Vitamins and minerals serve multiple purposes. They maintain strong teeth and bones and keep your skin healthy, for example. As long as you're eating a diet that includes a wide variety of foods, you should get enough vitamins through diet alone. If you're on a restricted diet or special diet, such as a vegan diet, you may need to take vitamins or a vitamin supplement to help meet the demands of your body. Ask your healthcare provider what's right for you.
Vision
Certain vitamins and minerals help daytime and nighttime vision, and they help you differentiate various colors. Vitamins A helps you see colors ranging from deep purple to neon orange, and it helps you see in the dark. Vitamin E helps prevent cataracts, which can blur and distort your vision when you become older. Zinc also benefits your eyes. It helps your body absorb vitamin A, which is vital for your eyes. Zinc also helps prevent night blindness as well as macular degeneration.
Blood Benefits
Your blood needs iron to produce hemoglobin, which is a special protein that your body uses to carry oxygen throughout your body. Without hemoglobin, body tissues would die because oxygen would not reach them. If your body doesn't receive enough iron, you could develop anemia, which is a condition that can leave you feeling tired and worn down because your blood cells do not receive enough oxygen. B vitamins also play an important role in your blood. They help make red blood cells, which contain hemoglobin.
Genetics and Birth Defects
Folic acid, also known as folate, helps repair tissues and produces deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. DNA is your genetic code, which can affect your baby and possibly future generations. Getting enough folic acid before and during pregnancy can decrease the risk of your baby developing certain birth defects. Folic acid is known to prevent spina bifida and other neurological birth defects. If you don't get enough folic acid, you could develop mouth ulcers, gray hair, peptic ulcers and diarrhea.
Energy Production and Regulating Other Nutrients
Magnesium regulates various levels of calcium, potassium, zinc, copper and vitamin D. Magnesium also helps produce energy for your body to use. Your teeth and bones are composed of this important mineral, which also helps activate various enzymes. Magnesium is especially important for your muscles, kidneys and heart. Symptoms of magnesium deficiency include restless leg syndrome, sleep disorders, abnormal sinus rhythm, irritability and muscle spasms.
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