Your body receives vitamins and minerals through food and uses them to complete chemical reactions and function correctly. The foods that you eat must contain the essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs or you will become vitamin deficient. To ensure health, eat a diet that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and healthy oils.
The Essential Vitamins
Your body has specific vitamins that must be consumed through your diet. These are known as the 13 essential vitamins. These vitamins include vitamins A, C, D, E, K and the B vitamins. The B vitamins are thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12 and folate according to MedlinePlus. Because vitamins are so important to your overall health, the Harvard School of Public Health recommends that you take a daily multivitamin in addition to eating a healthy diet to ensure that you receive all of the nutrition that you need each day.
Common Vitamin Deficiencies
Simply put, if you do not eat enough of certain vitamins then you will develop symptoms of a deficiency. One common example is a lack of vitamin D, which is important for proper bone growth. Vitamin D can become deficient if you do not get enough sunlight each day or if you do not eat enough vitamin D-rich foods such as egg yolks, saltwater fish and liver. A lack of vitamin D can result in osteoporosis or rickets. A lack of B-12 or B-6 from not eating fish or poultry, can also cause problems including anemia and an increased risk for heart disease. Each vitamin has different properties and functions in the body and therefore a lack of that vitamin will result in decreased function of your body, which can result in lack of energy, lack of immune function or an increased risk for chronic illness like heart disease or cancer.
A Proper Diet
A proper diet that is balanced with healthy sources of protein, carbohydrates, fat and other nutrients is the best way to ensure that you get the essential vitamins and minerals. If you eat a healthy diet that consists of a large portion of fresh fruits and vegetables you will have a majority of the essential vitamins in your diet. A guideline on healthy eating has been created by the Harvard School of Public Health and it outlines the types of foods to eat and the types of foods to avoid. It recommends that you eat a majority of plant foods such as fruits and vegetables with some lean meat including fish and poultry. It further states that you should avoid foods high in saturated fat, sugar, trans fat and foods that are highly processed because these foods do not supply healthy vitamins and nutrients.
Considerations
If you want to have optimal health and prevent a vitamin deficiency, then you need watch what you eat and consider taking a daily multivitamin to ensure that you get proper nutrition each day. If you are unsure about what types of foods to eat or if you may be deficient in a certain vitamin talk to your health care provider and work with a dietitian to plan appropriate meals. Some common causes for vitamin deficiencies include a diet low in beta carotene causing vitamin A deficiency, folic acid deficiency from a diet low in green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits and animal products, vitamin D deficiency from inadequate sunlight and vitamin B-12 deficiency from not eating enough meat products. For the majority of these deficiencies diet is the main cause, which further supports the notion that you should include a healthy variety of fruits, vegetables and lean meats in your daily nutrition.
References
- MedlinePlus: Nutrition
- MedlinePlus: Vitamins
- The Harvard School of Public Health: Vitamins
- Journal of Applied Physiology: "Effects of Exercise and Diet on Chronic Disease"
- American Academy of Family Physicians: Vitamin B-12
- The Internet Journal of Nutrition and Wellness: "Vitamin Deficiencies: An Overview"
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