Taking the right vitamins for your requirements and goals

Following are guidelines on taking the right vitamins for your specific requirements and goals.

So, you have a specific health issue or goal. You go to a search engine and type in some appropriate search term and come upon a website which outlines a list of nutrients which can ostensibly help you meet your goal.

The list of supplements is long, perhaps a dozen or more nutrients.

What do you do to make certain that you end up taking the right supplements?

Do you just go out and purchase every nutrient on the list and just start downing them daily? Do you just go buy the cheapest ones and hope? Maybe you'll just get the ones with cute sounding names or that the media is trumpeting.

Those strategies just will not work. Even though vitamin supplementation is by and large safe, it is not always safe, for all people, at all times, suffering from all conditions.

A host of factors are involved in taking the right vitamins at the right times.

Certainly, it would not be wise to treat your body as if it's a human laboratory, pouring a stew of synthetic and natural supplements into the pot and stirring it up. It's your body, the only one you have.

There's a better tact than some random strategy.

Be smart. Get informed. Read on.

1) First, review the suggested supplements thoroughly. Read the rationales for their use, respective usefulness and cost. Everything matters. Make careful notes that you could refer to later on.

2) Consider the fit between specific supplements and your specific needs and goals. Some supplements may be a better fit for your particular purposes.

An example might be if you suffer from arthritis and cardiovascular problems. In that case, it might be wise to take fish oil supplements since they can address both arthritis and cardiac issues.

Certain supplements may not agree with you or might be injurious to you for whatever reason. Blood thinners, for example, are dangerous to take before an operation or if your doctor has prescribed medicine that thins blood.

3) Taking the right vitamins starts with buying a good multivitamin and taking it consistently. A good multivitamin may feature many of the nutrients you need, address other issues you are dealing with and provide a health insurance of sorts.

4) Purchase one or, at most, two of the supplements that seem to fit in with your needs and try them out for a few weeks. Assess their effects. Decide if you need to add another supplement to your protocol or supplant one supplement with another one.

5) If you're addressing your concerns with other lifestyle changes, as you should be, reevaluate your vitamin protocol. You may need other nutrients to address present needs or you might be able to eliminate some vitamins as your goals are met.

For example, if you are taking vitamins for hypertension and you begin to work out, the improved fitness and weight loss will bring down your high blood pressure. As that occurs you should reconsider your supplementation regimen.

6) For specific problems that run their course, you could begin tapering off as the condition is improved. For example, as cold and flu season end, you would begin tapering off from Goldenseal and Echinacea.

However, there are two necessary cautions here.

First, you should not abruptly cease taking some nutrient. Gradually decrease daily dosage. See if your condition remains improved and then quit taking supplement.

Secondly, unless you reside in a pristine environment, eat only all-natural organic foods, workout avidly and have a stress-free existence, you can surely benefit from some supplementation.

A good multivitamin and a little supplemental Vitamin C, some antioxidants and minerals, could go a long way to keeping you healthy and happy for a long time to come.

7) Reevaluate your previous issues a little while after you stop taking targeted supplements. Has your condition come back and perhaps worsened? Are you feeling well with no return calls from your nemesis?

The above strategy should assure you are taking the right vitamins for your requirements helping to assure a longer, healthier, happier life ahead.

About the Author:
Salvator Giustra is a Health Researcher who has written extensively on supplementation. For more on vitamin supplementation, visit Taking vitamins and supplements.