What Vitamins Should I Take Daily? A Comprehensive Guide

According to nutritionists, there are seven essential ingredients that your multivitamin should have. Vitamin D helps our bodies absorb calcium, which is important for bone health. Magnesium is an essential nutrient, meaning we need to get it from food or supplements. The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of vitamins and minerals is the average daily intake a person needs to avoid deficiencies and stay healthy.

Men and women often have different vitamin and mineral recommendations. Vitamins and minerals are measured in different ways. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, also known as retinol. The RDA of vitamin A is 700 micrograms for women and 900 micrograms for men.

Vitamin A can be found in many dairy products and in yellow or orange fruits and vegetables. There are eight B vitamins, which make up the vitamin B complex, with different RDA. According to the U. S.

Department of Agriculture (USDA), most Americans don't get their RDA of B vitamins in their daily nutrition. Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that contains antioxidants that promote healthy tissue growth. The RDA for men is 90 milligrams and 75 milligrams for women. Vitamin C can be found in many fruits and vegetables.

For those who have an iron deficiency, vitamin C can help the body absorb it better. Vitamin D is an essential fat-soluble vitamin that is activated by ultraviolet (UV) light. In addition to sun exposure, vitamin D is also found in cod liver oil, fatty fish, fortified juices, milk, and cereals. Vitamin E is an important vitamin for organ function.

You should receive 15 milligrams a day. Sources of vitamin E include vegetable oils, avocados, spinach, seeds and nuts, and whole grains. Vitamin K is essential for blood clotting. The RDA of vitamin K is 120 micrograms for men and 90 micrograms for women.

This protein-rich vitamin is found mainly in leafy green vegetables. Calcium is a mineral needed for healthy bone growth. The RDA of calcium is 1000 milligrams for men and women ages 19 to 51; for women 51 and older and for men over 70, it increases to 1200 milligrams per day. Most dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt are good sources of calcium.

Tofu, spinach, soy and rhubarb are also high in calcium. Iron helps carry oxygen in the blood. A lack of iron can cause immune system weakness and fatigue. Men and women should consume between 8 and 18 milligrams of iron a day.

Iron is found in red meat, leafy green vegetables, and legumes. Megadoses (many times the recommended daily allowance) of vitamins are not recommended as this can interfere with the absorption of other nutrients or medications, or it can even become toxic if you take too much over a long period of time. Everyone should take at least 10 mcg (400 IU) of vitamin D a day during the winter months as it is difficult to get enough UV light or from our diet alone during this time of year. Newborns are given vitamin K at birth, on the fourth day of life, and when they are 1 month old if they are not formula fed as they are born with insufficient levels of this essential vitamin for blood clotting.

Most people don't need to take vitamin supplements and can get all the vitamins and minerals they need if they eat a healthy, balanced diet; however more than 90% of Americans get less than the estimated average requirement for vitamin D and vitamin E from dietary sources alone so eating foods high in vitamin C such as avocados, citrus fruits and potatoes with their skin on on a daily basis is enough to meet these requirements. Women should take folic acid before pregnancy not just during pregnancy as part of their multivitamin use case for women of childbearing potential. When choosing which vitamins and supplements to take it's important to carefully look at the nutritional value of all the foods in your diet and see how close you approach the FDA-recommended RDI for each essential vitamin and mineral; pregnant women should also take zinc, magnesium, vitamins and iron supplements to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

Ben Liebhardt
Ben Liebhardt

Amateur travel fanatic. General web buff. Certified travel junkie. Twitter nerd. Infuriatingly humble web practitioner. Certified beer nerd.

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