If you are like most people, I am sure you have heard…”Don’t forget to take your vitamins” or “eat your vegetables or salad…they are loaded with vitamins and minerals. But what exactly are vitamins and minerals? How do they benefit us? Are they something to be concerned with?
Vitamins and minerals are substances that are found in all the foods we eat. The fruits, the vegetables, the meats and the fish we eat are great sources for the essential vitamins and minerals we require. Our bodies need these vitamins and minerals, regardless of our age, so our bodies grow and function properly. Each and every vitamin or mineral plays a specific role in maintaining a healthy body.
Some of the most important or well known vitamins are: Vitamin D, found in milk and is essential for our bones, Vitamin A, found in carrots and is good for our vision, Vitamin C, found in oranges helps our bodies heal from minor cuts and Vitamin B, found in leafy green vegetables helps your body produce protein and energy.
Vitamins and minerals come in two forms: fat soluble and water soluble. When we eat foods containing fat soluble vitamins, they are stored in the fat tissues of our body and our liver. When our body is reaching out for them, they are there for our bodies to use. Some of these fat soluble vitamins can stick around for a few days, or few months. Fat soluble vitamins are essential and include: Vitamin A, Vitamin D and Vitamins E and K.
Vitamins that are water soluble are completely different. They are not stored in your body, they are used or come out when you urinate. Since these vitamins are not stored in our bodies, they need to be replenished more frequently. These include Vitamin C and all your B vitamins.
So lets face it, our body can do lots of wonderful things, but the one thing it can not do is produce vitamins…we need to rely on outside sources for that. That is where our diets come in and the food we eat. Your body has the capability to capture these vitamins from the foods we eat, and determine where best to use or store them. In most, if not all cases, if we are eating properly, eating the right foods eliminates the need for a daily vitamin, as the proper foods will provide all our essential vitamins.
The importance of vitamins and minerals can not be understated. Vitamins A, B, C, D, K, and E are all essential, and easily obtained in the foods we eat.
