Are You Up on Your Vitamins?

How much do you really know about vitamins and minerals? Do you know which ones you need for good health, and which ones are less important? Most family medicine doctors will recommend adding a multivitamin to your diet if you’re lacking in the nutrition department. If you need some help shopping for these supplements, check out these tips for some useful advice.

Men require different vitamins and minerals than women. A daily vitamin for men should have higher concentrations of B12 and B6. Another helpful vitamin to prevent hair loss is vitamin H. Along with folic acid, vitamin H will help regenerate cells and reduce the signs of aging. Vitamin E and lycopene are also beneficial for male prostrate health.

Vitamins and minerals are a great way to prevent aging and retain that youthful appearance and resilience we had in our younger days. As you get older, you tend to start requiring more nutrients in the form of vitamins and minerals to keep your skin soft, fight off colds and promote energy that we would consume far more quickly by relying only on the foods we eat.

The best source of vitamins and minerals are fresh fruit and vegetables. Making sure that you eat at least five servings of vegetables and fruit every day can help ensure you get all of the vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy. For the best results, eat them raw or very lightly cooked by steaming or poaching.

There are a lot of benefits for men to take vitamin E, but women need it as well. Vitamin E has anti-aging benefits and will help battle cell damage that is related to aging. Vitamin E also can prevent cataracts and heart disease. Almonds, hazelnuts, spinach and sunflower seeds are all rich in Vitamin E. Ask your family doctor about well women exam to check for your particular vitamin and mineral needs.

Vitamin B9 is an essential vitamin for women. It will reduce high blood pressure, prevents heart disease, and helps reduce memory loss. Orange juice, eggs, melons, dark green vegetables and strawberries are all great foods that have high levels of vitamin B9. Many vitamin supplements are formulated for women with extra concentrations of B9.

Not all multivitamins are created equal. In fact, you need to be checking to ensure that the list of vitamins and minerals included in the multivitamin account for 100 percent of your daily allowances. 

Therefore, you are ensuring that you are getting all the essential nutrients that you should be getting from a multivitamin.

While vegetarian and vegan diets can be very healthy, people often are lacking in certain vitamins and nutrients. Vitamin B12 and iron are two helpful nutrients that often need supplemented by vegetarians. Vegans often need to supplement their calcium and vitamin D intake to ensure they get the proper nutrients.

As you can see, finding the right vitamins and minerals for good health is not as easy as you might think. Fortunately, the right advice can make this task a lot simpler. The next time that you go shopping for supplements, keep these tips in mind. They will help you find what you need.