Can vitamin supplements be bad for your health?

Question
I have no problem with my diet. I'm not fat nor skinny. You could say I eat whatever I want without having to think twice about it. There's one thing that has been bothering me though. I don't eat fruits very often. So, I know I'm not consuming all the vitamins I should or at least the required amount. I was thinking if I eat Centrum vitamins, would that be a good idea? I know it cannot replace fruits but at least I would be getting more vitamins that I usually do. What would be a better choice for vitamin supplements other than Centrum?

Also, I think I remember reading an article about eating vitamins supplements beeing not so healthy for you health. Is that true or am I confusing things?

Thanks

Answer
Kew,

Vitamins can be bad for your health but only because you rely on them instead of real foods and research showed time after time that real foods are much better for your health. The reason for foods supremacy turns out every time to be in some new ingredient or a combination that the researchers were not aware before. Let me give you an example.

Some time ago, there was a sensational news about calcium effects of weight loss. All looked good but only calcium supplements didn't seem to be working although yogurt having the same amount of calcium worked very well. On the other hand, research showed the benefits of CLA supplements for reducing body fat percent. Guess what food has lots of CLA? Right, diary!

Now, about your fruits. They are good not only because of vitamins, but maybe even more importantly, because of so called phytonutrients that are often protect you from heart disease and even some kinds of cancer.

Read more about this:

Vitamins: what's missing?
http://atkinszone.com/did-you-know/2008/09/antioxidants-vitamins-minerals-whats....

What are functional foods?
http://atkinszone.com/faq/2008/10/what-is-typical-example-of-functional.html

Substitute for grapefruit?
http://atkinszone.com/faq/2007/12/q-with-dr-zilberter.html

Power foods: Health benefits of almonds, broccoli, and red wine
http://atkinszone.com/recipes/2008/10/power-foods.html

CLA
http://atkinszone.com/did-you-know/2008/08/cla-supplements.html
http://atkinszone.com/faq/2008/02/balanced-diet-and-abdominal-fat.html

Tanya Zilberter

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