Eating a nutritious and balanced diet is the most effective way to guarantee that your body is getting all the vitamins and minerals it needs. Fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, low-fat proteins, and dairy products are all excellent sources of essential nutrients. Eating a variety of foods is essential for obtaining different vitamins and minerals. Foods that are naturally rich in nutrients include fruits and vegetables, lean meats, fish, whole grains, dairy products, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
The NHS recommends consuming at least two servings of fish per week, including one of oily fish. Fish is an outstanding source of minerals such as iodine, potassium, and magnesium, as well as vitamin D, protein, and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. To make it easier to adopt the Mediterranean diet, try replacing the usual chicken in salads and sandwiches with canned Alaskan red salmon (also known as sockeye). Wild Alaskan salmon also works great in fajitas or tacos instead of beef. Some population groups (with little or no exposure to sunlight) don't get enough vitamin D from sunlight and are at greater risk of deficiency.
To make sure you're getting the vitamins and minerals your body needs, consider taking a daily supplement that contains 10 micrograms of vitamin D. Everyone over one year old should consider taking a supplement, including pregnant and breastfeeding women. As with vitamins, a healthy and balanced diet should provide all the minerals the body needs to function properly. Trace elements are also essential nutrients that the body needs in much smaller amounts than vitamins and minerals. Between April and September, most people over 5 years old are likely to get enough vitamin D from sunlight when they are outdoors.
Fat-soluble vitamins
are found primarily in foods that are high in natural fats, such as dairy products, eggs, and oily fish.While your body needs these vitamins to work properly, you don't need to eat foods that contain them every day. The vitamin and mineral supplements that come in a bottle simply can't match all the biologically active compounds that abound in a well-stocked pantry. Smoothies are a better option than juices since they contain whole fruit and provide fiber, vitamins, and minerals. In Scotland, everyone over 5 years old should consider taking a vitamin D supplement during the winter. It helps the other B vitamins to break down and release energy from food and to keep the nervous system healthy. Because they are soluble in water, these vitamins can be lost or destroyed when heated, dissolved or exposed to air.
Public Health England recommends that everyone take a vitamin D supplement during the fall and winter when UV levels are too low for synthesis.
