What does vitamins do for the body

Vitamin B6 is found in a wide variety of foods. The richest sources of vitamin B6 include fish, beef liver, potatoes and other starchy vegetables, and fruit other than citrus. Most women 51 and older should aim for mcg RAE each day.

Vitamin A can be found in products such as eggs and milk. It can also be found in vegetables and fruits, like carrots and mangoes.

Vitamin C Most men 51 and older should aim for 75 mg each day. Most women 51 and older should aim for 90 mg each day. Fruits and vegetables are some of the best sources of vitamin C. Citrus fruits, tomatoes, and potatoes can be a large source of vitamin C.

Vitamin E Most men age 51 and older should aim for 15 mg each day. Most women age 51 and older should aim for 15 mg each day. Vitamin E can be found in nuts like peanuts and almonds and can be found in vegetable oils, too. It can also be found in green vegetables, like broccoli and spinach. Vitamin B1 Thiamin Most men 51 and older should aim for 1. You can find vitamin B1 in meat — especially pork — and fish. Vitamin B2 Riboflavin Most men 51 and older should aim for 1.

You can find vitamin B2 in eggs and organ meat, such as liver and kidneys, and lean meat. You can also find it in green vegetables, like asparagus and broccoli. Vitamin B3 Niacin Most men 51 and older should aim for 16 mg each day. Most women 51 and older should aim for 14 mg each day. Vitamin B3 can be found in some types of nuts, legumes, and grains. It can also be found in poultry, beef, and fish.

Vitamin K Most men 51 and older should aim for mg each day. Most women should aim for 90 mg each day. Vitamin K can be found in many foods including green leafy vegetables, like spinach and kale and in some fruits, such as blueberries and figs. It can also be found in cheese, eggs, and different meats. Folate Most men age 51 and older should aim for mcg DFE each day. Most women age 51 and older should aim for mcg DFE each day.

Folate can be found in vegetables and fruit, such as broccoli, brussel sprouts, spinach, and oranges. It can also be found in nuts, beans, and peas. A good way to beat eyesight degeneration is taking precautions and using vitamins regularly. You probably know that calcium is vital for healthy bones. However, did you know that vitamin D is required by calcium to fulfill its job?

The skin also produces vitamin D after direct sunlight exposure, but the use of sunscreen, poor skin absorption, and weak winter sunlight may work against the production of this important nutrient. Another benefit of taking vitamins is that they may help improve brain function. It may also promote better mental health as other conditions like depression and anxiety may be due to nutrient deficiencies.

Just ensure to take quality vitamins only. B vitamins, such as riboflavin, thiamin, B6, B12, biotin, and folate collaborate with some enzymes in your body to metabolize energy from fats, carbohydrates, and protein.

Eating a healthy diet and staying physically active also help maintain a healthy metabolism, which are essential factors for your overall health and healthy aging.

One of the benefits of taking vitamins is that it promotes healthier hair and skin. Taking vitamins can do great things for your health and overall well-being. They can complement the nutrients you get from your food and bring you a step closer to your wellness and health goals.

However, you can only reap those listed benefits above if you remember to take your vitamins regularly and combine them with a healthy balanced diet. Below are some of the many benefits of taking vitamins: 1. Promotes Healthy Aging As much as you want to stay young forever, nobody is exempted from aging. Reduces Anxiety and Stress The minerals and vitamins in your daily multivitamins can significantly reduce levels of anxiety and stress.

Boosts Your Cardiovascular Health Specific vitamins, such as magnesium, C0Q10, and B vitamins, all contribute to a healthy cardiovascular system. Rather than slipping easily into the bloodstream like most water-soluble vitamins, fat-soluble vitamins gain entry to the blood via lymph channels in the intestinal wall see illustration. Many fat-soluble vitamins travel through the body only under escort by proteins that act as carriers.

Fatty foods and oils are reservoirs for the four fat-soluble vitamins. Within your body, fat tissues and the liver act as the main holding pens for these vitamins and release them as needed. To some extent, you can think of these vitamins as time-release micronutrients. Your body squirrels away the excess and doles it out gradually to meet your needs.

Together this vitamin quartet helps keep your eyes, skin, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, and nervous system in good repair. Here are some of the other essential roles these vitamins play:.

Because fat-soluble vitamins are stored in your body for long periods, toxic levels can build up. This is most likely to happen if you take supplements. The body needs, and stores, fairly large amounts of the major minerals. Major minerals travel through the body in various ways.

Potassium, for example, is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, where it circulates freely and is excreted by the kidneys, much like a water-soluble vitamin.

Calcium is more like a fat-soluble vitamin because it requires a carrier for absorption and transport. One of the key tasks of major minerals is to maintain the proper balance of water in the body.

Sodium, chloride, and potassium take the lead in doing this. Three other major minerals—calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium—are important for healthy bones. Sulfur helps stabilize protein structures, including some of those that make up hair, skin, and nails. Having too much of one major mineral can result in a deficiency of another. These sorts of imbalances are usually caused by overloads from supplements, not food sources.

Here are two examples:. A thimble could easily contain the distillation of all the trace minerals normally found in your body. Yet their contributions are just as essential as those of major minerals such as calcium and phosphorus, which each account for more than a pound of your body weight. The other trace minerals perform equally vital jobs, such as helping to block damage to body cells and forming parts of key enzymes or enhancing their activity.

Trace minerals interact with one another, sometimes in ways that can trigger imbalances. Too much of one can cause or contribute to a deficiency of another. Here are some examples:. Antioxidant is a catchall term for any compound that can counteract unstable molecules such as free radicals that damage DNA, cell membranes, and other parts of cells.

Your body cells naturally produce plenty of antioxidants to put on patrol. The foods you eat—and, perhaps, some of the supplements you take—are another source of antioxidant compounds.

Carotenoids such as lycopene in tomatoes and lutein in kale and flavonoids such as anthocyanins in blueberries, quercetin in apples and onions, and catechins in green tea are antioxidants. The vitamins C and E and the mineral selenium also have antioxidant properties.

Free radicals are a natural byproduct of energy metabolism and are also generated by ultraviolet rays, tobacco smoke, and air pollution. They lack a full complement of electrons, which makes them unstable, so they steal electrons from other molecules, damaging those molecules in the process.

Free radicals have a well-deserved reputation for causing cellular damage. But they can be helpful, too. When immune system cells muster to fight intruders, the oxygen they use spins off an army of free radicals that destroys viruses, bacteria, and damaged body cells in an oxidative burst.

Vitamin C can then disarm the free radicals. Antioxidants are able to neutralize marauders such as free radicals by giving up some of their own electrons. When a vitamin C or E molecule makes this sacrifice, it may allow a crucial protein, gene, or cell membrane to escape damage.

This helps break a chain reaction that can affect many other cells. Each of the nutrients that has antioxidant properties also has numerous other aspects and should be considered individually.