Vitamins in Food are Not Enough
Vitamins in food are not enough to get your daily recommend allowance of vitamins and minerals. Don’t get me wrong, if you had enough time in your day to figure the nutritional values of fruit, vegetables and that favorite sandwich at the drive through, we might me able to conquer it.
The fact of the matter is, in today’s society we don’t have time to make sure that the foods we are eating are meeting the recommend dose. We try, but let’s face it, it’s usually impossible to stop, pull over and get that list of vitamins and minerals you need and figure out how much you’ve missed for the day.
Your body is one powerful machine, capable of doing all sorts of things on its own. But one thing it can't do is make vitamins. That's where food comes in.
Your body is able to get the necessary vitamins in food however; you must eat a variety of different foods that contain different vitamins in order to achieve the daily recommended dose. In a perfect world, the key is to eat different foods to get the assortment of vitamins and minerals our body needs.
So let’s face it, most of us can’t get the required vitamins in food because we can’t always eat the right foods every day for one reason or another. Our bodies however need vitamins and minerals in small steady amounts for good health, normal growth and your daily functions.
Most micronutrients, or vitamins and minerals, cannot be made by our bodies therefore we must get them from food we eat and more than likely from dietary vitamin supplements.
- Minerals. These nutrients include such elements as calcium, iron, magnesium phosphorus, potassium and zinc. Minerals make up the bulk of your teeth and bones, and help in the development of other cells and enzymes. Minerals can be found in soil and water and thus consumed by animals and absorbed by plants.
- Vitamins. The human body requires about twenty substances for proper growth digestion and nerve function. The body is incapable of producing these organic compounds therefore they must be obtained from the diet or through a dietary supplement. Vitamins help with the process that allows your body to use carbohydrates, fats and proteins necessary for energy and repair. Vitamins can be found in a variety of plant and animal products and are involved in converting food into energy.
- Fat-soluble vitamins include A, D, E, and K. They are stored in the fat tissues in your body and in your liver until your body needs them. This can be anywhere from a few days up to six months depending upon when your body needs them.
- Water-soluble vitamins include vitamin B complex, vitamin C, and bioflavonoids. They travel in your bloodstream and whatever is not used is then excreted. They don’t stay around very long therefore need to be replaced often.
It is essential for our bodies to make sure that they function properly. No one can really afford not to get their daily requirements of all the needed vitamins and minerals.
The longer we go without those needed nutrients, the more damage we do to our body. There have been numerous studies done to prove that vitamins and minerals are essential in combating diseases such as cancer and diabetes.
While it is always best to get the minerals and vitamins in food we eat, it’s not always possible. The next best thing is to make sure we take a nutritional supplement to assure we are getting what is required every day.
