The scientific researcher, Marian Neuhouser has produced factual evidence that vitamins were of no use when compared with eating at least  five servings of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis.   The latter proved to be more beneficial to the health of the women. The report stated that about 42% of 161,808 women using multivitamins regularly after eight years of usage as compared with non users of multivitamins showed no deterrent in the differences in health risks. 

Supplements to your everyday meals unless prescribed by your doctor should not be relied on for good health.Under extreme circumstances such as a person being on life support should supplements take the place of real food on a daily basis. Unless the person has the incapability of eating foods naturally, then food supplement should go by wayside.

During the health craze that started a couple of decades ago with Jane Fonda exercise work out and other personalities getting into the public with their plan for good health, a huge conglomerate of businesses sprung up to enhance the exercise and aerobic era of the country that was taking place. Some of these places actually started franchises in which to sell and spread the supposedly easy fix of getting good health. Their plan was to have the public pop a pilll and then suddenly everyone would be healthier even if they skipped a few meals or filledl their bellies with junk foods. The American public likes the easy fix and is a bit gullible about the emergence of an easy way to good health. This easy way to good health may be no more than a placebo unless your doctor prescribe iron supplements or vitamin supplements of which your body may be lacking. Always visit a doctor before self prescribing vitamin or iron supplements. Doctors are known to save their customer money by offering an over the counter supplement to augment your health needs. A placebo is a pill that is void of what it is supposed to do but because the customer believes that the supplement is taking affect, they begin feeling more energetic. The mind is not only a terrible thing to waste but it can actually cause you to think you feel better because of the power of suggestion. Do not pollute your body with chemicals if you do not have to. The acronym for over the counter medicine is OTC. More and more doctors are beginning to let their patients know that they do not have to buy the expensive prescription brands.

The best way to guard against the propensity of snatching a bottle of vitamin C off the shelves of one of these "health" stores is to get a regular yearly check up. If your doctor checks you out as being fine with no deficit of vitamins or iron deficiency, then it is to your advantage not to introduce anything foreign to your body. The old adage says that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. That statement is not only an adage in this case but a true fact. An apple a day will keep you healthy if you are presently in good health. However, do not rely solely one apple a day. Fill your body with foods from the earth, as Dr. Oz from the Oprah show tells her viewers. A majority of fruits have natural chemicals that wards off diseases and keep you in good health. Eat fruits and vegetables religiously with plenty of water. Prescribe your own good health with a watchful eye on making sure that you only bring healthy foods into your home. Reduce your intake of red meat that can cause heart disease and substitute it with white meat such as chicken or turkey. Reduce the amount of pork consumed also because of its sodium content that is not good for you. Reduce your intake of dairy products as well because these products are know to increase your cholesterol levels. Use egg substitutes such as Egg Beaters or only eat the white of the egg because the yolk is full of cholesterol. When speaking of cholesterol, there is talk of good and bad cholesterol, just limit your intake of the harmful substance that is found naturally in dairy products.

The answer to the question whether to supplement what you eat with vitamin or iron supplements is not to purchase these on the shelf pills or liquids unless prescribed by your doctor. Only use these supplements under a doctor's direction that can be prescribed to your during your yearly checkup if needed. The old adage that an apple a day keeps the doctor away is still true. Have your apple a day and keep yourself healthy along with the other helpful information found in Health Supplements vs Real Food. Leave the vitamin and iron supplements to the medical professionals.