Vitamins and Supplements – Where to Start?
There’s no question that the world we live in today is more health obsessed than ever before. Nowadays, we are surrounded by campaigns that tell us we need to be more conscious of our physical, mental and financial health.
Acknowledging this is all well and good, but actually doing something about it on an individual level can be difficult, with one of the biggest challenges being ‘where do I start?’
For many, the most obvious place to start is with their physical health; having a healthy body can set you on a path to having a healthy mind, and having a healthy mind makes it a lot easier to then improve your financial wellbeing.
Taking care of your physical wellbeing can therefore serve as a strong foundation to having good mental health and being financially secure, so perhaps this is the area of wellbeing that should be focused on first. Okay, so now we have a place to start but what is the most effective way of improving your physical health?
We all know that exercising on a regular basis is a must when it comes to maintaining good physical health and the importance of regular exercise can’t be overstated. However, something that is equally important, if not more so, is making sure that you give your body all of the nutrients and minerals that it needs to function properly.
Of course, this is underpinned by eating healthily and having a balanced diet but there may be some nutrients that cannot be provided by food alone. This is where vitamins and other supplements can play an important role.
Most of us have had some experience with vitamins in the past but with the market now containing thousands upon thousands of products, picking the right product for you can feel close to impossible.
There are now products available that allow you to have a sample of your DNA tested, the results of which will identify which vitamins and minerals your body needs more of.
However, these products can be expensive and may not be appropriate for everyone. When thinking about the vitamins your body needs, the key is to keep it simple; vitamins are essential organic substances that your body’s cells need to function, grow, develop and heal properly.
By that token, there are 13 ‘essential vitamins’ that your body needs - vitamins A, C, D, E, K, and the B vitamins, B6, B12, biotin, folate, niacin, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, and thiamine. A major deficiency in any one of these vitamins could lead to serious health problems.
In addition to the above, there are 16 essential minerals that your body requires and these can be split into two categories; macrominerals and trace minerals. Macrominerals are minerals that your body needs in relatively large amounts and trace minerals are those that your body needs in small amounts.
The essential macrominerals are calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulphur. The trace minerals your body requires are iron, zinc, iodine, chromium, copper, fluoride, molybdenum, manganese, and selenium.
Another important nutrient to consider is choline, which is widely considered to play an important role in nerve and brain function. Meat, eggs and poultry are all excellent sources of choline. Strict vegetarians or vegans may want to consider taking a choline supplement.
When deciding on a vitamin or mineral supplement to take, it is important to think about these essential vitamins and minerals as well as your long term health goals.
If you are interested in getting a more in depth understanding of what vitamins and minerals you need, or if you have any vitamin deficiencies that you might not know of, then seeking a professional opinion is recommended.
Additionally, there are many products now available that have a focus on DNA analysis, which will tell an individual which vitamins and minerals they are short of. If this is of interest to you, you may want to read another of our blogs, 'Don’t believe the hype – DNA tests'. This summarises some of the important considerations that need to be made when selecting a DNA test product.