Vitamins and Minerals That Keep a Body Healthy

We all know that our bodies need nutrients that we seldom get enough of, and this lack can lead to fatigue, illness, and a general overall feeling of not being as well as we would like to be. It's not as hard as you might think to get all of the vitamins and minerals that your body most needs, and, while taking a multi-vitamin is never a bad idea, there are plenty of food choices that make your vitamin a supplement, instead of your only source of important nutrients. Here are some of the most essential vitamins and minerals for healthy body function.

Beta Carotene becomes vitamin A when introduced into the body. Vitamin A is a good source of antioxidants, and provides better vision, cell growth, and helps with the immune system. Orange vegetables, like carrots, fruits, like mango, and dark green veggies are excellent sources.

Vitamin B12 helps maintain red blood cell count and keeps nerves healthy. It doesn't take much to have an effect, between two and three micrograms, and can be found in protein-filled foods, like meat, fish, eggs, and dairy.

Vitamin K increases the ability of blood to clot, a process important for the healing of wounds and the capability of blood flow to stop. Deficiencies of Vitamin K are highly uncommon, but it doesn't hurt to try to keep your intake up. Good sources are dark green vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach and asparagus, tomatoes, and canola and olive oils.

If you want to be at your healthiest, you must get plenty of Potassium. One of the most essential nutrients to the human body, potassium helps with blood pressure, the heart, kidney function, digestion, and the muscles' abilities. Potassium can also help with cramping, of both the menstrual and other muscle varieties. Potassium deficiencies are extremely common in Americans, with most getting less than half of the amount recommended by experts. The recommended dose is 4700 milligrams per day for people from their teens and up. Unprocessed foods, fruits and vegetables in particular, lean meat, fish, and whole grains are good sources. Some of the best sources include sweet potatoes, potatoes, tomato paste, white beans, yogurt, clams, and carrot juice.

Vitamin C is a big contributor to the development of collagen, the major structural component of bone, tissues, blood vessels, and the skin. You can't look or feel good without it. Anything over four hundred milligrams of vitamin C cannot be absorbed by the human body and isn't good for you. Recommended intake for men is ninety milligrams daily and seventy-five milligrams daily for women. Fruits and vegetables are the only good sources of vitamin C. Oranges, strawberries, cantaloupe, green peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, and turnip greens all give substantial doses of the power vitamin.

These are not the only essentials to a healthy human body, but they are a good start. When dieting or dining out, it can be easy to become deficient in vitamins and minerals. Monitoring your intake, and supplementing with the necessary combination of vitamins in pill form, will keep your healthy and running at your optimum.