Vitamins are substances that are necessary in order for your body to perform vital functions such as growth and digestion. According to the Food and Drug Administration, in most cases, dietary sources supply all the nutrients you need, but in some circumstances, adding vitamin supplements may help prevent the occurrence of some health problems. Consult your doctor before taking anything other than the normal recommended dosage of any particular vitamin. Some vitamins, if taken in megadoses, can be toxic.
Folate and Neural Tube Defects
Folate is one of the B vitamins that occur naturally in foods such as beans, leafy green vegetables and orange juice. Folic acid is a form of folate that rarely is found in foods, but is widely available as a vitamin supplement. As it turns out, folic acid is easier for your body to utilize, at least when consumed on an empty stomach.
Neural tube defects are spinal and cranial abnormalities that develop in a fetus during the first few weeks after conception. These defects can be fatal. According to the March of Dimes, by taking 400 mcg of folic acid daily, a woman can decrease the risk of neural tube defects in her unborn child. In order for the vitamin to be effective, it must be taken even before pregnancy occurs, and throughout the first month after conception.
Vitamin D and Fractures
It's called the sunshine vitamin, but as you age, your body may be less able to gather adequate amounts of vitamin D from exposure to sunlight alone. Vitamin D deficiency is related to bone thinning, and serious vitamin D deficiencies result in a bone mineralization disorder called osteomalacia.
Dr. Steven Gallacher of Scotland's Southern General Hospital states that taking a vitamin D supplement can increase a person's bone density by 20 percent in just a few months and that a nationwide policy of vitamin D supplementation could decrease incidence of fracture in the elderly by 30 to 50 percent.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Macular degeneration is a disorder of the eye wherein a person's central vision becomes less acute. The decrease in ability to perceive fine details can be slight at first, but can gradually progress to a complete loss of vision. The disease is age related and is most common in those over 60. Smoking, obesity, race, gender and family history all contribute to your risk of having macular degeneration.
Recent advances point to the effectiveness of specific vitamins in warding off advanced cases of advanced macular degeneration, or AMD. According to the National Eye Institute, a specific formulation of vitamins, containing 500 mg of vitamin C, 400 I.U. of vitamin E, 15 mg of beta-carotene, 80 mg of zinc oxide, and 2 mg of cupric oxide was found to reduce the risk of advanced age-related macular degeneration, but did not benefit those in the early stages of the disease.
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