Mother's Day is a Good Time to Start a Healthy Supplement Program

WASHINGTON, DC, May 11, 2001—Mothers of all ages can benefit from a healthy nutritional supplement program, and Mother’s Day is a good time to start or reinforce healthy habits. Two simple, convenient, economical supplements could make a big difference for girls and women of all ages–and frankly for boys and men as well.

FIRST: Take a Multivitamin with Minerals Every Day
A good, basic multivitamin with minerals is the foundation of a healthy supplement program. For young women, a multivitamin will provide the recommended amount of the B vitamin folic acid. This vitamin is essential for growth and development of all cells, and is especially important before and during pregnancy. If all women took multivitamins with folic acid before they get pregnant, the March of Dimes says up to 70 percent of neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida could be prevented. That’s a lot to get from a multivitamin.

For women of all ages–and for men as well–that same multivitamin will provide enough folic acid, vitamin B-12, and vitamin B-6 to help protect against heart disease. The body is constantly rebuilding and renewing itself, and these three vitamins are critical parts of a cycle that constantly produces new building blocks. If the cycle isn’t operating efficiently, a byproduct called homocysteine can build up, and people with higher levels of homocysteine have a higher risk of heart disease and strokes. Taking a multivitamin with these B vitamins reduces homocysteine levels and may reduce your risk of heart disease. Nothing could be simpler–one multivitamin, every day, for a few cents a day.

As we get older, the immune function becomes less efficient. People get sick more often, and sickness lasts longer. Experts in nutrition and immune function say that several vitamins and minerals can help older people resist disease the way they did when they were younger. A multivitamin with minerals contains these key nutrients.

SECOND: Take Calcium with Vitamin D Every Day
Most people do not get recommended amounts of calcium or vitamin D. Most people need a gram (or 1000 milligrams) of calcium a day, and teenagers and older people need even more. That’s a lot of calcium. Milk has about 300 milligrams of calcium per cup, but most people don’t drink 3 or 4 cups of milk a day. A calcium supplement provides a quick and easy way to get about 500 mg per tablet or capsule.

One or two calcium tablets–500 to 1000 mg, every day–can help young people build bone mass and can help older people slow the rate of bone loss. Many calcium supplements also include vitamin D, which improves calcium absorption.

Make these two supplements–Calcium and a Multivitamin–part of your healthy lifestyle, for the rest of your life. Other aspects of that lifestyle, of course, should include eating the best diet you can–with lots of fruits and vegetables, drinking plenty of water, exercising regularly, and avoiding overweight.

This is a healthy lifestyle message for Mother’s Day from the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade association representing the dietary supplement industry.

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) is a science-based, trade association founded in 1973 and represents more than 100 companies in the dietary supplement industry, including ingredient suppliers and manufacturers. CRN members adhere to a strong code of ethics, comply with dosage limits and manufacture dietary supplements to high quality standards under good manufacturing practices.