Unfortunately many of the vitamins we need cannot be produced by our body and so have to be consumed instead. There is a debate of whether our diet provides us with the necessary quantities of vitamins to maintain a healthy body, immune and nervous system. This is particularly important to arthritis sufferers as some would argue that it is the lack of essential vitamins which is one of the causes of developing arthritis in the first place.

A lack of essential vitamins are shown by certain symptoms, but if these deficiencies continue over a long period of time then these minor symptoms can develop into more serious conditions - arthritis is potentially one of those conditions.

Our body uses vitamins to do many things. Each vitamin has its own unique job but combined together they help to keep skin healthy, maintain tissue and organs, assist the absorption of certain minerals, strengthen the immune system, neutralize free radicals [toxins that attack both bone and tissue] and keep the nervous system in good condition. We are all unique and so we all require different amounts of each vitamin. Factors such as age, sex, level of health and fitness can affect your vitamin requirements. However there are general guidelines of the minimum vitamin intake your body requires. Your doctor will be able to give you a detailed breakdown of them.

Vitamins come in 2 forms; fat soluble and water soluble. Fat soluble vitamins [vitamin A, D, E and K] are found in many fatty food products such as dairy products and oily fish. Our liver is quite efficient in its use of these vitamins so when we don't need them immediately or have an excess amount of them, our liver will store them for future use. Water soluble vitamins [B1, B2, B6, B12, C, FOLIC ACID, BIOTIN, NIACIN & PANTOTHENIC ACID] found in many fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds on the other hand cannot be stored by the body and so require a regular consumption and whenever there is an excess of them in the body they are removed through your urine.

Going back to the question of whether we need vitamin supplements, well it all depends on our diet. We need to ask ourselves whether we eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, combined with lean meat, oily fish, dairy, eggs, nuts and seeds as it is believed that this combination will provide us with all the vitamins we need on a regular basis. It is a mixture of all the essential vitamins that help maintain a healthy body, not just any one individually. The different vitamins work in harmony with each other. Some people make the mistake of consuming too much of a specific vitamin because they don't have a varied diet, this can impair the absorption of other vitamins and minerals and lead to other harmful complications. This is especially true when consuming too much fat soluble vitamins that are stored in the body. It is more difficult to overdose on water soluble vitamins as they are removed through your urine. To reduce the risks of overdosing a multivitamin supplement should be taken. It will give you a little of everything, rather than too much of any one vitamin, bearing in mind that supplements can contain anything up to 10 times our required daily intake.

Eating a variety of food will always be the best option as opposed to taking any supplements as they contain more than just vitamins. Many foods contain other essential nutrients, minerals and fibre - things that supplements simply don't have. So a varied diet is the most beneficial way.

In conclusion, whether you need vitamins will all depend on how good your diet is. For the majority, our current diet alone is not sufficient to provide the vitamins to maintain a healthy body and until we can change our diet, multi-vitamin supplements will always be necessary.

Michelle Armstrong