It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when looking at the vitamin section of a drugstore. There’s just so many options starting you in the face. But, if you want to be able to make the best decisions about your health, it’s important that you have an understanding of what each vitamin does for your body, and why each is important.
Vitamins are chemical compounds that have a very important function in the human body. You only need tiny amounts of them, but you have to get them from food or supplements. Your body can’t make them on its own. How many vitamins do you need? It turns out that there are only 13 in all, and they can be divided into two categories: water-soluble and fat-soluble.
Water-soluble vitamins are stored for only short periods of time in the body. Since they dissolve in water, and extra is flushed out. Since you can’t store them up, you need to get a fresh supply every day. Vitamin C and the B vitamins are water soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the liver and fatty tissue. Because they don’t get flushed out, you need to make sure you don’t get too much of them. Vitamins A, E, D, and K are fat-soluble.
As a start, you’ll want to ensure you are getting the minimum amount of vitamins into your body. The Recommended Daily Allowance, or RDA, is just that — the baseline your body needs to prevent vitamin-related disease. Most people will actually want to get more than the minimum in their diet for optimal health. Because vitamins play such an important role in health, it’s worth the time to educate yourself about them.
Walter enjoys learning and writing about health-related subjects. He’s also a Web 2.0 and Social Media junkie. Check out his latest website on Six Sigma Certification including options for Black Belt Certification.
