The Importance of Vitamins and Supplements
Unlike fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, vitamins don’t supply your body with energy. However, vitamins play a key role in helping your body to function and grow optimally. Any vitamin deficiency can lead to a number of serious health issues.
There are 13 essential vitamins that we usually get from foods or certain supplements. Vitamins aid in improving your eyesight, increasing your energy levels, healing wounds, strengthening your bones, and improving your immune system. If you’re wondering about the importance of vitamins and supplements, read on.
The importance of vitamins
Your body needs all the essential vitamins and minerals daily to function properly and stay healthy. Even though a balanced diet can provide essential vitamins, a lot of people are deficient in a certain group of nutrients. This, in turn, leads to serious illnesses and disorders, negatively affecting each aspect of your life.
Vitamins are ranked as water-soluble or fat-soluble, depending on where they’re stored in your body. Circulating through the blood, water-soluble vitamins are vitamin C and the B vitamins, such as vitamin B6, vitamin B12, thiamine, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, niacin, folate, and biotin. Being stored for more than 6 months in different areas of your body, fat-soluble vitamins are vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin K. Since the body is unable to store water-soluble vitamins, it’s vital to consume foods rich in these vitamins on a daily basis.
All 13 essential vitamins have their own functions. However, they have to work together to ensure a great well-being. For instance, vitamin A promotes eye health, strengthens the immune system, and maintains good skin, teeth and bone health.
Along with calcium, Vitamin D keeps your bones strong and healthy and ensures a strong body defense system. Vitamin C plays a key role in supporting mineral iron absorption as well as enhances the immunity and stimulates the healthy tissue growth and development.
The B vitamins boost brain function, keep a healthy metabolic rate, maintain heart health, stimulate healthy hormone production. The B vitamins also take an active part in ensuring a proper functioning of the cell duties and central nervous system. Vitamin E is needed for facilitating the use of vitamin K in the body. Vitamin K helps to improve bone health, prevent blood clotting, and stimulate the formation and development of vital red blood cells.
Can supplements help to treat vitamin deficiencies?
Vitamin deficiencies increase the risk factors for many health issues, including cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, and cancer. The deficiency of any of 8 B vitamins might trigger anemia and long-term nerve damage.
Vitamin C deficiency reduces the body’s ability to produce collagen and fight bacteria. The prolonged vitamin C deficiency triggers chronic fatigue, muscle stiffness, joint pain, swollen and spongy gums, and skin disorders.
The low levels of Vitamin D in the body triggers rickets in kids, leading to poor growth, bone pain, and various deformations. Vitamin D deficiency is also linked with weak bone health and a higher risk of hypertension, autoimmune diseases, and some cancers.
The Importance of Vitamins and Supplements Final Thoughts
When you have trouble getting all the essential vitamins from the foods you eat, supplementation is a safe way to solve the problem. It’s critical to choose the high quality multivitamin or certain vitamin supplements to avoid the side effects. If you experience any health issues, see your doctor to ensure it’s not because of vitamin deficiencies. Before you take any vitamin supplements, consult your doctor as well.
