Diets rich in fruits and vegetables should provide adequate vitamins without supplementation being necessary; however, certain health problems or digestive issues may require you to take additional vitamins to prevent deficiencies. Consult your doctor if this applies to you.
Your body requires 13 essential vitamins that it cannot produce on its own; to get these through food or supplements. These include fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E as well as water-soluble ones like C and the B’s — such as thiamine riboflavin niacin and folic acid.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A (retinol and retinoic acid) is an essential nutrient essential to vision, growth, cell development, reproduction, immunity function and protection from infections by working with cells lining your airways, digestive tract and urinary tract. For best results when it comes to pregnant women taking supplements containing excess Vitamin A during gestation – exceeding recommended amounts can cause birth defects. It’s best to obtain all your Vitamin A needs through food sources; otherwise beware taking too much retinol during your pregnancy — excess amounts can lead to birth defects! If taking vitamin A in this capacity is needed as overdose can cause birth defects in future pregnancies!
Vitamin A can be obtained in two forms, preformed from animal products and provitamin A carotenoids from plant foods. Your body then converts provitamin A carotenoids to the active form needed by your body – giving your eyes the antioxidant support needed for treatment, treating diarrhea and measles infections and cancerous head and neck growths among other things. Vitamin A has also been proven effective against eye diseases.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D, also referred to as the “sunshine” vitamin, helps the body absorb calcium and phosphorous for healthy bones. It is found in certain foods such as fatty fish and fortified milk products as well as sun exposure or supplement form; additionally it comes in two forms – D2 (ergocalciferol) and D3 (cholecalciferol) with D3 being more easily absorbed through digestion.
While vitamin D from food and sun should be sufficient to meet most people’s needs, supplementation might be beneficial depending on your age or sun exposure. Too much vitamin D can lead to toxic levels resulting in renal failure, soft-tissue calcification (including heart valve calcification), and ultimately death [1] A blood test can measure 25(OH)D levels to see if they are sufficient or deficient [2.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that acts as an antioxidant by neutralising oxygen compounds called free radicals, providing essential protection from oxidative stress which may lead to cell damage. Furthermore, Vitamin E also inhibits platelet aggregation and has anti-inflammatory properties.
Improves red blood cell production, helping them carry oxygen throughout your body from your lungs. Furthermore, it supports healthy vision and acts as an excellent natural immune system booster.
Vitamin E provides numerous heart health benefits by decreasing LDL and triglyceride oxidation and possibly helping reduce arterial clotting. Furthermore, its antioxidant qualities have been known to lower systolic blood pressure through decreased lipid levels; its presence can be found in nuts, seeds and vegetables or supplement form.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is essential to body functions such as blood clotting and bone metabolism. Studies suggest it helps prevent heart-related illnesses and increase vessel elasticity; additionally it has been implicated in inhibiting calcium accumulation (calcification) within blood vessels that is linked with heart disease; finally dietary consumption of Vitamin K appears inversely related with osteoarthritis of the knees.
Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone), found mainly in plant foods like leafy greens and vegetable oils, is the most prevalent form of this vitamin. Menaquinone may have even greater health benefits as it remains in your system for an extended period of time – this form can be found in animal products, fermented foods and gut bacteria.
Folic Acid
Folic acid, also known as vitamin B9, can be found in food and supplements alike. Folic acid plays an important role during gestation to help prevent serious birth defects like spina bifida and anencephaly – for this reason most flour products and flour products contain fortified with 400 micrograms of folic acid to promote its use as an effective preventive measure against potential birth defects. Women planning pregnancy are encouraged to take daily supplementations of 400 micrograms of folic acid.
Folic acid alone or combined with other B vitamins has been shown to effectively lower homocysteine levels in the blood, which has been linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Folic acid is essential to healthy cell development and production, with studies showing its positive effects on cancer induction and progression in laboratory environments. Timing of exposure appears critical to its benefits on cancer risk reduction.
