Vitamins & Supplements: Expert Guides and Resources

There are more than 80,000 supplements on the shelves of supermarkets, drug stores, big box stores, and online websites and retailers. It’s a huge business worth close to $177 billion worldwide. Choosing the right vitamins, minerals, herbs, or botanicals to buy and consume is important because you want them to be a healthy addition to your food intake and lifestyle.

Your mom may not be giving you chewable vitamins with your breakfast anymore, but that doesn't mean you can just forget about them! Following a daily program of taking supplements and eating nutrient-dense foods is vital for maintaining your health and getting the vitamins and minerals your body needs to stay healthy.

Many people don’t have enough vitamin D, and are unaware of its many benefits. Scientists are discovering new possible roles for this important nutrient almost daily. If you think you have enough vitamin D in your body, you may be in for a surprise. What is vitamin D? A vitamin is defined as an essential nutrient that a living being must acquire in tiny amounts from the diet.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the United States. Some scientists think vitamin D may help protect against prostate cancer. Prostate cancer generally occurs in men over the age of 50; however, it is slow growing in most men and takes a lifetime to develop. Prostate cancer has been found in the prostate gland of more than 80 percent of men over the age of 70 who died from an entirely unrelated disease.

Pancreatic cancer generally has a poor prognosis because of its location in relation to other critical organs. Studies suggest that vitamin D may play an important role in fending off pancreatic cancer. The pancreas has two major functions: Producing hormones, insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin to control the glucose (sugar) in the body Producing enzymes that go into the small intestine and help to break down food into particles that the body can absorb Most of the pancreas lies behind the stomach, as shown in the following diagram.

Teeth aren’t exactly bones, but they’re made up of similar tissues and are subject to the same problems bones may have. Vitamin D deficiency, including the conditions of rickets and osteomalacia, also can affect teeth. Exploring the normal development of teeth Humans develop two different sets of teeth: The baby, or primary, teeth begin to erupt from the gums at six months of age, which any parent knows is a painful time called teething.

Doctors diagnose osteoporosis by performing a bone densitometry test, which measures the amount of mineral per square centimeter of bone. The areas studied in a bone densitometry study are usually the lumbar spine and the upper part of the hip. The test takes about ten minutes to complete. The bone density correlates fairly well with the tendency of a bone to fracture.

Ovarian cancer may arise in the ovaries, oval-shaped organs found in pairs in the female reproductive system. Studies suggest that vitamin D plays a role in preventing and treating ovarian carcinoma. In 2009, about 21,550 cases were diagnosed and 14,600 women died of ovarian cancer in the United States. Ovarian cancer is usually a cancer of women older than age 60.