Vitamins, like people, take on many different personalities. This makes the job of knowing which ones we need to stay healthy both easy and hard. In this post, I will try to make it a little easier.
Defining Vitamins
According to the dictionary vitamins are “any of a group of organic substances essential in small quantities to normal metabolism, found in minute amounts in natural foodstuffs or sometimes produced synthetically, deficiencies of vitamins produce specific disorders”. So from that, we can assume that vitamins, which we can get from the food we eat, are necessary to keep us healthy and if we don’t get enough, we will get sick. Our illness, obviously, depends on which vitamin we are not getting.
Two Types of Vitamins
There are 13 essential vitamins that are divided into 2 groups; water-soluble and fat-soluble. Water-soluble is used immediately and must be replaced on a daily basis. Any excess of a water-soluble vitamin is thrown off. Fat-soluble, on the other hand, are stored in the body, so it is possible to get an excess amount. A deficiency can also be developed in both types.
Of the 13 essential vitamins, four are fat-soluble. They are A, D, E, and K. Vitamin A is best known for protecting our eyes, vitamin D helps regulate blood levels and helps in developing strong teeth and bones, vitamin E protects against cell damage, and finally, vitamin K is essential to blood clotting. Each of these will be explored in detail in the future including the benefits of each and the foods in which they are found.
The remaining nine vitamins are water-soluble. They are B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B7 (biotin), B6, B12, C, and folate. These vitamins are necessary for energy, healthy skin, hair, muscles, blood cells, and nervous system. As with the fat-soluble vitamins, these will be discussed in detail in the future.
Follow this link for more information about the benefits and sources of the various vitamins.
What You Can Do
A healthy diet must include a variety of fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, whole grains, and fortified dairy products. You must also eat enough of each. One fruit a day or less, or beans once a month just cannot work. Again, we will look at how much you must eat and how often for a food plan to be considered beneficial. We will also be looking at many recipes that can help with making this project manageable. While developing and sticking to a healthy diet can be overwhelming, the alternative (poor health) makes the effort extremely rewarding.
As I said last time, we are all different and must listen to what our bodies are telling us, when we change the way we eat in any way. It is also important to remember that diet alone may not be all that is necessary. Supplements might be something to consider, but you must be careful to not exceed the recommended dosages. Exercise, true relaxation, and sometimes medical intervention are all necessary to keep our bodies as healthy as possible.
A Reminder
Again I must remind everyone that the content of this blog is strictly for information purposes. If you want to make a change in your diet or exercise routine, it is very important that you contact a health care professional.