There are a number of conditions that can stem from insufficient vitamin and mineral intake. These include hair loss, heart failure, skin and liver damage just to name a few.
Vitamins are vital nutrients that the body needs to function properly and minerals are essential nutrients found in a variety of foods. Both of these offset the aforementioned life threatening conditions above.
Here are the vitamins and minerals from A to Z
Vitamins
- Vitamin A. Well-known in keeping our vision in check, foods rich in carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin are proven to defend against cataracts. Found in foods rich in retinoids and beta carotene: beef, liver, eggs, shrimp, fish, fortified milk, cheddar cheese, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash and spinach.
- Thiamin (vitamin B1). Aids in maintaining the health of our skin, and converts food into energy. Food sources include pork chops, ham, soymilk, watermelons and acorn squash.
- Riboflavin (vitamin B2). Part of an enzyme needed for energy metabolism and is important for normal vision and healthy skin. Food sources include milk and milk products; leafy green vegetables; whole-grain, enriched breads and cereals.
- Niacin (vitamin B3). Helps convert food into energy essential for healthy skin, blood cells, brain, and nervous system. Food sources include meat, poultry, fish, fortified and whole grains, mushrooms, potatoes, peanut butter.
- Pantothenic Acid (vitamin B5). Converts food into energy also produces lipids (fats), neurotransmitters, steroid hormones, and hemoglobin. Food sources include a wide variety such as chicken, whole grains, broccoli, mushrooms, avocados and tomato products.
- Pyridoxal, Pyridoxine, Pyridoxamine (vitamin B6). Significant in lowering homocysteine levels and reduces the risk of heart disease. Also helpful in converting tryptophan to niacin and serotonin, a neurotransmitter that plays key roles in sleep, appetite, and moods. Food sources include meat, legumes, tofu and other soy products, potatoes, non citrus fruits such as bananas and watermelons.
- Cobalamin (vitamin B12). Instrumental in producing new cells and breaking down some fatty acids and amino acids, also protects nerve cells and encourages their normal growth. Creates red blood cells, food sources include meat, poultry, fish, milk, cheese, eggs, fortified cereals and fortified soymilk.
- Biotin. Converts food into energy and synthesize glucose, also breaks down fatty acids. Food sources include egg yolks and soybeans.
- Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C). Foods that are rich in vitamin C may lower the risk for some cancers, including those of the mouth, esophagus, stomach, and breast. Food sources include fruits and fruit juices (especially citrus), potatoes, broccoli, bell peppers, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes and Brussels sprouts.
- Choline. Plays a role in metabolizing and transporting fats its food sources include eggs and peanuts.
- Calciferol (vitamin D). Helps in maintaining normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus, which strengthens bones. Food sources include fortified milk or margarine, fortified cereals and fatty fish.
- Alpha-tocopherol (Vitamin E). Acts as an antioxidant and also neutralizes unstable molecules that can damage cells. Food sources include salad dressings and margarines made with vegetable oils, leafy green vegetables and nuts.
- Folic Acid. Vital for new cell creation, prevents brain and spine birth defects when taken early in pregnancy. Food sources include fortified grains and cereals, asparagus and okra.
- Phylloquinone, Menadione (Vitamin K). Activates proteins and calcium essential to blood clotting, food sources include eggs and milk.
Minerals
- Calcium. Builds and protects bones and teeth also key in hormone secretion, enzyme activation and maintaining healthy blood pressure. Food sources include yogurt, cheese, milk, tofu, sardines, salmon, fortified juices and leafy green vegetables.
- Chloride. Balances fluids in the body, food sources include salt, soy sauce and processed foods.
- Chromium. Enhances the activity of insulin, food sources include meat, poultry and fish.
- Copper. Key in iron metabolism and creates red blood cells. Food sources include liver, nuts and seeds.
- Fluoride. Encourages strong bone formation, found in marine fish and teas.
- Iodine. Part of thyroid hormone, which helps set body temperature and influences nerve and muscle function, reproduction, and growth. Found in iodized salt, processed foods and seafood.
- Iron. Helps hemoglobin in red blood cells and myoglobin in muscle cells ferry oxygen throughout the body needed for chemical reactions in the body and for making amino acids, collagen, neurotransmitters, and hormones. Food sources include red meat, poultry, eggs, fruits, green vegetables and fortified bread.
- Magnesium. Needed for many chemical reactions in the body also works with calcium in muscle contraction, blood clotting and regulation of blood pressure. Food sources include green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli, legumes and cashews.
- Manganese. Helps form bones, food sources include nuts, legumes and whole grains.
- Molybdenum. Wards off a form of severe neurological damage in infants that can lead to early death. Food sources include legumes, nuts, grain products and milk.
- Phosphorus. Aids in producing bones and teeth, part of DNA and RNA, it is also a part of phospholipids, which carry lipids in blood and help shuttle nutrients into and out of cells. Food sources include eggs and liver.
- Potassium, Sodium. Helps maintain steady heartbeat and send nerve impulses. Balances fluids in the body, food sources include meat, fruits, salt, soy sauce and legumes.
- Sulfur. Forms bridges that shape and stabilize some protein structures, it is a must for healthy hair, skin, and nails, found in meat and fish.
- Zinc. Forms many enzymes and proteins and create new cells, frees vitamin A from storage in the liver and is essential for the immune system, taste, smell and wound healing. Found in red meat, oysters, fortified cereals, beans and nuts.
Meeting your daily nutritional needs equates to living life without the constant threat of heart failure, liver damage or weakened nerve function. According to Dr. Gemiliano Aligui, Philippine Association of Nutrition, Inc. President, it is a must for active, modern-day individuals to complete their nutritive requirement. Either through food intake or supplementation that offers complete multivitamin with numerous benefits such as Centrum. The supplement ensures that adults will get the right amount of vitamins and minerals particularly A,C,D,E calcium and magnesium.
Multivitamins assist in filling the gaps in our regular diet, to keep us healthy and functioning at an optimum degree. A good and steady multivitamin supplement can greatly improve physical and mental health. It works to improve general bodily functions. These supplements are also effective in keeping stress levels low.
Taking your multivitamins after breakfast is ideal, as this is the time where the body craves for nutrients and energy to function. When you take your supplement during the morning, it allows the body to use the nutrients efficiently throughout the day. Multivitamins are digested best when taken with a meal (breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner). Most doctors suggest that you take supplements with a meal to prevent an upset stomach which can lead to nausea or vomiting. Last but not the least, you should always keep in mind each multivitamins’ RDAS (recommended daily allowances,) it is important to only take in the appropriate amount. Too much of anything can be fatal.
Gender is an important factor to consider as well, men and women have varying nutritional needs and usage for these vitamins. For example, there are multivitamins targeted at certain high risk groups such as the nutritionally challenged, vegetarians, pregnant and menopausal women. In addition to that, only the men’s version of a multivitamin brand had lycopene and potassium, while only the women’s version had iron plus higher amounts of calcium and vitamin D. Check the label to guarantee if the multivitamins that you are taking are gender appropriate.
In addition to this, the established multivitamin brand Centrum recently launched their #BeComplete campaign to promote the importance of living life at 100%. We only have one body and we have control over what we eat and drink. Energize the mind and body, choose to be healthy so that you can live life to the fullest, be complete from A to Zinc.
The wonders of Vitamin D
In a tropical country like ours, the sun is always out. Shining bright or worse scorching, giving off intense heat, forcing us to stay at home in order to avoid the dangers of too much sun exposure. Little do we know that opting to stay indoors can lead to vitamin D deficiency and increase risk of developing chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancer.
For the longest time, vitamin D was associated directly with bone health, but recently, it has received a lot of attention from the medical community and the media regarding its overall health impact. Recently a study by David J. Llewellyn, PhD, of the University of Exeter Medical School in the United Kingdom unearthed the connection between low vitamin d levels to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. “We expected to find an association between low vitamin D levels and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, but the results were surprising—we actually found that the association was twice as strong as we anticipated,” Llewellyn said.
The study also uncovered that people with lower levels of vitamin D were nearly 70 percent more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, and those who had severe deficiency were over 120 percent more likely to develop the disease. “Clinical trials are now needed to establish whether eating foods such as oily fish or taking vitamin D supplements can delay or even prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia,” Llewellyn added. Given that his findings are deemed to be significant and encouraging, the study would have enormous public health implications.
Other studies also reveal that people with chronic disease have low levels of vitamin d. Alarmingly a study revealed that vitamin d deficiency is becoming prevalent among Filipinos, with 7 out of 10 working adults identified to be suffering from such deficiency, researches traced the high prevalence of vitamin d deficiency to increasingly indoor lifestyles, with most individuals opting to stay in the confines of their house, school and offices during daylight.
Foods rich in vitamin d are cod liver oil, trout, mushrooms (particularly portabello), fortified cereals and tofu to name a few. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin in a family of compounds that includes vitamins D1, D2, and D3. It can affect as many as 2,000 genes in the body. It has numerous important benefits such as regulating the absorption of calcium and phosphorus plus facilitating normal immune system functions. Vitamin D can also reduce the likelihood of developing flu, according to a 2010 research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Recent studies reveal that vitamin d can also lower blood pressure.
Clearly, too much sun is still dangerous, but that shouldn’t keep us from enjoying various activities outside. The body relies heavily on the skin’s exposure to the suns’ ultraviolet rays to produce most of its vitamin d. It is highly advised for everyone to meet the required daily dose of vitamin d to ensure strong and healthy bones and proper functioning of the body’s organs, to help reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases.
In a report published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society in February 2004, researchers at the University of Basel in Switzerland showed that elderly women who took a vitamin D supplement plus calcium for three months reduced their risk of falling by 49 percent compared with consuming calcium alone. Those women who had fallen repeatedly in the past seemed to gain the most benefit from vitamin D. Intake of just the right amount of vitamin D supplements coupled with a proper diet can truly make a difference in your health.
Thankfully, Forti-D, the latest Vitamin D supplement in the market provides enough sunshine vitamin without subjecting ourselves to the harmful rays of the sun. A single dose of Forti-D lowers the risk of getting chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Remember, too much sun is harmful but so is limited sun exposure. Go out, have fun with family and friends under the sun.
John Carlo Odchigue