A Vitamins and Minerals Guide For Beginners

Vitamins and minerals are nutrients the body needs in relatively small amounts. Each of these nutrients have unique roles in the body. Together, they help us maintain our health, feel good, perform well, and live longer. 

Some of these nutrients, such as zinc, can be found in almost every cell in the body. Other nutrients, like vitamin C, help the body carry out various metabolic processes. And some nutrients can serve as building blocks for various tissues in the body. For instance, calcium provides structure and density to our bones. 

In an ideal scenario, we would get all of the vitamins and minerals we need through food.  

Sadly, we need an incredibly varied and balanced diet to achieve this, and our modern lifestyles rarely allow that these days. 

In today’s post, we’ll take an in-depth look at vitamins and minerals and how to go about getting enough of them. Let’s dive in.

What Are Vitamins And What Do They Do?

Vitamins are organic molecules that come from plants and animal products. We need these substances to function well, grow, and develop.  

The body needs thirteen vitamins to function optimally. They come in two categories:

• Fat-soluble (vitamins A, D, E, and K) - we store these in our fat tissues, and the body absorbs them more easily in the presence of fatty acids.
• Water-soluble (vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12, and C) - we cannot store these. If any of them remain and the body doesn’t find an immediate use, we get rid of them through urine. So, we must get enough of them regularly to prevent deficiencies. 

Each of these vitamins play unique roles in the body, and deficiency can lead to all sorts of immediate and long-term issues. For instance, vitamin C deficiency leads to scurvy. Short-term problems include exhaustion, pain in the limbs, and more. Long-term issues include spontaneous bleeding and loss of teeth.

What Are Minerals And What Are Their Roles?

Unlike vitamins, minerals are not organic molecules and don’t originate in living organisms. Instead, they are naturally found in soil and water. 

Minerals also play many vital roles and help the body maintain its heart, lungs, muscles, brain, and other tissues.

Minerals come in two categories:

• Macrominerals (magnesium, sodium, calcium, chloride, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur) - we need these in larger amounts to keep ourselves healthy and functioning well.
• Trace minerals (copper, zinc, iron, manganese, fluoride, selenium, and iodine) - we need less of these to remain healthy, but they are still essential for our health 

Like vitamins, minerals also have unique roles in the body, and we need them for various things. For instance, iron plays a vital role in carrying oxygen through the blood and producing certain hormones.

Toxicity is much less common and is only possible if a person combines a severely unbalanced diet with dietary supplementation.

How to Get Enough Of Each Nutrient The Body Needs?

The best way to get enough vitamins and minerals is to consume a balanced and varied diet. The majority of your calories should come from whole and nutritious foods. In doing so, you will cover most of your needs and remain healthy. 

Another thing you can do is supplement with a multivitamin. These products can work well with a healthy diet and help you fill in the blanks.