The human body is the most finely tuned instrument created by Mother Nature, and in order for it to stay healthy and perform at its peak it requires a careful balance of essential vitamins, minerals and other types of nutrients. Like a car that needs the right balance of fuel and air to make it start and run smoothly, if our bodies don't receive the right proportions of the various types of nutrients, they too will respond with less-than-ideal performance.

In today's hectic society in which so many people rely increasingly on canned, packaged and processed foods, sales of vitamins and supplements have soared. All too often though, what are intended to be complements to our diets are used as replacements for the foods that our bodies need to remain in tip-top condition. In many cases, the concentrated doses of single nutrients that people are using are knocking the body's fine balance out of kilter. Instead of the body receiving the variety of nutrients that are contained within each of the different types of food or different food groups, they only receive a single one.

Human beings weren't designed to live on pills, but on real food that contains a variety of nutrients in their proper proportions. While a single multivitamin tablet taken every day may well be beneficial to overall health, always check with your doctor before taking supplements of individual nutrients, and always be sure to maintain a properly balanced diet.