that they are supplements. A supplement is a way to increase the required vitamins and minerals that we could be lacking in our daily diets. In America, due to the fast pace of our city life, we need these supplements. Course in the country side, where many grow and raise their own foods, a supplement may not be needed.
Vitamin A helps maintain skin, eyes, urinary track, and the lining of the nerves, respiratory, and digestive systems. Vitamin A is needed for normal growth of bones and teeth and for good night vision. This vitamin helps build resistance to infection and keeps skin healthy.
Calcium’s primary function is to maintain healthy bone structure. Calcium is needed to help muscles contract, blood to clot, the nervous system to function properly, and is important in maintaining healthy blood pressure. To insure normal heart beat, there has to be calcium in the bloodstream. The bone knows when calcium levels are deficient to release some calcium in the bloodstream and when there is a surplus to reabsorb it. http://3.ly/LXE
Iron is a key element of the red blood cell, which is responsible for the transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the bloodstream. The liver is the main organ of our body that serves as a salvage yard by taking back the iron from the dead red blood cell. The liver then stores it for later combination into the hemoglobin and passes off the rest of the red blood cell fragments as part of the bile pigment. From the livers bile it assist in the breakdown of larger food molecules in the small intestine. Iron is redistributed to the bloodstream to other parts of the body, where they are built into new cells. Too much iron can harm the liver and its operations.
Magnesium collaborates chemically with calcium and phosphorus for normal muscle and nerve function and is found in most proteins. Too little , magnesium, can contribute to a abnormal sleep cycle where after only two to three hours you wake and can’t seem to go back to sleep.
Zinc is important for taste perception and helps with tissue growth. Eating lots of sugar may deplete the zinc in your body.
What do all these have in common? They are all found in a well balance healthy diet containing eggs (especially the yolk), milk, oatmeal, nuts, legumes, green leafy vegetables, and meats? Did you know that a teen should receive 4/8 oz. of milk a day to receive these nutrients? That 1 cup of ice cream is equal to one cup of milk or that 2 oz. of cream cheese is equal to 1 oz. of milk? When it comes to calcium that the average adult should get 1000 mg / day and over 50 should get 1200 mg/ day. There are foods like spinach 1 cup = 230 mg, okra 1 cup= 170 mg. and of course milk, non-fat/ low fat 1 cup has 350 mg. Liver is a great source for vitamin A and iron.
For our health, when we use a supplement, we need to have variety in our diets with nutrients in minds. Keep it simple and keep it fun. Getting a nutritional and fitness coach is well worth it for me.
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