One A Day Keeps The Doctor Away
The human body is a complex structure that needs so much to survive. We are bombarded with health ads and articles about what is good or bad for us, what we should be drinking or eating to raise this or lower that. Even articles like this one try to tell you why you should be taking these vitamins. Before you take anything, it’s always important to consult a healthcare practitioner, as individual needs will vary.
1. Support Energy Production
Certain vitamins, like vitamin B12 and C, play a huge role in converting food into energy. Acting as a sort of enzyme, they help break down carbs, proteins, and fats. B12 is also essential for the production of red blood cells, and therefore helps move oxygen throughout your body.
2. Improve Immune System
Vitamins like C, D, A, E, and B6 are all useful when it comes to supporting your immune system. These vitamins help create antibodies, enhance the function of white blood cells, and help to maintain the protective barriers of the skin.
3. Strengthen Bones
Making sure you’re getting enough calcium is important, especially when your bone density starts to deteriorate. Aside from that crucial mineral, vitamins D, K, C, and A can help your body absorb and regulate calcium, help produce collagen, or help regulate bone growth.
4. Promote Healthy Skin
There’s a reason why we see vitamin A, C, and E so much in various skincare products. Vitamin A helps with cell growth, Vitamin C helps with complexion and collagen, and E promotes healing. Vitamin D also helps with repairing skin function.
5. Help With Memory
Vitamin B12 is a powerhouse when it comes to memory, as it helps to keep communication between brain cells healthy. Vitamin D also plays a role in hormone creation, and studies have found that those with vitamin D deficiencies were more likely to be at risk for dementia and Alzheimer's.
6. Help With Mood
If you’ve ever been told to go out into the sun to improve your mood, then you’ll be able to guess that Vitamin D can play a huge role in mood regulation. Vitamin C is also said to help anxiety levels, while the minerals magnesium and zinc also play a role in brain function and mood regulation.
7. Heart Health
Several vitamins and minerals support heart health, either through breaking down amino acids, regulating blood pressure, lowering bad cholesterol, or supporting energy production. A popular one you may have heard of is omega-3s, or fish oil pills.
8. Support For Certain Health Conditions
While you should always speak to a doctor before taking vitamins with medications, there are a few that are said to help with certain health conditions. Folic acid can reduce birth defects during pregnancy, Vitamin K is helpful for blood clotting, Omega-3s may help with heart conditions, and Vitamin A can help protect against infection.
9. Meeting Nutrient Requirements
We live in a really busy world with really expensive groceries, so it’s no surprise that it’s difficult to get all the nutrients we need every single day. Depending on what you’re lacking in your day-to-day, there’s probably a multivitamin you could take to even yourself out.
10. Helps With Malabsorption
Vitamins like B12, D, and iron all contain digestive enzymes that can help break down nutrients. If your body struggles with absorbing nutrients, vitamins A, C, and D are usually recommended to compensate for this issue.
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1. Vitamin D
What to be said about the sunshine vitamin? Vitamin D is essential for calcium and phosphorus absorption, which you need for healthy bones and teeth. It also plays a huge role in muscle and nerve function, and helps fight off bacteria and viruses in your immune system.
2. B Vitamins
This group of 8 vitamins plays a role in energy production, red cell growth, a healthy nervous system, and maintaining healthy skin and hair. Most B vitamins are water-soluble, so they cannot be stored in the body. Aside from B12, this means you need to regularly consume your B vitamins to get proper effects.
3. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is crucial for immune system health. It aids in collagen production, which helps to heal wounds and maintain healthy skin, bones, and blood vessels. It’s also an antioxidant and can protect your cells from damage. Vitamin C is also water-soluble, so you need to consume it daily.
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4. Iron
Anyone with low iron knows the feeling of getting lightheaded when you stand up too fast. Taking iron supplements will help transport oxygen to tissues, helping with energy and physical performance. It can also help with brain health and contribute to healthy skin, hair, and nails.
5. Vitamin A
This fat-soluble vitamin helps with vision, immune function, and cell growth and reproduction. You can get this vitamin through animal sources like liver, eggs, and dairy products, and you can also get it through vegetables like carrots and leafy greens.
6. Magnesium
Magnesium is an incredibly important mineral that’s responsible for helping over 600 reactions within the body. It plays a role in nerve and muscle function, bone health, energy production, blood sugar, and stress reduction, just to name a few.
7. Vitamin E
The vitamin E group helps with vision, disease protection, blood health, brain function, and skin health. It’s technically classified as an antioxidant, and may help cell membranes that are damaged by “free radicals” - unstable molecules that can damage cell DNA.
8. Vitamin K
This fat-soluble vitamin plays a role in blood clotting and bone health. Not getting enough of this vitamin can lead to longer healing times if you get a cut, significant bleeding, or poor bone development.
9. Calcium
We can’t imagine you don’t know this one. Calcium builds and maintains strong bones, helps with muscle and nerve function, and regulates your heartbeat. It’s the primary component of bones and teeth, so if you’re not getting enough calcium, you’re at a higher risk for osteoporosis.
10. Zinc
Zinc aids in immune function, DNA and protein synthesis, wound healing, and normal growth and development. Zinc is known to fight off bacteria and viruses, and is crucial for fetal growth during pregnancy.
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