When we think about our health and wellness, some of the obvious things that come to mind are eating a well-balanced diet, getting regular exercise, reducing alcohol and sugar etc. We mainly associate being healthy with eating healthy, but what if that very thing that we thought we were doing right, was actually full of flaws? That’s right, our so-called “healthy diet” itself has numerous issues in terms of fulfilling the body’s nutritional needs. Our body needs a large variety of minerals, nutrients, vitamins and bacteria to function on an optimal level. The typical North American diet consists of overly processed, nutrient-poor low-density foods that leave our system feeling empty. In fact, about 3/4ths of the North American population has a diet that is extremely low in vegetables, fruits, and healthy fats. This means that most of us are missing out on super important nutrients for maintaining healthy skin, good eyesight, strong bones and keeping our immune system strong. What’s even more concerning is individuals who think they are indeed eating a well-balanced diet, are found to be deficient in Vitamins A, D, E, K, and minerals such as Magnesium, Calcium, Iron and Zinc. Interestingly enough, Calcium in our bodies will not be absorbed if we lack Vitamin D3! There are numerous vitamins and nutrients in our bodies that rely on one another and if you’re deficient in one, you’re most likely to be deficient in the other(it becomes a vicious circle). But you may be reading this and thinking why does it even matter?
You may feel healthy and even think these things don’t apply to you, but in the long term, these nutritional gaps in our diets do indeed affect us all! If you think about all the times you have felt fatigued without explanation, lacked mental clarity, low on energy or motivation, you would be surprised to think that these things can be a result of your body lacking nutrients that are essential to these functions. Here’s one way to put things into perspective; in order to get the daily recommended amount of Iron, an individual would have to eat a 12 once a steak, every day! Or how about Vitamin D? One of the most essential vitamins to human life would require an astounding 14 egg yolks, for a full-recommended daily dosage. Calcium of course is another important one, and to get a full daily recommended serving would require you to drink 3 glasses of milk a day (at 240 ml each). Of course, this is strictly looking at the facts from a single food source and is a bit extreme, but to put things into perspective, this is how much variety our diet requires to be able to obtain all of those essential nutrients. With today's busy lifestyle and a lot of us always being on the go, these are some of the things we don’t think much about or even really truly have time for. For those reasons alone, this is where supplementation with a solid daily Multi-Vitamin comes in handy. Multi-Vitamins are formulated to help individuals fill those nutritional gaps caused by poor diet choices, lower quality food products as well as dietary imbalances that individuals may not know they have. These supplements are generally comprised of carefully clinically calculated vitamin requirements for individuals based on activity levels, age and gender. So for every type of lifestyle out there, there’s a matching Multi-Vitamin formula for you! In addition to a general Multi-Vitamin, adding in extra individual vitamins and minerals to your supplementation plan is a great idea! For instance, many Multi-Vitamin formulas do not contain your full daily dosage of things like Vitamin D3, Calcium, Vitamin C and Magnesium. For these particular ones, its always a great idea to get an additional source such as standalone Vitamin D3 capsules or drops that are a minimum of 1,000 us a serving, Vitamin C capsules or tabs that are a minimum of 1,000 mg, and Magnesium tablets that are minimum 250-300 mg per serving (you may require more depending on your activity and perspiration levels as an athlete). Always check the label of the product you are purchasing to make sure it's well-dosed to your specific needs and is overall balanced in ingredients. Some of the tops recommended Multi-Vitamins on the market today are listed below based on full-spectrum nutritional coverage, potency and specificity:
You may feel healthy and even think these things don’t apply to you, but in the long term, these nutritional gaps in our diets do indeed affect us all! If you think about all the times you have felt fatigued without explanation, lacked mental clarity, low on energy or motivation, you would be surprised to think that these things can be a result of your body lacking nutrients that are essential to these functions. Here’s one way to put things into perspective; in order to get the daily recommended amount of Iron, an individual would have to eat a 12 once a steak, every day! Or how about Vitamin D? One of the most essential vitamins to human life would require an astounding 14 egg yolks, for a full-recommended daily dosage. Calcium of course is another important one, and to get a full daily recommended serving would require you to drink 3 glasses of milk a day (at 240 ml each). Of course, this is strictly looking at the facts from a single food source and is a bit extreme, but to put things into perspective, this is how much variety our diet requires to be able to obtain all of those essential nutrients. With today's busy lifestyle and a lot of us always being on the go, these are some of the things we don’t think much about or even really truly have time for. For those reasons alone, this is where supplementation with a solid daily Multi-Vitamin comes in handy. Multi-Vitamins are formulated to help individuals fill those nutritional gaps caused by poor diet choices, lower quality food products as well as dietary imbalances that individuals may not know they have. These supplements are generally comprised of carefully clinically calculated vitamin requirements for individuals based on activity levels, age and gender. So for every type of lifestyle out there, there’s a matching Multi-Vitamin formula for you! In addition to a general Multi-Vitamin, adding in extra individual vitamins and minerals to your supplementation plan is a great idea! For instance, many Multi-Vitamin formulas do not contain your full daily dosage of things like Vitamin D3, Calcium, Vitamin C and Magnesium. For these particular ones, its always a great idea to get an additional source such as standalone Vitamin D3 capsules or drops that are a minimum of 1,000 us a serving, Vitamin C capsules or tabs that are a minimum of 1,000 mg, and Magnesium tablets that are minimum 250-300 mg per serving (you may require more depending on your activity and perspiration levels as an athlete). Always check the label of the product you are purchasing to make sure it's well-dosed to your specific needs and is overall balanced in ingredients. Some of the tops recommended Multi-Vitamins on the market today are listed below based on full-spectrum nutritional coverage, potency and specificity:
• HD Muscle – Vita HD Essential Health Multi-Vitamin
HD Muscle is held in reputation for their purity of ingredients and overall quality of the products they create. This is a general daily multivitamin that can be taken by both men and women of any activity level. It is one of the few multivitamins on the market that actually contains a high level of Vitamin K2 (which an essential vitamin in the body for cardiac health as well as healthy blood formation and function). It also contains an impressive immune-boosting formula as well as plenty of B vitamins for metabolic health and function.
• Universal Nutrition - Animal Pak
Universal Nutrition has done an amazing job of taking every aspect of essential health and wrapping it into a small packet for you to take daily. This Multi-Vitamin is more tailored to the nutritional demands of athletes and high-performing individuals. Its 2-a-day packets come complete with an impressive Amino Acid profile for the essential Amino Acids the body needs for recovery. It also has a great additional performance blend that contains higher dosages of certain minerals and botanicals to support healthy organ function (lungs, liver, heart) that comes with high-demand athletics.
• Allmax Nutrition – Vitafom (For Men and Women)
Vita form from Allmax Nutrition was designed specifically for the unique nutritional requirements of Women and Men. Available in a formula for men and in a formula for women, these multi-vitamins are full spectrum for overall health and vitality. Each formula contains the key nutrients that are specific for either men or women, along with a general vitamin and mineral complex that is required to sustain a healthy lifestyle. Vita form for women comes with a specially formulated combination of vitamins and herbs to sustain healthy ovaries and estrogen production, while Vita form for men is formulated to aid in healthy testosterone production and prostate health.
These products and more are all available on our online supplement website (www.mysupplements.ca) and be sure to check out our entire collection of Vitamins and Essentials to help you stay your healthiest!
Always advise your physician on any additional vitamins or minerals you wish to add to your lifestyle to ensure you are correctly fuelling your body!
