HOW TO CHOOSE A MULTI-VITAMIN

Choosing a multivitamin isn't just a simple thing if you are really health conscious. The vitamin you choose must be right for your age, activity level, wellness or lack of wellness, diet and whether you are pregnant, perimenopausal or menopausal. It's all well and good to say ask your doctor for a prescription, but many doctors don't believe in supplementing for otherwise healthy people. Your doctor wants to believe you eat a sensible, well-balanced diet full of protein, veggies, fruit, fish oils, dairy, etc. and you hate to tell him about the days you grab a burger and fries for dinner. What can you do to be sure all your bases are covered?

You go to your pharmacy or health food store shopping for vitamins and the multitude of choices can make you dizzy. This article is going to direct you to a couple of tools that will you make a good vitamin choice.

You must always be careful when dosing yourself indiscriminately with vitamins. Too much vitamin A for example can cause serious liver damage. If you have too much vitamin D in your system, you might be causing yourself kidney damage. You have to know what you are putting in your body. And it might be a good idea after you choose a vitamin/mineral supplement to run it by your pharmacist if you take an assortment of medications it might interfere with.

The following advice is for adults in good health with no serious medical conditions and not pregnant.

Covering the Basics

Calcium - Most adults don't drink milk and may not eat much dairy. Lack of calcium results in weakened bones or osteoporosis. The recommended adult dose is about 1200 mg per day.

Vitamin D - People have gone overboard worrying about exposure to the sun, and as a result, aren't getting enough vitamin D. Ten minutes a day of sunshine should help. Vitamin D is important for calcium absorption. An average adult needs about 400 IU of vitamin D.

Fish Oil - Omega-3 fatty acids will help prevent cardiovascular disease. Fatty fish is the best dietary source of omega-3 fatty acids, though plants such as flax contain omega-3 fatty acids. Studies suggest that 0.5 to 1.8 grams of fish oil per day is an effective amount.

Folic Acid - Folate is a B vitamin and folic acid is the supplemental form of folate. It is found in green leafy vegetables, cirtrus fruit and legumes. It is recommended for any woman who may become pregnant. The recommended amount is 400 mcg per day.

Dietary Supplement Helpers

About.com provides a wonderful service by giving users the resource of "Dietary Supplement Helpers" for women, men and kids. You are asked a series of health-related questions, after which the tool tells you which additional supplements you may want to consider in addition to standard vitamin and mineral supplements.

About.com also suggests that you check with ConsumerLab.com before you shop for vitamins. They have created a data base of dietary supplements that have passed their tests for quality.

And another invaluable resource to check before you go out vitamin shopping is "What vitamins should I take" put together by Dr. Mehmet Oz, vice-chair and professor of surgery at Columbia University, better known as the Oprah doctor. He wrote the book on all of this, " YOU: The Owner's Manual: An Insider's Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger by Mehmet Oz and Michael F. Roizen (Hardcover - April 29, 2008). On Oprah.com he does something very nice by providing what he believes to be the correct amount of vitamins, minerals and other supplements for men and women. These groups are broken down by age into three groups of each. He not only tells you exactly what to take, but how to take it. For example, for calcium he cautions that you cannot absorb more than 600 mg at a time so you need to space out your dose. He also makes recommendations for those taking certain medications such as statins.

And you really would do well to shop for vitamins at a health food store rather than a drug store. The products are more likely to be high quality, and the clerks will be trained to answer any questions you may have. Don't forget to check the expiration date and get fresh vitamins.