How To Know What Vitamins I Need

The 16 Essential Minerals

In addition to the 13 essential vitamins your body needs, there are 16 essential minerals, all of which you might recognize from the periodic table. Unlike vitamins, minerals are inorganic, meaning they do not contain a carbon atom.

Macrominerals are the minerals that your body needs in relatively large amounts trace minerals are those that your body needs in small amounts. The essential macrominerals are calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulfur. The trace minerals your body requires are iron, zinc, iodine, chromium, copper, fluoride, molybdenum, manganese, and selenium.

Personalized Vitamin Plan How To Know What Vitamins To Take

By: Catherine Payne

The ultimate questions when it comes to vitamins: How do I know what to take? What is a personalized vitamin plan, anyway?

Dont get us wrong. Vitamins are important for a healthy, thriving life. Yet, no one really explains how to do it and personalizes it for you.

The vitamin industry can overwhelm customers with conflicting and confusing information, leaving one directionless as they chose vitamins and supplements. A personalized vitamin plan created specifically for you is important to consider and can positively impact overall health- because you are uniquely you. Your needs are different from your friends. Age, gender, weight, diet, exercise, stress, genetics and health conditions all affect which vitamins you should take and the dosage thats optimal. And your needs change at various stages of life, which is why custom multivitamins, whether complete, essential or individual, is the best way to get the nutrients that will optimize your life. The great news- because of market saturation- you dont really need to spend excessive amounts of money to create custom vitamins for you. There are many high-quality options on the market. You just need to know which one or group of vitamins check all the boxes for you.

Why take Vitamins?

What Do Vitamins And Minerals Do

Vitamins and minerals boost the immune system, support normal growth and development, and help cells and organs do their jobs. For example, you’ve probably heard that carrots are good for your eyes. It’s true! Carrots are full of substances called carotenoids that your body converts into vitamin A, which helps prevent eye problems.

Vitamin K helps blood to clot, so cuts and scrapes stop bleeding quickly. You’ll find vitamin K in green leafy vegetables, broccoli, and soybeans. And to have strong bones, you need to eat foods such as milk, yogurt, and green leafy vegetables, which are rich in the mineral calcium.

Read Also: What Foods Give You Vitamin B

Interactingin Good Ways And Bad

Many micronutrients interact. Vitamin D enables your body to pluck calcium from food sources passing through your digestive tract rather than harvesting it from your bones. Vitamin C helps you absorb iron.

The interplay of micronutrients isnt always cooperative, however. For example, vitamin C blocks your bodys ability to assimilate the essential mineral copper. And even a minor overload of the mineral manganese can worsen iron deficiency.

Asking Better Questions For Better Answers

Figuring out what we need means exploring the often overlooked details of our lifestyle and diet. Thats when it become more important than ever to ask better questions. Care/of has done just that. Theyve designed a revealing 5-minute quiz that delves into your diet and lifestyle habits to uncover the exact supplements you should be taking. Starting with the basics about your health, youre asked questions about your goals, any specific health concerns, your exercise habits, your stress level, your sleepeven whether you prefer large or small pills. With this quiz, you end up getting answers that are right for you not just the issue or concern youre trying to address. As a result, some of the questions in this quiz just might surprise you.

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Folate And Folic Acid

Why you need it Folate is a general term thats used to describe the many different forms of vitamin B9. Vitamin B9 is one of the eight B vitamins. Its important in red blood cell formation and for healthy cell growth and function. And its particularly important for women to ingest folate during the first three weeks of pregnancy to prevent birth defects.

Folic acid is a synthetic form of folate that is used in supplements and in fortified foods.

How to get it It can be difficult for some to get the daily recommended amount of folate through foods alone. Keep in mind that many of us are still not getting enough fruits, vegetables and legumes our best sources for folate, Ilic says. Increasing your daily consumption can be easier than you think, though.

You can get more folate naturally simply by increasing your intake of these foods:

• Leafy green vegetables.
• Fruits especially citrus fruits, melons and strawberries.
• Fruit juice .
• Legumes such as dried beans, lentils and peas.

Because we needed extra help in getting the full amount of folate and folic acid in our diets, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also requires that folic acid be added to enrich the following foods .

• Certain breads.
• Other grain products .

Why This Option Might Be Better Than Selling Other Types Of Products

There are some major benefits associated with selling supplements as opposed to other types of products. One such benefit of this option is having total control over the ingredients that go into your supplements. In addition, you will be able to save a lot of money because youll only have to pay for the manufacturing and shipping costs.

Another factor to consider is how simple it can be when creating your formulations. In most cases, theres nothing more than the manufacturers expertise that youll need to end up with a product that has all the qualities you were looking for.

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So How Do You Tell If Your Diet Is Complete

First, you can find comfort in this: The days of gross life-threatening vitamin deficiencies in America are behind us,Dr. Robert Huizenga, or Dr. H, a health expert for The Biggest Loser, author and professor at University of California, Los Angeles, tells us. I have never seen a case of scurvy, beriberi, pellagra or rickets but flagrant cases continue to occur in those with intestinal diseases and those who eat extremely limited, repetitious tea and toast-like diets.

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He notes that, if anything, mineral deficiencies are more common than vitamin deficiencies, and the best way to know is by taking a holistic look at your diet. Living in this country, Dr. H explains, if you eat the rainbow of colors of fruits and vegetables , whole wheat grains, healthy fats , lean protein and if you have normal digestive function, the chance you have any nutrient deficiency is essentially zero.

Common Vitamin And Mineral Result Ranges

Iron ranges There are several tests to check your iron levels. The ideal ranges for each test are:

• serum ferritin 13-150 ng/l for women and 30-400 ng/l for men
• haemoglobin 120-160 g/L for women and 130-170 g/L for men
• transferrin saturation 20-55% for both women and men
• total iron-binding capacity 45-72 umol/L for both women and men
• unsaturated iron-binding capacity 24.2-70.1 umol/L for women and 22.3-61.7 umol/L for men

Vitamin D ranges A 25-hydroxy vitamin D test is the best way to measure your vitamin D levels. Vitamin D reference range:

• between 50-175 nmol/L is normal
• between 75-100 nmol/L is optimal

Vitamin B12 ranges An active B12 test is the best way to measure your levels this measures the amount of vitamin B12 thats available for your body to use. You can also do a total B12. Vitamin B12 reference ranges:

• active B12 between 37.5- 188 pmol/L is normal
• total B12 between 300- 569 pmol/L is normal

Folate ranges

• between 8.83-60.8 nmol/L is normal

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Poor Night Vision And White Growths On The Eyes

A nutrient-poor diet can sometimes cause vision problems.

For instance, low intakes of vitamin A are often linked to a condition known as night blindness, which reduces peoples ability to see in low light or darkness.

Thats because vitamin A is necessary to produce rhodopsin, a pigment found in the retinas of the eyes that helps you see at night.

When left untreated, night blindness can progress to xerophthalmia, a condition that can damage the cornea and ultimately lead to blindness .

Another early symptom of xerophthalmia is Bitots spots, which are slightly elevated, foamy, white growths that occur on the conjunctiva or white part of the eyes.

The growths can be removed to a certain extent but only fully disappear once the vitamin A deficiency is treated .

Fortunately, vitamin A deficiency is rare in developed countries. Those who suspect their vitamin A intake is insufficient can try eating more vitamin-A-rich foods, such as organ meats, dairy, eggs, fish, dark leafy greens, and yellow-orange colored vegetables .

Unless diagnosed with a deficiency, most people should avoid taking vitamin A supplements. Thats because vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, which, when consumed in excess, can accumulate in the bodys fat stores and become toxic.

Symptoms of vitamin A toxicity can be serious and include nausea, headaches, skin irritation, joint and bone pain, and, in severe cases, even coma or death .

Quiz: What Vitamin Supplements Do I Need

Most people find it hard to eat some of the things that give the body the vitamins required to grow and run their normal functions. Have you been having problems choosing the correct vitamin supplements to meet your needs? The quiz below is designed to help you with that. Give it a shot and try the results you get!

• 1. Do you or have you in the past suffered from any form of Depression or Seasonal Affective Disorder ?
• A.& nbsp

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What Are Private Label Supplements

Private label supplements can be described as health and wellness items that have been put together for a specific company. Theyre also sometimes referred to as custom supplements. These products can include anything from powders and capsules to protein bars and even liquids.

The ingredients contained are the ones that have been decided by the person or company thats going to be selling them. As with any other type of supplement, this option is also approved by all major authorities. The business producing these products will make their label for it you dont need to pay for one unless you want your logo on it.

What Nutrients And Vitamins Do I Need Daily

5/511 Essential Vitamins and Minerals Your Body Needs

• VITAMIN A. GOOD FOR: Healthy eyes and general growth and development, including healthy teeth and skin.
• B VITAMINS. GOOD FOR: Energy production, immune function and iron absorption.
• VITAMIN C.

The six essential nutrients are vitamins, minerals, protein, fats, water, and carbohydrates.

Additionally, what is the most important vitamin to take? Vitamin D is arguably the most important vitamin you could take.

Also to know, what vitamins do I need daily?

The 13 essential vitamins your body needs are vitamins A, C, D, E, K and the B vitamins: thiamine , riboflavin , niacin , pantothenic acid , pyroxidine , biotin , folate and cobalamin . The four fat-soluble vitaminsâA, D, E, and Kâare stored in the body’s fatty tissues.

Do I need to take vitamins everyday?

There actually can be too much of a good thing, and anything in excess â whether vitamins, supplements or food â can cause serious problems. In terms of vitamins, some are fat-soluble, meaning they are stored in the liver, and you don’t need them every day, while others are water-soluble, and need to be replenished.

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Who Is Responsible For The Safety Of Dietary Supplements

FDA is not authorized to review dietary supplement products for safety and effectiveness before they are marketed.

The manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements are responsible for making sure their products are safe BEFORE they go to market.

If the dietary supplement contains a NEW ingredient, manufacturers must notify FDA about that ingredient prior to marketing. However, the notification will only be reviewed by FDA and only for safety, not effectiveness.

Manufacturers are required to produce dietary supplements in a quality manner and ensure that they do not contain contaminants or impurities, and are accurately labeled according to current Good Manufacturing Practice and labeling regulations.

If a serious problem associated with a dietary supplement occurs, manufacturers must report it to FDA as an adverse event. FDA can take dietary supplements off the market if they are found to be unsafe or if the claims on the products are false and misleading.

How To Choose High Quality Vitamins And Supplements

• Bottom line

Dietary supplements are products that people use to add nutrients or other compounds to their bodies.

From individual vitamins and minerals to blends of nutrients and herbs, there are numerous supplement products on the market that claim to provide specific health benefits.

However, due to limited regulation, its not always clear which supplements are high quality, nor which are a waste of your money or even potentially dangerous.

This guide covers all you need to know about what supplements are and how to choose a safe and high quality product.

1 ).

Available in numerous forms, including capsules, gummies, tinctures, powders, and liquids, dietary supplements are typically marketed as an easy and efficient way to boost your physical or mental health.

Other important definitions to understand when looking at supplements include :

• Vitamins. Vitamins are essential nutrients that your body needs to function properly and stay healthy. Many help regulate vital metabolic functions, including growth, nerve function, and digestion.
• Fat-soluble vitamins. These vitamins dissolve in fat and can be stored in your body. They include vitamins A, D, E, and K.
• Water-soluble vitamins. These vitamins dissolve in water and are not stored by the body. They include vitamin C and B vitamins.

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The Difference Between Vitamins And Minerals

Although they are all considered micronutrients, vitamins and minerals differ in basic ways. Vitamins are organic and can be broken down by heat, air, or acid. Minerals are inorganic and hold on to their chemical structure.

So why does this matter? It means the minerals in soil and water easily find their way into your body through the plants, fish, animals, and fluids you consume. But its tougher to shuttle vitamins from food and other sources into your body because cooking, storage, and simple exposure to air can inactivate these more fragile compounds.

A Closer Look At Trace Minerals

A thimble could easily contain the distillation of all the trace minerals normally found in your body. Yet their contributions are just as essential as those of major minerals such as calcium and phosphorus, which each account for more than a pound of your body weight.

Trace minerals

Trace minerals carry out a diverse set of tasks. Here are a few examples:

• Iron is best known for ferrying oxygen throughout the body.
• Fluoride strengthens bones and wards off tooth decay.
• Zinc helps blood clot, is essential for taste and smell, and bolsters the immune response.
• Copper helps form several enzymes, one of which assists with iron metabolism and the creation of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the blood.

The other trace minerals perform equally vital jobs, such as helping to block damage to body cells and forming parts of key enzymes or enhancing their activity.

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How Vitamins And Minerals Work

Dr. Lynn Anderson a naturopathic doctor, author and yoga instructor explains how vitamins and minerals actually work: We need enzymes to be activated so that we can do all of our bodily functions. Enzymes are activated by vitamins and minerals.

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She explains that certain enzymes need certain vitamins for activation. For example, A particular enzyme needs vitamin B6 to activate it. We need this enzyme activated so that it can send nerve impulses to our fingertips. If there is a deficiency in vitamin B6, you might feel tingling in your fingertips.

When To See A Doctor

The symptoms of vitamin deficiency vary. Some deficiencies have no symptoms at all. In general, if you have any of these symptoms, you should contact your doctor:

• You are losing your hair.
• You feel weak.
• You are often tired, even when you get plenty of sleep.
• You have cracks in the corners of your mouth.
• You have acne-like bumps on your cheeks, upper arms, thighs, and buttocks.
• Your vision is getting worse, especially at night.
• You have dry eyes.
• You are having panic attacks.
• You have tingling or numbness in your hands and feet.
• Your gums bleed.

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