3 Ways Vitamins Help Fight Disease

There are many benefits to maintaining a healthy body that extend beyond the gym. Adequate nutrition is one key factor, but we’re not simply talking about making better food choices or minding your portion sizes, although that is helpful, too. 

The foods we eat contain a variety of vitamins and minerals that are essential to your health and well-being. So, “Eat your vitamins to fight disease” is actually sound advice. Yet, just as your food choices are not created equally, so are the vitamins you take. Vitamins do more than help you maintain health, though. They also help you fight disease in many ways, including heart health, nerve disorders and bone disease.

Fish Oil for Heart Health

Many health providers and healthcare specialists continue to recommend fish oil for patients with coronary artery disease. Fish oil is a great source of heart healthy omega 3s. According to the Mayo Clinic, omega 3 fatty acids, commonly found in certain kinds of fish, decrease your triglycerides, blood pressure, and your risk for blood clots. It also helps reduce your chances of stroke, heart failure, and irregular heart beats, but this dietary supplement isn’t for everyone.

Some people experience “fishy” burps when supplementing fish oil in pill form, but this is usually a minor effect. If this is a problem for you, another way to benefit from the omega 3s is increasing the amount of omega 3-rich foods in your diet. Good examples of foods rich in omega 3s include the following.

• Canned, light tuna fish

• Cod

• Herring

• Lake trout

• Mackerel

• Salmon

• Sardines

Is there proof in the omega 3 pudding that it’s good for heart health? Absolutely! A recent study by the American Heart Association determined that while the effects of using fish oil for heart patients was modest, even a small improvement in reducing risks associated with coronary heart disease justified the treatment.

As mentioned earlier, fish oil is not for everyone. If you have diabetes mellitus or pre-diabetes, fish oil might not be the best option. It’s also not recommended for the prevention of stroke. So, always check with your provider before starting a vitamin supplement.

Nix Nerve Disorders

If you’re heart is healthy, but your nerves are tingle and burn, talk with your ‘doc.’ Sometimes a deficiency in vitamin B-12 leads to nerve and other health problems. You don’t often think about the B vitamins when you think of vitamin deficiencies and disease-fighting power. That’s because most people get ample B vitamins through the daily diet, but that’s not true for everyone. People who have had stomach surgery, such as gastric bypass, for example. Yet, other things can cause it as well, such as poor diet, a strict vegetarian diet, Crohn’s disease or celiac disease, taking antacids and heartburn medication for a prolonged period, and more. You’ll need a blood test to determine whether you have a deficiency.

If you do have a vitamin B-12 deficiency, adjustments to your diet or adding a vitamin supplement can help. Vitamin B-12 deficiency can lead to nerve disorders, fatigue, irregular heart beats and more. So, which foods should you eat to boost your vitamin B-12 intake? We’re glad you asked.

Foods rich in vitamin B-12 include meat, poultry, eggs, shellfish to name a few. Some people, such as those who’ve had gastric bypass, may not be able to get their recommended B-12 from their food. That’s because gastric bypass is a malabsorption diet. In cases such as these, your provider may recommend taking a vitamin supplement to increase your B-12 levels and improve your health. In more severe cases of B-12 deficiency, an injection may be necessary to get you back on track. Your medical provider can tell you which makes the most sense for you.

Fight Bone Disease

An estimated 54 million Americans suffer from bone disease, such as osteoporosis or low bone mass according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. That was based on a 2014 study. It’s estimated that factors contributing to the problem continue at the current rate, another 10 million Americans will be added to that number in 2020. Bone disease leads to your bones fracturing, pain, mobility issues and more.

Although there is no cure for bone diseases like osteoporosis, there are things that you can do to prevent them and boost your overall bone health. Ensuring that you’re getting enough calcium in your diet is a great place to start. So, just how much calcium is enough? If you’re under age 50 or male, experts recommend that you get 1,000 mg of calcium daily. Women over 50, however, have different needs and should increase this to 1,200 mg daily.

Most people get the right amount of vitamins and minerals from the foods they eat, but this doesn’t apply to everyone. Whether it’s due to a medical condition, your age or body composition, or something else, supplementing with vitamins is sometimes necessary. Don’t fall behind on adequate and essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs for optimal health. When you fall behind on this, you risk running into a wall of health problems.

There are many diseases and disorders that vitamins help protect you against. Health experts recommend getting the vitamins from the foods you eat as the best source. However, this isn’t always possible for everyone. Sometimes, depending on your situation, the best way to get proper nutrition, you must supplement, which means finding a good place online or offline to buy your vitamins. Before beginning any dietary supplement, though, talk to your doctor to determine your needs.