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Does your vitamin regimen need a make over?

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diet fitness
(© Maksymiv Iurii – stock.adobe.com)

Most of the time, we take our nutrients from healthy foods, but in today’s world, people have less and less time to make sure their diet contains all the essential vitamins and minerals. In case you’ve been wondering what types of vitamins and minerals you should consume in order to have a healthy diet, keep on reading. In this article, we’ve gathered the information necessary for your vitamin regimen makeover!

Here are some of the ingredients you should look for in your supplements:

  1. Vitamin D: This is an essential vitamin for bone health and calcium absorption. It helps you avoid getting sick, it makes reduces your chances of getting bone and back pain, or bone and hair loss. Even though you can get it from 15 minutes daily sun exposure and from foods such as fatty fish or egg yolks, most people are not able to do so, and supplements come in handy.
  2. Magnesium: Apart from making your bones healthier and give you energy, this super-important nutrient helps decrease stress, improves sleep, balance blood sugars, and has many other benefits. Hence, one should make sure Magnesium is included in their diet, be it through foods such as nuts, pumpkin seeds, spinach, and brown rice, or supplements.
  3. Calcium: Many of us know how important Calcium is for the health of our bones. However, very few people get enough of this nutrient from their diet. We just don’t eat enough dairy products, cereals, nuts, broccoli, kale, beans, lentils, and fish.
  4. Zinc: If you’ve been super stressed lately, it’s highly likely for your Zinc levels to have dropped. And that’s definitely not good news. Zin is essential in supporting your immune system, aiding the healing of wounds, and in processing the macros in your diet. Unless you eat foods such as oysters, brown rice, spinach, sardines, tahini, organ meats, or grass-fed beef, you should consider adding some Zinc supplements to your diet.
  5. Iron: Even though people need different amounts of Iron in their organism, one should make sure he or she has enough of this essential nutrient. Red meat, shellfish, spinach, liver, and legumes are some of the Iron-rich foods you should include in your diet or add some supplements. Iron is crucial for proper brain function, high energy levels, and healthy red blood cells.
  6. Folate: Do you know what dark leafy greens, citrus, beans, and avocado have in common? They all help avoid or eliminate depression, grow your nails, and fight inflammation due to the high content of folate. This nutrient is also important during pregnancy, as it helps the fetus to develop properly and makes it less likely for the child to have birth defects.
  7. Vitamin B-12: This vitamin promotes the health of nerves and blood cells, as well as the production of DNA in the organism. It is mainly found in animal-based aliments, hence vegans and vegetarians tend to have a lower level of B-12.
  8. Fatty acids: Fatty acids are essential in the development of infants as it supplies the energy used in cellular growth, but they are also a source of energy and act as main constituents of cellular membranes. Essential fatty acids such as Omega-3 and Omega-6 play a crucial role in the protection of the cardiovascular system and the nervous system.

To conclude, you should always try your best to get all your macros and micros necessary from your diet. However, if that is not possible, select the best supplements for your particular needs and consult your healthcare provider if necessary. The most important thing in the world is to keep your body healthy!

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