Advertisements and commercials praise their benefits. Store shelves are lined with endless varieties to choose from. Family members and friends take them. Should you be including vitamin and mineral supplements in your daily routine, too?

While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to nutrition, there are many benefits to taking a multivitamin/mineral supplement.

Here are our top 4 reasons why you should consider adding a vitamin/mineral supplement to your daily routine:Vitamins and minerals are essential for growth, vitality, and health.

1. Vitamins and minerals are essential for growth, vitality, and health.
   There’s no way around it: vitamins and minerals are essential for optimal human nutrition. Most cannot be manufactured in our bodies—which is why they’re called “essential”—so they need to be obtained either through the diet or supplements

2. Supplements can’t replace a healthy diet, but they’re an easy way to ensure your body receives the daily minimum requirements for nutrients it needs to function properly.
   

   Of course, a person cannot survive on supplements alone – they don’t provide the energy (calories) we need to survive. Instead, we obtain calories from the food we eat – carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

   Certain vitamins and minerals aid in metabolism by helping convert the food we eat into more metabolically useful forms. In this way, they help speed up specific chemical reactions that would proceed very slowly, if not at all, without vitamins.

3. Supplements can help prevent vitamin and mineral deficiencies from occurring.
   

   Many of us lead very busy, active, stressful lives. Unfortunately, we do not always eat as well as we would like. Failing to eat a nutrient-rich, balanced diet can contribute to vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Deficiencies can lead to a variety of health problems depending on what is lacking in the diet.

   This is really the “insurance” concept of vitamin supplement use: it is a good idea to have a daily basic regimen of nutritional supplements so that the effects of a stressful lifestyle—namely, poor eating habits—do not have a negative impact on your health.

   Not sure which supplements you might need? Talk to your healthcare practitioner for a personalized recommendation.

4. Supplements can be incredibly helpful during life transitions.
   There are many stages in a person’s life when supplementation is helpful. Stress, pregnancy, aging, childhood and even weight loss are all events that may warrant supplementation (under your doctor’s guidance, of course).

Overall, vitamins and minerals are essential for vitality and wellness. Adding a supplement to your daily routine can be used as a preventative approach to maintain and improve your health.

As always, be sure to talk to your healthcare provider before starting any new supplementation regimen! They will help you find the right solution customized to your health needs.

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