Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins
and Minerals

Life's Bare Necessities

Ah, the usual breakfast. Half a dry bagel and a cup of coffee with artificial sweetener, hold the milk. Lunch? No time for anything but a diet soda. Oh well, you're trying to lose weight anyway.

When you finally arrive home, the kids are in a hurry to go to Little League, and you and your mate are ravenous. So you pull out the chips and he pulls out the frozen pizza. A few hours later your body is begging for sustenance. You respond with a pint of butter pecan ice cream.

This is no way to live--literally. Your body needs reinforcements, the right raw materials to keep it young, healthy and vital.

Those raw materials are vitamins and minerals, the tools your body must have to meet its daily work and activity demands. These microscopic marvels rejuvenate and energize your cells and make every single process in the body possible.

When they're present, everything is smooth sailing. But when they're not, you're in for a crash landing. Taken to extremes, deficiencies in vitamins and minerals can lead to ugly diseases like scurvy, pellagra and rickets--dreaded illnesses that cause loose teeth and bloody gums, weak and brittle bones, unhealthy skin and hair and even death.

Thankfully, American women have a diet decent enough to keep these diseases at bay--partially due to the fact that many of the foods we eat, such as cereals, breads and milk, are fortified with vitamins and minerals. But it is still possible that you're not getting all the vitamins you need, especially if, like many women, you're trying to drop a few pounds or are too busy to do anything but eat on the run.

"As we age, our requirements for certain vitamins and minerals actually increase," says Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D., associate director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston. "We tend to eat less food overall on a daily basis. So if your diet is already lacking a little in certain nutrients, as you get older, you stand a greater chance of widening that deficiency, and in some way your body will pay the price for it."

Low vitamin and mineral levels can lead to increased susceptibility to infection, slow healing, decreased mental capacity and chronic fatigue, nutritionists say. The bottom line is obvious: To look, feel and perform at your best, you can't make a habit of skimping on your vitamins and minerals.

Vitamins Are Vital

Inside our bodies, hundreds of biochemical reactions are taking place 24 hours a day. And just like chemical reactions in a laboratory, these internal chemical reactions need catalysts to facilitate and regulate them. Vitamins are organic chemical compounds that act as catalysts. Each has a specific function--from helping bone growth to maintaining healthy skin to assisting the cells in processing energy. Fall short in just one vitamin, and any number of vital functions that depend on that vitamin can be compromised.

Nutritionists divide the 13 essential vitamins into two groups based on their behavior in the body. Water-soluble vitamins--vitamin C and the eight B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, B₆, pantothenic acid, B₁₂, biotin and folate)--are short-lived, fast-acting compounds that are stored in the watery parts of body cells. But not for long. The body quickly puts these vitamins to work assisting cells in chemical reactions and energy processing, and usually excretes any excess.

Fat soluble vitamins--A, D, E and K--are found in the fatty parts of cells and regulate a wide variety of metabolic processes. They tend to be put in long-term storage and are then drawn upon as the body needs them.

While many studies have acknowledged vitamin intake as a factor in lowering the risk of chronic disease, several vitamins have been singled out for their ability to slow down or even prevent the onset of age-related diseases, like heart disease and cancer, and potentially slow the aging process itself. These vitamins--C, E and beta-carotene (a substance that the body converts to vitamin A)--are known as antioxidants for their ability to neutralize destructive oxygen-derived particles believed to initiate many disease processes.

Minerals Are Musts

From the earth we originally came, and from the earth we draw a variety of nutrients to keep ourselves in good working order.

Like vitamins, minerals help keep the body functioning. But unlike vitamins, they are inorganic and not metabolized by the body. Instead, they act more like building blocks, providing structure to bones and teeth, serving as major components in blood, skin and tissue and keeping our bodily fluids in balance.

There are two categories of minerals. The major minerals--calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium--are found in large quantities in the body and are abundant in food sources. We require large amounts of these minerals.

The trace minerals--chromium, copper, fluoride, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium and zinc--are found in much smaller amounts in our bodies and in our food, and as such, our daily requirements are lower.

Some minerals are stored in the body, on reserve to replace those we lose in our urine and sweat. If we don't replenish our mineral stores as rapidly as they are being depleted, we run the risk of developing such diseases as iron deficiency anemia and osteoporosis, two serious health problems that afflict millions of women.

A Woman's Nutritional Needs

Getting the right amount of these essential nutrients takes planning, and to make that task easier, the National Research Council's Food and Nutrition Board has established guidelines for vitamin and mineral consumption. They're called Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs).

RDAs are the amount of a nutrient judged to be adequate for the average healthy person. "Because the levels exceed the actual needs of most people, you can actually be below the RDAs for a nutrient but still be well above the deficiency level," says Paul R. Thomas, R.D., Ed.D., staff scientist with the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. "Falling short of the RDAs usually isn't dangerous, but if your vitamin and mineral intake is routinely some 20 to 30 percent below the RDAs, deficiency problems could develop over time."

That's great for the woman who wants to avoid anemia. But what if you want superior health? "A growing body of evidence indicates a direct link between increased longevity and improved overall health when certain vitamin and mineral intakes exceed the RDAs," says Dr. Blumberg. "This suggests that perhaps the RDAs are inadequate for the changing needs of the aging adult."

But even too much of a good thing can be bad. "Taken in extremely high doses, many vitamins and minerals can be toxic," cautions Diane Grabowski, R.D., nutrition educator at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Santa Monica, California. "They can interfere with the functioning of vital organs like the heart, liver or kidneys. Or they can produce any number of harmless but aggravating side effects such as heartburn, nausea or frequent urination."

Research is in the works to determine the exact levels of each vitamin and mineral needed for optimal health. Until such results are found, doctors say that your goal at the very least should be to shoot for 100 percent of the RDAs for every essential vitamin and mineral, especially if you lead an active life.

Food: Our Best Source

With the range of fresh and healthful foods available these days, most women shouldn't have that much trouble hitting 100% of their RDAs. "A well-balanced diet consisting of a variety of nutrient-rich foods will easily supply all the vitamins and minerals you need, probably even more," says Grabowski.

Here are some tips for getting the maximum vitamin and mineral content from the foods you eat--and for the least amount of calories.

Go for the basics. "Concentrate on eating from the five basic food groups--fruits, vegetables, lean meats and legumes, grains and cereals and low-fat or nonfat dairy products," says Grabowski. "If you eat a lot of snacks that are nutritionally inferior or junk food, you're just giving your body empty calories that are devoid of vitamins and minerals."

Focus on fruits and veggies. "You should eat a minimum of five good-size servings of fruits and vegetables every day," says Grabowski. "In most cases, the darkest or most vibrantly colored fruits and vegetables have the richest vitamin and mineral content." Color your diet with such perennial favorites as cantaloupe, oranges, peaches, tomatoes, spinach, yams and carrots. Also ask your greengrocer about some of the more exotic fruits and vegetables to add variety. Most tropical fruits are rich in vitamins.

Eat 'em raw or just-cooked. Cooking food draws out or destroys many vitamins and minerals, so whenever you can, try to eat fruits, vegetables and grains in their natural raw or unprocessed state or minimally cooked.

Don't boil. Boiling tends to leach out more minerals and vitamins from foods than other cooking methods, says Grabowski. "The less time spent in the oven, on the stove or surrounded by hot water, the better." She recommends steaming or microwaving.

Trap nutrients. Exposure to air can rob vitamins and minerals from food. So can sunlight when it penetrates glass bottles or cellophane wrap. Grabowski recommends using airtight, opaque containers. For long-term storage of foods or juices, try freezing. It keeps nutrients intact for a long time.

Watch out for medications. Certain drugs and over-the-counter medications can interfere with the body's vitamin and mineral stores. Aspirin, laxatives, diuretics, antibiotics, antidepressants and antacids can accelerate the excretion of some vitamins and minerals or impede their absorption. If you are taking any of these medications, consult your doctor before quitting or trying alternatives.

The Skinny on Supplements

If you think you might be falling short in your RDAs, seek out a health or nutrition professional who can evaluate your diet and tell you which nutrients you might need more of. But don't expect supplements to completely make up for poor eating habits--they won't. If you try supplements, taking levels in excess of the RDAs should be done only in consultation with a physician.

Here are some guidelines for selecting and using supplements.

Go multi. A safe and beneficial supplement would be a once-a-day-type multivitamin with minerals, says Grabowski. Such a supplement should contain a mixture of all or most of the essential vitamins and minerals and contain approximately 100% of the RDAs for each.

Take care with single supplements. In most cases, you probably don't need extra doses of specific vitamins and minerals if you are taking a multivitamin and eating right. Exceptions would be if you are under a doctor's treatment for a deficiency or if you are seeking antioxidant protection by taking extra vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene. Otherwise, avoid single supplements--especially vitamin A, vitamin D and iron, says Dr. Thomas. These nutrients are toxic in high doses and can result in such side effects as vomiting, hair loss, bone abnormalities, anemia, cardiovascular damage and liver and kidney failure.

Don't forget your calcium. Calcium is vital for bone strength and for staving off osteoporosis--the bone-thinning disease that creeps up on many women after menopause. But studies show that most women don't get enough--the recommended 800 milligrams a day before menopause and 1,000 milligrams a day thereafter. That's why calcium supplements are recommended for women as added protection against bone loss.

The most easily absorbed calcium supplements are those made with calcium citrate, says Margo Denke, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas Center for Human Nutrition and a member of the nutrition committee of the American Heart Association. They are more easily absorbed by the body than supplements made with calcium carbonate, she says. Calcium citrate can be found in some over-the-counter supplements or in calcium-fortified orange juices. Just check the labels.

But you may prefer to get your calcium from inexpensive over-the-counter antacid tablets made from calcium carbonate. It's best to take these with meals, says Clifford Rosen, M.D., director of the Maine Center for Osteoporosis Research and Education in Bangor. The acid your body produces when you eat will break down the calcium carbonate and allow it to be absorbed, he says.

Some antacid brands, such as Gelusil, Maalox and Mylanta, are not recommended for use as regular supplements, however, because they also contain aluminum. Your best choices are Tums or Rolaids--both aluminum-free.

Look into generics. Generic and store brands are typically comparable in quality to big-name brands, says Dr. Thomas. In fact, generics are often produced by the same manufacturers as the big-name brands but cost a lot less. Your pharmacist should be able to tell you if a generic is worthwhile.

Forget "super-supplements." You may see "high potency" or "extra strength" labels. These products typically contain levels of vitamins and minerals that greatly exceed the RDAs and may be hazardous, says Dr. Thomas. Or you may just end up excreting the excess, in which case you're wasting your money.

Say no to gimmicks. Phrases like "anti-stress formula" are bogus, says Dr. Thomas, and although "time-released" and "effervescent" are legitimate descriptors, in some supplements these qualities may not matter. For example, effervescence in calcium may be helpful but it is not needed in vitamin C. Check with your physician or nutritional professional.

A vitamin is a vitamin. Also ignore claims about natural or organic ingredients, says Dr. Thomas. There is no standard definition of natural. Some "natural" supplements, in fact, may contain mostly synthetic nutrients.

Avoid multiple dosages. If the label tells you to take more than one a day, check the total amount to see how it compares with the RDA. If it's way over, this may be a ploy to get you to shell out more money, Dr. Thomas says.

Pop 'em with a meal. As a general rule, supplements will be absorbed more efficiently by the body if they are taken during a meal rather than on an empty stomach, says Dr. Thomas. They will also break down better if they're taken with water or some other beverage.

Check the expiration date. When shopping for supplements, make sure an expiration date is on the label. If the date has passed or is just around the corner, find a bottle with a longer shelf life.

Keep 'em in a cool, dry place. Light, heat and moisture can rob supplements of their potency. Because of this, a kitchen cabinet, away from the heat of the stove, is probably a better place to keep your supplements than on the windowsill or in a bathroom medicine chest. The refrigerator is another good storage place. Try to use a non-transparent container. And always secure the cap tightly.