Flintstones vitamins were introduced to the public in 1968, the same year Jeff and I were introduced to the public (born). Though it would be a few years before I came to appreciate Fred, Barney (no, not the purple dinosaur), Wilma, and Betty, vitamins have always been a part of my life. Flintstones added “gummies” vitamins a few years back but the concept remains the same, we all need vitamins and minerals to stay healthy, grow, convert food to energy, defend against infection, and stay sharp and strong.
At Fantasy Healthball, we encourge you to eat a healthy diet, which, by definition will be packed with vitamins and minerals. BUT, it won’t be enough. Most of us can’t eat a good, balanced, nutritious diet every breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day of the week. And even if we could, would we be certain we were getting enough of every single vitamin and mineral our body needs? Probably not. So we have the solution for you! Is it magic? Is it a shocking new discovery? Is it an ancient secret? No. It is simply called “taking your vitamins/minerals.”
Our next several blog posts will deal with the important facts you need to know about vitamins and minerals. We’ll leave out the extra stuff and the hardcore science and just give you what you need to know about this great way to improve your health.
We recommend a daily vitamin. There are all sorts of great options at your local grocery store, pharmacy, or health food store. Personally, I take two tablets a day (which is the serving size) of Trader Darwin’s High Potency Multiple Vitamin and Mineral Sustained Release Dietary Supplement from Trader Joe’s. If I’m feeling a cold coming on or if I’m about to be on an airplane or in a pre-school class, I might add their Zinc, Vitamin C 1000mg., and their Echinacea. We’ll talk about all these and many more.
First, what is the difference between a vitamin and a mineral? A vitamin is an organic (has carbon) compound your body needs in small amounts for good health. Minerals are inorganic elements (think iron or calcium) that your body needs to be healthy.
Vitamins can be divided into fat-soluble or water soluble. The fat-soluble vitamins (Vitamin A, E, D, and K) are stored in your body (mostly in fat tissues) and they don’t dissolve in water so you don’t necessarily need to get a supply of them every day. Water soluble vitamins (Vitamin C and all the B’s) can’t be stored for very long, they dissolve in water, and any excess is carried out of your body regularly. So you need a new supply daily. Each vitamin has a recommended daily amount shown on most packages as the % Daily Value, or how much that tablet has of each vitamin as a percentage of what is recommended in a day. For example, one serving size (2 tablets) of my Trader Darwin multiple vitamins has 5,000 IU of Vitamin A, which is 100% of the recommended daily value.
We’ll get into the recommended amounts in future posts. And we’ll fill you in on what you should know about all the vitamins and minerals. But for now, just know that the American diet leaves plenty of room for improvement! And one great way to improve it is to take a daily vitamin/mineral supplement. Whether it is a tablet, capsule, liquid, or gummy, we give it a Fantasy Healthball high five. More to come. — Jim Ballard
Subscribe to our RSS
