The best approach to ensure you're getting a variety of vitamins and minerals, and in the right amounts, is to eat a large, healthy diet. This involves focusing on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes, low-fat proteins and dairy products. Most people should be able to get all the nutrients they need with a varied and balanced diet. If you decide to take vitamin and mineral supplements, seek advice when appropriate. Have you ever wondered if you are getting enough vitamins and minerals in your diet or if you need to supplement it by taking a multivitamin? Many Americans skimp on nutrient-rich foods, such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and proteins, which provide essential vitamins and minerals.
Instead, we follow a diet with excess salt, fat, refined sugar and highly processed foods, all of which tend to provide few vitamins. NHS guidelines recommend that we eat at least two servings of fish a week, including one of oily fish. Fish is a great source of minerals, such as iodine, potassium and magnesium, and it also provides vitamin D, protein, and the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids that are important for circulation and the brain, explains Sarah. An easy way to adopt the Mediterranean diet is to include more protein-rich fish in meals.
At mealtime, you can swap your regular chicken in salads and sandwiches for canned red Alaskan salmon (also known as red salmon), for an extra touch of color and one of the highest amounts of omega-3 fatty acids of any type of fish. At night, try swapping meat for fish in your favorite dishes; wild Alaskan salmon works great in fajitas or tacos instead of beef, for example. Susanna Reid Talk about losing weight by 1.5 stones. Because they are soluble in water, these vitamins can be lost or destroyed when heated, dissolved, or exposed to air.
Between April and September, most people age 5 and older are likely to get enough vitamin D from sunlight when they're outside. The sodium found in salt is an essential nutrient that the body uses to maintain blood pressure and regulate nerves and muscles. While your body needs these vitamins to work properly, you don't need to eat foods that contain them every day. I recommend that my clients intentionally add calcium-containing foods to their regular diet, and some may need a vitamin D supplement, as it is not found in many foods.
Fat-soluble vitamins
are found primarily in foods high in natural fats, such as dairy products, eggs, and oily fish.However, Public Health England recommends that everyone take a vitamin D supplement during the fall and winter, when UV levels are too low to be synthesized. The DASH diet is also thought to lower blood pressure by reducing sodium intake and increasing intake of potassium, calcium, magnesium, antioxidant vitamins, and fiber. It's very difficult to get all the recommended vitamins and minerals daily in one day if you follow a diet focused on highly processed ready meals and fast food. It helps other B vitamins to break down and release energy from food and to keep the nervous system healthy.
If you're a vegan, you should consider taking a vitamin B supplement to reduce the risk of developing anemia due to vitamin B12 deficiency. Vegetarians, vegans, pregnant and breastfeeding people are likely to need to take a supplement and should also make sure to choose specific foods rich in vitamins. By focusing on the big picture, it's easy to get enough vitamins, minerals, and other micronutrients you need to stay healthy and prevent disease. Look at the vitamins listed on the bottom of the food label and you'll see how much vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium they contain.
