Daily vitamins and minerals

When you were little your parents told you that if you to eat fruits and vegetables you will grow up strong and healthy. What they hadn't told you is that vitamins and minerals taken by your body from fruits and vegetables (or other foods) are doing an excellent job to keep you in a great health and to help you fight against ageing.

But what are vitamins and minerals and what is their role in maintaining the healthy and youthful appearance of the body?

Minerals are chemical elements which help the body to produce hormones, regulate the balance of fluids in your body, maintain a normal heart beat, build strong bones, transmit nerve signals. There are 15 needed minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, chromium, copper, fluoride, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, zinc, chloride, potassium and sodium).

Vitamins are chemical compounds implicated in converting food into energy and living tissue. There are thirteen needed vitamins and only four that are produced in the body itself ( Biotin, pantothenic acid and vitamin K are made in the human intestine). The rest has to come from a daily balanced diet or from supplements): 

• Vitamin A: is good for growth, eyesight, appetite; it can be found in liver, carrots, milk products, green leafy vegetables; 800 micrograms are daily recommended.
• Vitamin B1: helps with nervous system, heart, digestion, muscles, alcohol-damaged nervous tissues; it can be found in wholemeal products, liver, peanuts, milk; 1.4mg are daily recommended.
• Vitamin B2: is good for hair, nails, skin, sensitive lips and tongue; good sources for it are green leafy vegetables, fish, liver, cheese; 1.6mg are daily recommended.
• Vitamin B6: prevents nerve problems, skin disorders; it can be found in fish, whole grains, bananas, dried beans, chicken, pork; 2mg are daily recommended.
• Vitamin B12: makes red blood cells and helps the formation of the nerves; beef, fish, liver, cheese are rich sources of B12; 1 microgram is daily recommended.
• Vitamin C: protects against viruses and bacteria; heals wounds; reduces cholesterol content of the blood; helps the immune defense system; tiredness, bleeding gums, slow-healing wounds are signs of vitamin C deficiency; it can be found in citrus fruits - especially kiwi fruit, potatoes, berries, cauliflower, tomatoes; 60mg are daily recommended.
• Vitamin D strengthens the bones and teeth; fish (sardines, herring, salmon, tuna), milk products, good sources of vitamin D (also the skin can produce it under the sun rays); 5 micrograms mg are daily recommended.
• Vitamin E: a very powerful antioxidant, that fights against free radicals (the ones causing wrinkles and skin damages); it can be found in nuts, soya beans, broccoli, spinach, eggs, vegetable oil; 10 micrograms mg are daily recommended;
• Folic acid: very important during the first three months of pregnancy to prevent birth defects (spina bifida, cleft palate or cleft lip) because it helps the production of red blood cells; good sources for it can be: carrots, apricots, pumpkin, melon, avocado, beans, rye and whole wheat; 200 micrograms mg are daily recommended (for pregnant women and women planning a pregnancy 400 micrograms )

Your body needs daily only a smaller amount of vitamins and minerals than it needs protein, fat and carbohydrate. But their lack (because you do not provide them to your body or your body cannot assimilate them properly due to some disorders) can cause anemia, brittle bones and bleeding into the muscles, joints and gums, etc. Actually most of the minerals and vitamins were discovered when checking the cause of a patient's illness. The other face of the coin is that excessive amounts can be toxic to your body.

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