Poor diet and nutrition is a major cause of the increase in conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and strokes. In today's fast paced life lack of time means that many people don't get regular healthy meals. A lunchtime meeting at the office may mean 5 minutes to quickly down a sandwich while checking emails. Late home from work, children to take care of and a million other distractions dinner may mean take always or easy pre prepared food from the supermarket.

Obesity has become more common with about 2 in 5 adults being overweight and about 1 in 5 adults diagnosed as being obese in the UK. Poor diet and nutrition as well as exercise has a large part to play in this and people are advised to eat at least 5 portions of fruit and veg a day.

A healthy diet rich in plenty of fruit and vegetables is great providing you with essential fibre and nutrients, however just how many vitamins and minerals are you getting from your diet?

Each day your body needs 60 minerals, 15 vitamins and 12 essential amino acids. Without these the body is susceptible to a whole range of illnesses.

A hundred years ago eating an apple was a great way to get your daily dose of vitamin C, but today eating an apple bought from your local supermarket may be almost completely devoid of any vitamins.

The level of nutrients in our food has gradually decreased over the years and is 50% less than it was 50 years ago. This is due in part to modern farming methods. Crops are being grown in soils that contain very few nutrients including trace minerals. Also many fruits and vegetables are imported from other countries and picked before they're ripe, then transported long distances before being stacked on supermarket shelves.

As a result many vitamins and minerals are lost before we even get them home. Many people tend to do a weekly shop due to busy lifestyles instead of buying fresh produce each day.Vegetables and fruits are often stored in fridges and vegetable racks at home for days before being cooked and eaten. This means even more nutrients are lost.

A study has found that spinach contains 60% less iron than 50 years ago,and runner beans that used to contain large amounts of sodium hardly have a trace of it today. Sodium is vital for muscle and nerve tissue.

Chemicals are also added to our food. Fertilizers and pesticides are used in farming, and fruit is often sprayed with chemicals to help ripening after they have been picked.

Taking a good quality vitamin and nutritional supplement is the only way to ensure that you are meeting your nutritional daily requirements.

The health shops and supermarkets are stacked full of different vitamin tablets, but which one do you choose? Do you know what vitamin or trace mineral you're deficient in? You don't!

The best type of vitamin and nutritional supplement to take is a multi vitamin one, to ensure that you are getting all the required vitamins and minerals. Vitamins in tablet form are very hard to digest and only about 20% is absorbed into the body, also tablets are usually bulked out with fillers and binders

Liquid or gel capsule formulation is best and about 90%-98% is absorbed into the body this way. Liquid vitamin supplements are also three to five times more concentrated than vitamin pills and this leads to higher bio-activity and greater therapeutic benefits.