Like water, carbohydrates, protein, and fats, vitamins and minerals are essential to life. They are therefore considered nutrients, and are often referred to as micronutrients simply because they are needed in relatively small amounts compared with the four basic nutrients. Recent research has demonstrated that diet alone may not be sufficient to supply the nutrients necessary for overall good health. While most experts agree that nutritional supplements are vital for a variety of illnesses, injuries, and age-related problems. Vitamin and mineral supplements can also help to maintain optimal physical and psychological health, and promote longevity and chronic disease prevention.

You might think that you eat healthy, so you probably get all the required vitamins from food. But even fresh fruit lose vitamins by the hour. By the time fresh fruit gets to the store, sits on a shelf, is purchased, sits in the refrigerator, is cooked, and finally eaten, only a very small fraction of the nutritional value is left to be absorbed. The vital vitamins and minerals in the food supply today have been extremely diminished. Many nutritional experts agree that even if one were to eat 100% raw and organic fruits and vegetables, picked and eaten same-day straight from farmland, decades of farming has left large amounts of contracted land depleted. One would have to consume 8-12 times the amount of produce, in some cases, to absorb what much of the farmland contained decades ago.