There are many types of vitamins to consider when you are looking at the core vitamins you want for each day. Some vitamins you will get easily because your body can produce them… others will need to be ingested regularly from the foods you eat. By taking a quick looks at the most important vitamins we can’t make on our own, we can all feel a little better about the foods we eat, or don’t eat (in the case of dieting).
Vitamins that stay with you:
Be careful about fat soluble vs water-soluble vitamins.
Fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) are ones that are easily absorbed and stored in your body (fat), whereas, water-soluble vitamins pass right through you if they are not used by your body (B12 is an exception to this).
If you overdo it on fat soluble vitamins (or B12, which stores itself in your liver), you may actually be poisoning yourself with toxic levels of these vitamins, so be mindful of your levels.
Choline and Carnitine Vitamins
Choline and Carnitine are vitamins that aren’t considered “essential vitamins”, but even medical news outlets make it well known that the body does not create enough Choline for healthy function. Definitely look at your diet to see if you are getting enough Choline.
Carnitine can usually be made at sufficient levels by the body all on its own. However, some people need to take supplements when their liver or kidneys are not creating enough. This could be considered an “essential vitamin” for conditions such as this. It is important for getting energy (fat) into your cells, so not getting enough will leave muscles weak.
Important nutrients the body can’t make:
- Omega-3
- Vitamins (there are 13 essential ones)
- Minerals (there are many, including iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, sodium, manganese, sulfur, chloride, iodine, fluoride, copper, selenium, chromium and cobalt)
- Water
Ideally, you get all of these from the daily foods you eat or supplements you take, if necessary, but understanding this is the basis for keeping a healthy body.