Vitamin Supplements vs. Vitamins in Food

Nature Vs. Nurture. Wouldn't it be great if we lived in a world where everything we needed to stay healthy would magically appear on our back porch? How great would that be??? Unfortunately, keeping ourselves healthy is like trying to keep that wilty plant that's on the back porch (that lives there instead) alive and kicking. Getting vitamins from the food you eat is always the most efficient form of vitamin intake. However, that means that you should be eating your vegetables raw, so that no nutritional value is lost. And that's a lot of chewing! In general, if you are "eating healthy", getting your required servings of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, you should be doing fine. But that's in the land of should. In the land of reality, the best way for you to know if you're getting enough vitamins and minerals and what foods and supplements you should add to your diet is to go to a nutritionist. A nutritionist can measure all sorts of scientific, crazy things about your physical make up and give you a better idea of where you're at. And if you're not getting enough of something, he can tell you specifically what to add.

Your food is not enough. You should be sure that you are taking the freshest vitamins. Many these days even come refrigerated! Unless you are getting your produce straight off the farm, its vitamin content is not at its peak, or even what the manuals say they are. However, according to Dr. Nicholas Perricone, there are substances in food that we don't know how to make vitamins for yet! So, keep on eating a variety of colors of fresh produce every day. You can read Dr. Perricone's books for ideas on what vitamins MUST be supplemented.