Best Way to Take Supplements

Let me state right off the bat, I'm not a doctor. I'm just a basic health nut, who has done lots of research, and taken supplements for a lot of years. I was talking to a friend the other day about supplements on how many and which kind are the best.

In our discussion he told me something I didn't really realize that some people do and that's take all of their supplements at once. In his case it was like 16 all in the morning. As I shared with him, I think the best way to take nutritional supplements is to space them out through the day, and as a general rule get as close to the daily recommend value as possible. A lot of times supplement makers adhere to the idea that more is better, and that may not always be the case.

The spacing out rule is based on the principle that our bodies can only process or use only so much of any one vitamin or mineral at a time. Personally, I believe it's too much on our systems and could cause damage to our livers or kidneys to overload with too many nutrients at once.

Optimally, if a person could get all the vitamins and nutrients through their foods or in the case of vitamin D through the sun, this would be the much preferred method. The nutrients in foods are processed much easier in our bodies than the massive amounts of vitamins or nutrient packed into one tiny pill. That's just the facts. Sometimes though we just can't get enough of one nutrient or another for one reason or the other. In my case I think all the exercising and weight lifting puts more nutritional demands on my body than what I can get from foods alone. Some folks just don't have as much time to devote to eating and preparing a wide variety of healthy foods that is necessary for optimum health. Although, I strongly suggest that if at all possible a person should plan their work meals out ahead of time, and make time for healthy eating. It's worth it in the long run. Think about all the money and time a person can save if just one major health issue could be avoided.

On the amounts of nutrients in a supplement, I really think they put way too much in most supplements. Take vitamin B for instance.  They can put 3 or more times the daily amount in one pill and it's just going to pass straight through your body in the form of urine. It's just a complete waste, and who knows if it is damaging or not in the long run. On the other hand, I do take vitamin B supplements for energy. I find it seems to help my metabolism because I tend to gain fat when I stop taking them.

Don't over do vitamin A. Too much can make a person sick. If you're getting plenty of vegetables I wouldn't even take vitamin A in supplement form. Vitamin A is something that almost always in your multi-vitamin supplements. Sometimes I'll take a multi-vitamin if I feel like I haven't gotten enough vegetables in a couple of days time.

So in taking supplements: 1. Do your research, pick out the best. 2.Base your supplementation on your nutritional needs. 3.Don't over do any one particular vitamin or mineral. One important thing to keep in mind is that only a few vitamins like, the B vitamins and C vitamins, are readily secreted out through your urine when you take too much. Other nutrients can more easily reach higher than recommended levels in your body which might do more harm than good depending on the nutrient.

Remember with vitamin D, it's impossible to get too much in the form of sunshine. The actual level of D in supplement form that is too high is a matter of much debate.

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