Zach BashoreJanuary 6, 2006 Multivitamins are a great way to get the daily recommended vitamin intake that cannot be obtained in your diet. Just take a pill and you have your daily needs in one easy swallow. Multivitamins are the most convenient way to get vitamins to your body that would otherwise be left out. You are going to learn what multivitamins do for the body and learn the deficiencies of not getting enough vitamins in your body. After reading this article, you should then understand why it is crucial to supplement with a multivitamin. Vitamins are food substances that assist essential biochemical reactions within your body. There are thirteen known vitamins divided between fat soluble and water soluble. Fat soluble stores in the body for months and come in the forms A,D,E, and K. Your body is able to store enough water soluble vitamins to only last a few weeks. The nine vitamins that are labeled water soluble are C, B1, B2, B6, niacin, folic acid, biotin, and pantothenic acid. If you are eating a healthy diet with lots of whole foods and the correct balance of proteins, fats, and carbs, you should be fine. However, if your diet is not so great, then you should consider investing in a basic multivitamin. There are many problems associated with not getting enough vitamins that it would take a book to fill. Some of the most basic signs of deficiency are a higher tendency to feel stressed and you may feel sick more often. Cigarette smoke also depletes vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin E, and selenium, so if you smoke, make sure that your multivitamin contains these ingredients. Bodybuilders mostly want vitamins for their muscle building and fat loss effect. However, 99% of the world`s population are not bodybuilders, but they should still take a multivitamin. Women of childbearing age, people over age 60, pregnant or breast feeding woman, strict vegetarians, people on weight loss diets, and anyone not eating a balanced diet, all benefit greatly from them. Even if you take a multivitamin, you still need to eat a healthy diet. Foods such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains provide fiber and many other antioxidants not found in any type of pill. Look for 100% of the daily value for vitamins such as vitamin D, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, folic acid, and at least 20 micrograms of vitamin K. A multivitamin should not cost you more than a few cents a day. You don`t need a fancy multivitamin to have a good body, just make sure you have one. Taking more that 100% of the daily value is not good for you. In fact, it is harmful because large doese of copper can interfere with the absortion of zinc and vice versa. Large doses of vitamin A and zinc are also harmful for your body and is worse for you than not taking one at all. I hope that you now understand the basics of multivitamins and will make an educated decision next time you go shopping for vitamins. Until next time.