Vitamin Supplements for Preventive Health

Taking a megadose of vitamins for preventive health is stillbeing researched. There are hopes that certain vitamins will beproven to prevent certain diseases and disorders fromdeveloping. Yet, there are many in the medical community whobelieve that vitamin supplementation will never take the placeof modern medicine, and "miracle"statements will never be madeabout vitamins. However, what cannot be disputed are the medicinal propertiesfound in vitamins, and more specifically in antioxidants.Antioxidant vitamins include vitamin C, vitamin E, andbeta-carotene--which is a compound of vitamin A. Mineralantioxidants include manganese, zinc and selenium. These antioxidants work together to protect the body from freeradical damage. While it is virtually impossible to rid the bodyof all oxidative stressors, antioxidants work as a team togreatly defend the human body and boost the immune system.Vitamin C protects proteins in the body, while vitamin Eprotects the fat in cell membranes. Beta-carotene protects ourbodies from free radicals which are formed by ultraviolet light.Selenium enzymes station themselves close to the energyproducing part of our cells, while zinc stands guard and stopsfree radicals which may have slipped by unnoticed by the otherantioxidants.Why are these combination of antioxidant vitamins important?There is an array of diseases which are thought to be connectedto free radicals. These diseases can include heart disease,arthritis, cataracts, cancer, and even early onset aging. It isthought if individuals have a high intake of these vitamins thatit can greatly lower their chances of acquiring one of thesediseases or disorders, or slow down the degenerative process. The problem with stating that a specific vitamin has stopped theformation of a disease is that we do not know if the diseasewould have occurred in the individual if he or she was nottaking them. It is pure speculation. Therefore, vitaminsupplementation should be looked at as health insurance for thebody, as science will probably never say it is a "cure" for manyillness and disease. Yet, we do know that vitaminsupplementation does prevent deficiency diseases, such asscurvy. Only time and research will unravel the mystery ofvitamin supplementation for preventive health.For more information about Vitamin Supplements, visithttp://www.MamasHealth.com