What Vitamins & Minerals Do I Need?

Vitamins and minerals provide the vital force for bodily functions and systems. How much vitamins and minerals you need vary over the course of your lifespan. Factors such as age and medical condition influence the amount of vitamins and minerals your body needs. A deficiency in even one vitamin or mineral could jeopardize your health significantly. So, what vitamins and minerals--and how much--do you need? The answer is ever changing.

Vitamins

Vitamins act like spark plugs in the body. They energize and regulate the metabolism by enabling energy resources, such as fats, proteins and carbohydrates to do their job in the body. Your body needs 13 different vitamins for optimal health, according to MedicinePlus. These include vitamins A, C, D, E, K and B, which are broken down into subcategories, such as thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, folate and vitamins B6 and B12. Eleven of these vitamins you must obtain through natural foods or vitamin supplements. Your body can manufacture vitamins D and K.

Minerals

Without minerals, vitamins do nothing for the body. Minerals are like the electricity that runs through electronics. They provide electricity to vitamins. They also provide the electrical current needed for making hormones and regulating the heartbeat. According to Earl Mindell, Ph.D., author of "Earl Mindell's New Vitamin Bible," only seven of the 18 minerals your body needs for optimal functioning have a dietary reference intake, or DRI, established. The seven minerals are macronutrients, which your body needs in larger amounts. These include calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride and sulfur. Micronutrients are other minerals your body needs in trace amounts. They include iron, manganese, copper, iodine, zinc, cobalt, fluoride and selenium. Boron, nickel and arsenic are also minerals your body needs. The body can manufacture some vitamins but cannot manufacture any of the essential minerals your body needs.

Adequate Intake

The recommended amount of vitamins and minerals your body needs changes over time and for a good reason. According to the World Health Organization, determining what, and how much, of a particular vitamin or mineral you need depends largely on expert interpretation and consensus. As new data becomes available, experts modify these recommendations. The DRI established for vitamins and minerals are values categorized by age, gender and other factors such as pregnant or lactating women; therefore, the amount of vitamins and minerals you need might differ from the nutrients your mother needs.

Considerations

Consuming the amount of vitamins and minerals you need may not be sufficient for some people. Some people may have a medical condition that affects how the body absorbs vitamins and minerals. A doctor might prescribe a vitamin supplement that contains enzymes and other agents that help patients absorb nutrients. The National Institutes of Health provides DRIs for vitamins and minerals, but these recommendations are only general guides for otherwise healthy people. Typically, an adult daily multivitamin provides sufficient amounts of vitamins and minerals for most healthy men and women. Likewise, a children's daily multivitamin provides the essential nutrients your child needs, according to BabyCenter. Keep in mind that only your doctor can determine the amount of vitamin and mineral intake that is most appropriate for you.