Vitamins & Minerals
Frequently Asked Questions…
What are Vitamins?
Vitamins are compounds found in certain foods (plants and animals) that are not only vital to growth, function, energy, tissue repair, and overall health, wellness, vitality and longevity – but given your body can’t produce vitamins on its own, they must be obtained through either diet or dietary supplements.*
There are two categories of vitamins: water-soluble and fat-soluble. Water-soluble vitamins, such as vitamins B and C, need to be included in our daily diet, as your body doesn’t store any excess of these vitamins, where fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A, D, E and K, are absorbed by the intestine and transported to different parts of the body. Every vitamin has a specific and vital task to perform.*
What the Vitamins Do?
- Vitamin A: Helps regulate cell growth, promote bone and teeth development, boost the immune system, improve healing, is particularly needed for good vision and healthy skin, and can be found in liver, kidneys, butter, eggs, fish oils, and the beta-carotene of green and yellow fruit and vegetables.*
- Vitamin B1: Necessary for converting blood sugar into energy, supports the nervous system, promotes growth, and obtained from wheat germ, peanuts, sunflower seeds, beans, pork, cereals and peas.*
- Vitamin B2: Helps with energy production, is particularly important during growth and development, protects the nervous system, eyes and skin, and is mainly found in milk, cheese, yogurt, green leafy vegetables, liver, kidneys, chicken and bread.*
- Vitamin B3: Essential in keeping the skin, nerve, and digestive system healthy, helps to release energy from the foods we eat, aids in managing blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and can be found in lean meats, poultry, fish, avocados, peanuts and sunflower seeds.*
- Vitamin B5: Helps strengthen the body’s immune system, fight infections, heal wounds, build cells, and is mainly found in liver, kidneys, fish, eggs and whole-grain products.*
- Vitamin B6: Supports the nervous and immune systems, helps you resist stress, maintains proper body fluid chemical balance, and is found in meat, eggs, cabbage, melon, molasses, yeast, avocados, carrots, bananas, fish, rice, soybeans and whole grains.*
- Vitamin B12: Promotes cellular growth and development, enables your body to process carbohydrates and fats, supports the nervous system, helps improve memory and concentration, and can be obtained from fish, dairy products, pork, beef, lamb and eggs.*
- Vitamin C: Required for healthy skin, bones, and muscles, supports collagen production (the connective tissue that holds bones together), helps protect against viruses and allergies, benefits cholesterol, and aids the absorption of iron. As an important antioxidant, Vitamin C helps combat cell-damaging free-radicals, accelerates healing, maintains health teeth and gums, and can be found in fresh fruits, berries, tomatoes, broccoli, green peppers, vegetables and potatoes.*
- Vitamin D: Important for strong bones and teeth, assists in the absorption of calcium, and can be obtained from milk products, eggs, herring, salmon, sardines and fish oil. Sun exposure is also a source of vitamin D, as ultraviolet rays from sunlight can trigger vitamin D synthesis in the skin.*
- Vitamin E: Essential for the absorption of iron, fertility, helps prevent blood clots, and as a powerful antioxidant, benefits anti-aging by combating cell-damaging free-radicals, and can be obtained from vegetable oils, nuts, sunflower seeds, eggs, wheat germ and green leafy vegetables.*
- Vitamin K: Helps with blood-clotting and healing, and can be obtained from green vegetables, milk products, cod-liver oil, apricots and whole grains.*
What are Minerals?
Just like vitamins, minerals help your body grow, develop, and stay healthy. The body uses minerals to perform many different functions – from building strong bones, to transmitting nerve impulses. There are two kinds of minerals: macro (large) and trace (small) minerals, with your body needing larger amounts of macro than trace minerals. The macro-mineral group is made up of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride, and sulfur – and the trace minerals includes iron, manganese, copper, iodine, zinc, cobalt, fluoride, and selenium.
What the Minerals Do?
- Calcium: The top macro-mineral that helps build strong bones, healthy teeth, and can be found in milk, cheese, yogurt, salmon, sardines, leafy green vegetables, broccoli, and calcium-fortified orange juice, cereals and crackers.*
- Iron: Supports the formation of hemoglobin (the part of your red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body) to transport oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body, and is found in meet (particularly red meat), tuna, salmon, eggs, beans, baked potato with skins, dried fruits like raisins, leafy green vegetables, whole and enriched grains like wheat or oats.
- Potassium: Helps keep your muscles and nervous system working properly and can be obtained from bananas, broccoli, tomatoes, potatoes with skins, leafy green vegetables, citrus fruits, legumes such as beans, peas, lentils, and peanuts.
- Zinc: Strengthens your immune system, helps with cell growth, healing, and is found in beef, pork, lamb, legumes such as beans, peas, lentils, and peanuts.
- Selenium: As a trace mineral, Selenium acts as a vital antioxidant (especially when combined with Vitamin E) to help protect the immune system, combats cell-damaging free-radicals, aids in the production of antibodies, helps maintain heart health, supports pancreatic function and tissue elasticity, and can be found in brazil nuts, wheat germ, molasses, sunflower seeds, whole wheat bread, dairy foods, fish and shellfish, red meat, chicken, liver, and garlic.*
Adding a quality multi-vitamin and mineral complex to your daily regimen can help provide you with a solid nutritional foundation for optimum health, vitality and well-being.*