We are always hearing that you should get your nutrients from a 'good, well balanced diet', but, surveys consistently show that large sectors of Western population fall short on the requirements for many key nutrients.

Amongst today's stress driven, nutrient sparse and increasingly convenience food based lifestyles, the need for a control over our basic intake of nutrients - (ie the nutrients we need to help prevent illness from nutrient deficiency like scurvy, beriberi, pellagra, rickets etc) is becoming more and more necessary.

We find ourselves constantly facing factors that act as 'nutrient robbers' of our most basic nutrient groups depleted by poor food choices, sustained lifestyle factors like nicotine and alcohol, stress and over/under exercising. All of these factors can have a dramatic effect on our baseline levels and thus can affect our health over a period of time.

Here is a list of the dietary and lifestyle factors, which have been shown to have a significant negative effect on the way our bodies use the nutrients it gets from supplementation and/or diet. They are commonly known as 'anti-nutrients' as the body uses up more of its nutrient reserves assimilating them than it gets from them...a somewhat downward spiral long term!

Drinking large quantities of tap water

Eating Non Organic food

Eating a diet based on fried food

Consuming high levels of alcohol

Eating a diet based around significant levels of fast or refined foods

Excessive tea or coffee intake

Also consider the following

Spending significant time in traffic or in polluted areas

High levels of stress

Taking anti-biotics or painkillers for a sustained period of time

Smoking

Eating food or micro-waving food in soft plastic containers

All of these factors can increase the need for nutrients in the body or exacerbate the excretion of nutrients from the body and are therefore classed as anti-nutrients. If this is you, then supplementation may help, but it is no substitute for adjustments to diet and lifestyle factors.

Taking a good quality multiple vitamin and mineral supplement on a daily basis which provides all of the known vitamins and minerals (see below) can serve as a strong foundation on which to build a new and balanced dietary regime.

Many nutritionists believe that even healthy people can benefit from a multi formula as an 'insurance' against possible deficiency - given the enormous differences in bio-individuality that make us unique and the varied mechanisms within the body of vitamin and mineral actions, supplementation with a basic regime centred around a multi seems to make sense and is widely accepted by therapists and clinicians.

As a general rule of thumb, the following content in multi vitamin and mineral formulations may go a long way to providing baseline nutrient levels and protection against deficiencies
A good quality multivitamin and mineral should contain at least:

7500ius of Vitamin A

400ius of Vitamin D

100ius of Vitamin E

300-500mg of Vitamin C

50mg of each of the B vits - B1, B2, B3, B5 and B6

10mcg of B12

50mcg of Biotin

400mcg of Folic Acid

Many people would also benefit from a formulation that contains good levels of Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Zinc and Manganese which are all often deficient in a classic Western diet.

We feature many complex Multi Vitamin and Mineral formulations in our online shop. To the right is a small selection, each of our main brand categories will feature a multi selection for more information and choice.