- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- recipes today articles
- recipes today q&a
- community & groups
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
From Our Sponsors
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Your Daily Dose of Vitamins
5 Ways to Increase Vitamin Intake
By Donna Smith
Pirello agrees. "Take a walk outside every day – in any weather, sun, rain, snow, sleet – just like the postman."
Be sure to use sunscreen to protect yourself while out and about. "I like to use a morning face moisturizer that has SPF 15 right in it," Montag says. And even if you're inside most of the day, don't forget the sunscreen. "The truth is that working under fluorescent lights exposes us to twice the UV radiation as being outdoors. So even if you do not go outside, wear that sunscreen!" she says.
Pirello agrees with the importance of sunscreen, but says that many experts disagree. "Some say sunscreen all the time on our faces and some say that 15 minutes without sunscreen makes for better (vitamin D) absorption," she says. "I think enough of our skin is exposed to the sun that we can safeguard our faces with sunscreen."
While vitamin-fortified products are an easy way to increase daily intake, both Montag and Pirello say whole foods are better choices. "I have rarely seen a product that is vitamin enriched that was whole and unprocessed, but they do exist," Pirello says. "Whole, natural foods don't require enriching as nature has done that for them. Usually foods that are enriched have been stripped of their naturally occurring nutrients and re-enriched."
Montag says that vitamin-enriched food are overrated. "Even calcium-fortified orange juice has too much sugar to be worth the vitamins," she says. "A better option is to eat oranges and get the calcium from the dairy products and the leafy greens on boney fish." She says to be leery of iron-fortified foods as well. "So many grains are now iron-fortified that is quite a rise in hemochromatosis, or excess iron in the blood, a great risk factor for heart disease," she says. "The irony is that 'fortified foods' are really whole grains that have been stripped of about 30 vitamins and minerals and have about nine added back in – is this really an improvement?"