1. Do I really need?

First and foremost, nutritional needs must be met by eating a variety of food as it says in the Executive Summary of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

In some cases, vitamin / mineral supplements or fortified foods may be useful because they provide nutrients that would otherwise be eaten in smaller quantities than recommended.

If you ingest quantities of food that are recommended supplements may not give you more benefits. In some cases, supplements and fortified foods may cause beyond healthy levels of nutrients.

(Note: fortified foods are those which are added one or more essential nutrients to increase the nutritional value.)

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, these recommendations have been established for certain groups of people:

* Persons over 50 years of age should consume vitamin B12 in its crystalline form, such as from fortified foods (such as fortified breakfast cereals) or take it as a supplement.

(Note: Adults and older often have a reduced ability to absorb vitamin B12 from food. However, crystalline vitamin B12, the type used in supplements and fortified foods is absorbed more easily.)

* Women of childbearing age who may become pregnant and young adolescents should eat foods that are sources of heme iron (eg meat) and / or to eat plants that have lots of iron (such as dried beans or spinach) or food fortified with iron (such as fortified cereals) with a source of vitamin C. Look here for a list of foods with iron.

* Also, women of childbearing age who may become pregnant and who are already pregnant should consume enough folic acid every day synthetic (from fortified foods or supplemental) and a diet that has a variety of foods that have folate.

* Older adults, people with dark skin and people are not much in the sun should consume extra vitamin D from fortified foods and / or supplements.

It is important to note that vitamin / mineral supplements are no substitute for a healthy diet. Remember that in addition to vitamins and minerals, foods contain hundreds of natural substances that help protect your health.

Here are some questions that the Food and Drug Administration of USA (FDA) recommends that you do and discuss with your doctor when you consider whether you should take a vitamin / mineral supplements:

* Do you eat fewer than 2 meals per day?

* Do you have a limited diet? How to be, do not eat meat, or milk or milk products, or eat less than five servings of fruits or vegetables each day?

* Do you eat alone most of the time?

* Inadvertently, you’ve lost or gained more than 10 books in the last 6 months?

* Do you drink three or more prescription drugs or without prescriptions each day?

* Do you drink three or more drinks of alcohol each day?