Why are vitamins important for your body?
Vitamins don’t provide energy like carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, but they are essential compounds that help the body grow and function optimally. Thirteen essential vitamins help boost your immunity, strengthen your bones, heal wounds, improve your vision, and help you extract energy from food — among several other functions.
Without adequate vitamin intake, you may feel lethargic, vulnerable to infections, and develop other serious complications that can endanger your health and life.
Types of vitamins
Vitamins are classified as either fat-soluble or water-soluble, referring to where they are stored in the body. Fat-soluble vitamins include A, D, E, and K, and are stored in your various fat stores for up to six months. Water-soluble vitamins circulate through your blood and include the B vitamins—namely B-6, B-12, riboflavin, thiamin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, and folic acid—and vitamin C. Your body does not store water-soluble vitamins, so you must replenish them regularly.
Basic functions
Each of the 13 vitamins has a specific function, but they also work together to promote optimal health. Vitamin A supports healthy vision, immune function, skin, bones and teeth. You need vitamin C to support the absorption of the mineral iron and also to provide immune protection and encourage healthy tissue development.
Vitamin D, along with the mineral calcium, promotes bone health and a strong body defense system. Vitamin E facilitates your body’s use of vitamin K, which aids in blood clotting and bone health, and promotes the formation of essential red blood cells. The eight B vitamins support healthy metabolism, brain function, hormone production, regular heart surgery, central nervous system function, and cellular function.
Vitamin deficiencies
Inadequate vitamin intake puts your health at risk, as you are more vulnerable to heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis. A deficiency of B vitamins can lead to permanent nerve damage and anemia. If you get too little vitamin C, your body can no longer produce collagen, the primary tissue in the body.
In severe cases of vitamin C deficiency, people develop scurvy, characterized by muscle and joint pain, fatigue, spongy and swollen gums, and red patches on the skin. Vitamin D deficiency causes rickets in children, which manifests as bone pain, deformities, and poor growth and can contribute to poor bone health in adults, as well as high blood pressure, some cancers, and autoimmune diseases.
Make sure you get enough
A diet rich in a variety of fresh vegetables, fruits, fortified dairy products, whole grains, dried beans and lentils, and lean meats and fish will help you get the vitamins you need.
If you have a vitamin deficiency or want to supplement it, take a look at all the products in the range that vitamins that can be difficult to understand.
Of course, you should always avoid overdosing, so consult your doctor if you are unsure whether you are getting enough vitamins.
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