Women's Vitamins - Recommended Vitamin Intake Hasn't Been Updated Since 1968

Thirty-nine years is a long time to go without an update on women's vitamin recommendations, nutrition has changed and few women know the correct vitamins and the amounts they should be taking. Most of what you know about your required vitamin intake is more than likely incorrect. The Institute of Medicine has new recommendations for vitamins, called dietary reference intakes. Before starting any supplements make sure to talk to your doctor to make sure that the vitamins will not interact with any medications or health conditions. If you are a vegetarian you may need to take more Vitamin B and Vitamin B12.
You should be taking a multivitamin daily to ensure proper nutrition, but a multivitamin might not be enough so be sure to check the labels to make sure that you are getting the vitamins you need...

Calcium -
Calcium is very important because increased calcium intake can reduce your risk for osteoporosis. You should be consuming at least 1000 milligrams a day. In your diet should consist of dairy products such as milk and cheese, but if you are not a fan of dairy there are plenty of alternatives. The following foods have high contents of calcium; cooked soybeans, black beans, navy beans, cooked spinach, fortified orange juice, canned salmon with bones, fortified cereal, and fortified soy milk. When you take a calcium supplement make sure that it contains vitamin D because it helps your body absorb the calcium and make sure to take it at a separate time than your multivitamin because your body can only absorb 500mgs at a time.

Magnesium -
Magnesium can protect against heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer. You should be consuming at least 320 milligrams a day. Foods with high magnesium content include; cooked halibut, dry roasted almonds, dry roasted cashews, mature cooked soybeans, frozen cooked spinach, and fortified instant oatmeal.

Vitamin K-
Vitamin K is really important for bone health, but it can interfere if you are taking a blood thinner so be sure to talk to your doctor before taking it. You should be consuming 90 - 120 milligrams per day. Foods with a high Vitamin K content include; spinach, kale, collard greens, red leaf lettuce, coleslaw, cabbage, broccoli, green beans, and asparagus.

There are a lot of other vitamins that you need to consume so be sure to discuss any changes to your diet with a doctor. Increasing your vitamin intake can be a positive step towards better health.