Why vitamins

Also, the products you buy in stores or online may be different from those used in studies, so studies may be misleading. Also, federal regulations for dietary supplements are less strict than prescription drugs.

Some supplements may contain ingredients not listed on the label , and these ingredients can be unsafe. Certain products are marketed as dietary supplements and actually contain prescription drugs within them — drugs that are not allowed in dietary supplements.

Read about the potential dangers of weight-loss supplements. Supplements should never be used in place of real food. Vitamin E is often singled out as the potential fountain of youth. However, there is no evidence that taking large doses of any vitamin can either stall or reverse the effects of ageing. Neither can any one vitamin restore a flagging sex drive or cure infertility. In developed countries like Australia, vitamin deficiency is rare, but the inadequate intake of some vitamins, as a result of an unhealthy diet, is not so rare and has been linked to a number of chronic diseases.

These include cardiovascular disease, cancer and osteoporosis. There is ongoing research to study the effects of taking vitamin supplements to prevent chronic disease, and evidence around nutrition and diet is constantly changing. It is important that you consult with your doctor before taking vitamin supplements in high doses. This page has been produced in consultation with and approved by:. The size of a standard drink can vary according to the type of alcohol.

The Alexander technique stresses that movement should be economical and needs only the minimum amount of energy and effort. A common misconception is that anorexia nervosa only affects young women, but it affects males and females of all ages. Antioxidants scavenge free radicals from the body's cells, and prevent or reduce the damage caused by oxidation.

Antipsychotic medications work by altering brain chemistry to help reduce psychotic symptoms like hallucinations, delusions and disordered thinking. Content on this website is provided for information purposes only. Information about a therapy, service, product or treatment does not in any way endorse or support such therapy, service, product or treatment and is not intended to replace advice from your doctor or other registered health professional.

The information and materials contained on this website are not intended to constitute a comprehensive guide concerning all aspects of the therapy, product or treatment described on the website. All users are urged to always seek advice from a registered health care professional for diagnosis and answers to their medical questions and to ascertain whether the particular therapy, service, product or treatment described on the website is suitable in their circumstances.

The State of Victoria and the Department of Health shall not bear any liability for reliance by any user on the materials contained on this website. Skip to main content. Healthy eating. Home Healthy eating. Vitamins - common misconceptions. Actions for this page Listen Print. Summary Read the full fact sheet. Eating a healthy diet remains the best way to get sufficient amounts of the vitamins and minerals you need.

Every day, your body produces skin, muscle, and bone. It churns out rich red blood that carries nutrients and oxygen to remote outposts, and it sends nerve signals skipping along thousands of miles of brain and body pathways. It also formulates chemical messengers that shuttle from one organ to another, issuing the instructions that help sustain your life. But to do all this, your body requires some raw materials.

These include at least 30 vitamins, minerals, and dietary components that your body needs but cannot manufacture on its own in sufficient amounts. Vitamins and minerals are considered essential nutrients—because acting in concert, they perform hundreds of roles in the body. They help shore up bones, heal wounds, and bolster your immune system. They also convert food into energy, and repair cellular damage. But trying to keep track of what all these vitamins and minerals do can be confusing.

Read enough articles on the topic, and your eyes may swim with the alphabet-soup references to these nutrients, which are known mainly be their initials such as vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K—to name just a few. Vitamins and minerals are often called micronutrients because your body needs only tiny amounts of them.

Yet failing to get even those small quantities virtually guarantees disease. Here are a few examples of diseases that can result from vitamin deficiencies:.

Just as a lack of key micronutrients can cause substantial harm to your body, getting sufficient quantities can provide a substantial benefit. Some examples of these benefits:. Although they are all considered micronutrients, vitamins and minerals differ in basic ways. Vitamins are organic and can be broken down by heat, air, or acid. Minerals are inorganic and hold on to their chemical structure. So why does this matter?

It means the minerals in soil and water easily find their way into your body through the plants, fish, animals, and fluids you consume. Many micronutrients interact. Vitamin D enables your body to pluck calcium from food sources passing through your digestive tract rather than harvesting it from your bones.

Vitamin C helps you absorb iron. And even a minor overload of the mineral manganese can worsen iron deficiency. Water-soluble vitamins are packed into the watery portions of the foods you eat. They are absorbed directly into the bloodstream as food is broken down during digestion or as a supplement dissolves.

Because much of your body consists of water, many of the water-soluble vitamins circulate easily in your body. Your kidneys continuously regulate levels of water-soluble vitamins, shunting excesses out of the body in your urine. Although water-soluble vitamins have many tasks in the body, one of the most important is helping to free the energy found in the food you eat.

Others help keep tissues healthy. You get them from the foods you eat every day. Minerals are inorganic elements that come from soil and water, and are absorbed by plants or eaten by animals. Your body needs larger amounts of some minerals, such as calcium , to grow and stay healthy. Other minerals like chromium, copper, iodine, iron, selenium, and zinc are called trace minerals because you need only very small amounts of them.

Vitamins and minerals boost the immune system , support normal growth and development, and help cells and organs do their jobs. For example, you've probably heard that carrots are good for your eyes. It's true! Carrots are full of substances called carotenoids pronounced: kuh-RAH-teh-noydz that your body converts into vitamin A, which helps prevent eye problems. Vitamin K helps blood to clot, so cuts and scrapes stop bleeding quickly. You'll find vitamin K in green leafy vegetables, broccoli, and soybeans.

And to have strong bones, you need to eat foods such as milk, yogurt, and green leafy vegetables, which are rich in the mineral calcium. Eating well now is especially important because the body needs a variety of vitamins and minerals to grow and stay healthy.