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Your Daily Dose of Vitamins
5 Ways to Increase Vitamin Intake
By Donna Smith
What you eat can have a profound affect on how you look and feel. We have 5 simple ways you can increase your daily vitamin intake for a healthier, happier and more energetic you.
Think you eat a pretty balanced diet rich in vitamins? The fact is you may not be getting as many vitamins a day as you think. According to Monica C. Montag, a certified nutritionist and founder of Be Well Associates, our foods may not be as nutritious as they once were.
"Our food has become less nutritious due to the changes in soil quality, as high-volume agricultural practices have leached the nutrients from the soil," Montag says. "This, combined with busy lifestyles, means most people do not get the amount of vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables that are needed to offset the effects of air, water and electromagnetic pollution to which we are all exposed."
Christina Pirello, author of Glow: A Prescription to Natural Radiant Health (H.P. Books, 2001), Cooking the Whole Foods Way (H.P. Books, 1997) and Cook Your Way to the Life You Want (H.P. Books, 1999), and host of the PBS television series, Christina Cooks, agrees. "We live in a time when our food supply is compromised by pollution, irradiation, pesticides and their runoff," she says. "Even organic foods are grown under conditions that are more compromised as a result of pollution. So you might want to consider supplementing."
Taking a daily vitamin is a simple way to up your vitamin count. However, Pirello points out that supplements are "pretty personal," and "if you eat well and feel well most of the time, you most likely don't need to supplement." She suggests if you do take vitamins, to treat them like any other medicine. "Take them for a few weeks and then give your body a rest so that it can glean your nutrients from your food."