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Vitamins

Are You Getting Your 13 Essential Vitamins Everyday?

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It’s no surprise that we’ve all been taking the extra steps to remain healthy and safe during this coronavirus pandemic. Besides socially-distancing, remaining indoors unless absolutely necessary, and wearing protective gear in public settings, there are other things we can be doing from the comfort of our homes to ensure that our bodies, and immune systems specifically, are still running smoothly. 

Did you know that your body needs 13 essential vitamins in order to stay alive and healthy? Obviously, most of us aren’t taking 13 different supplements a day, however, that doesn’t matter as most of these vitamins are commonly found in the foods/beverages we ingest everyday. That being said it’s important, now more than ever, that you’re ensuring you and your family are getting all the vitamins they need to keep themselves up and running. 

“The 13 essential vitamins your body needs are vitamins A, C, D, E, K and the B vitamins: thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), pyroxidine (B6), biotin (B7), folate (B9) and cobalamin (B12). The four fat-soluble vitamins—A, D, E, and K—are stored in the body’s fatty tissues. The other nine vitamins are water-soluble and therefore must be replenished regularly because they are removed from the body in your urine. Vitamin B12 is the only water-soluble vitamin that is stored in the liver,” according to Reader’s Digest Canada. 

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The most effective way to make sure your body is getting enough of these 13 vitamins everyday is through a balanced diet from a variety of foods, so here are some of the most commonly ingested foods containing the essential nutrients and vitamins we need:

Vitamin A: Vitamin A’s main purpose is to aid your body in growth and cell development, so if you’re a younger individual, this vitamin is especially important for your body as it navigates puberty. Vitamin A also aids your body in its nail, skin, hair, bone, and teeth growth and it’s been proven to help prevent certain respiratory diseases such as lung cancer. Vitamin A is most commonly found in cold-water fish meat, such as Salmon, or fortified dairy products like eggs. 

Vitamin D: This vitamin is most commonly thought of in relation to the sun, as  sun rays emit Vitamin D that gets absorbed into our skin, however, during a time where our government is telling us all to stay inside, we’ll have to turn to alternative ways of getting our daily dose vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for calcium development, so it’s most commonly found in milk, butter, egg yolks, and fatty fishes. 

Vitamin E: This vitamin specifically keeps your muscles and red blood cells functional, and also serves as a natural antioxidant for your body. Again, this vitamin is commonly found in eggs, you’ll notice there’s a lot of crossover food items on this list, which is great for when you need to plan your weekly meals. It’s also found in vegetable oil, mayonnaise, nuts, seeds, and certain cereals. 

Vitamin K: Vitamin K is mainly used in the body for clotting your blood. No, not in a harmful way, Vitamin K is responsible for helping your red blood cells clot when you get a scrap or cut so that you don’t continuously bleed. It’s most often found in green leafy vegetables like spinach, broccoli, lettuce, and more. 

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Vitamin C: One of the most commonly known vitamins, vitamin C is found in most citrus fruits and vegetables as well. This vitamin is specifically responsible for strengthening your blood vessel walls, which in turn promotes wound healing and supports overall immunity. It’s why we’re often told to take vitamin C supplements when we feel like we’re getting sick. 

As previously mentioned, the following B-vitamins are all water-soluble and excreted from your body through urination, as opposed to the other Vitamins which are totally absorbed into the body, more or less. This is why they need to be replenished within your body everyday. 

Vitamin B1: Essential for maintaining a healthy metabolism/digestive system, commonly found in pork, nuts, seeds, and other grains.

Vitamin B2: Also supports metabolic health and improves on ocular health (eyesight). Most commonly found in dairy products, poultry and raw mushrooms.

Vitamin B3: Benefits metabolic health as well as the body’s natural growth throughout life (hair, nails, teeth, etc.) Mostly found in seafood products, poultry, and eggs. 

Vitamin B5: Aids metabolic health and energy while also stabilizing blood sugar levels when they seem to get too high or low. The best part? Almost every single food item out there has vitamin B5 in it. 

Vitamin B6: The following four B Vitamins are all imperative to our bodies overall immune response/health. They not only promote good metabolic function like the other four, but also play a main role in our bodies nerve function and the creation of red blood cells. Vitamin B6 specifically can be found in meat, fish, cereals, bananas, and leafy green vegetables. 

Vitamin B7: Same benefits as B6, and is found in eggs, soybeans, whole grains, and nuts. 

Vitamin B9: Vitamin B9 carries out all of the functions listed for B6 while also aiding the body in making DNA, RNA, red blood cells, and essential proteins. Vitamin B9 is also extremely important for individuals who are pregnant, as it helps prevent birth defects. It can be found in leafy green vegetables, asparagus, oranges, avocados, and yeast. 

Vitamin B12: Vitamin B12 is essentially the same exact vitamin as B9, very important, and is found in pretty much all food products that are derived from other animals.

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The Key To A Better Night’s Sleep Is A Healthy Lifestyle

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Sleeping is one of the most important things we can do for our health. Our bodies need rest in order to recharge and replenish our body’s natural systems so that they’re performing to the best of their ability. Many of us have certain sleep issues, whether it be having a hard time falling asleep, staying asleep, or trouble waking up in the morning, whatever it may be, there’s certain changes you can make to your everyday routine that can help improve your nightly slumbers, and get you the eight hours you need to feel great in the morning. 

One of the simplest solutions for improving sleep is ensuring that you’re in a dark environment. Dark rooms obviously support better sleep as there’s less sensory stimulation. Light exposure interferes with our bodies natural sleep cycle and circadian rhythms; which is a fancy term that refers to when your body tells you to wake up and when to fall asleep. 

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Investing in blackout curtains is the easiest solution if your sleeping situation involves a room with a window that’s facing the sun at any given point in the morning or evening. Heavy and thick curtains not only block out the intense natural lighting of the outside world, but also encourages a more relaxed sleeping environment in general. Dark colored curtains will typically always do the trick, however, if a lighter color would better fit your rooms aesthetic, there are plenty of online options of light colored curtains with thick enough linings to darken any space. 

If you’ve done any research regarding sleep or insomnia, you’ve definitely heard about blue light emissions and their negative effects on our bodies ability to fall asleep. Electronic devices typically always have a “blue light” undertone that has been proven to disrupt our circadian rhythms specifically when we’re going to bed; as many of us like to mindlessly scroll through social media before falling asleep. 

This blue light suppresses the production of melatonin in our brains, which is the chemical that tells the rest of our body when it’s time for bed.  Some phones have a “night mode” setting that turns your screen a more amber hue to combat that harsh blue emission, and there are numerous screen-protector like products that do the same, however, the best thing you can do to promote a more solid night of sleep, is to avoid electronics at all cost at least an hour before going to bed. This can be tough for a lot of us who have developed a nighttime routine that involves some entertainment on our devices, but the only way to ensure you’re body will keep producing melatonin at a normal rate, and keep you rested throughout the night, is to unplug it all and read a book instead before bed. 

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What you eat and drink throughout a day also has a heavy effect on your natural sleep cycle. Depending on when you go to bed, you should stop eating at 8 pm the latest. The later in the night you eat, the more your body will have to digest while you’re resting. This is an issue because our bodies digest at a much slower metabolic rate when we’re sleeping, which can either lead to an unpleasant middle-of-the-night bathroom trip, or an overall feeling of grogginess in the morning. 

Following a healthy meal plan that avoids processed foods and sugars will also keep your energy levels in a more natural and stable state, so when it comes time to unwind, your body will have no problem doing so because it received all the necessary nutrients it needed throughout the day. 

Finally, along the same lines as a healthy diet, getting regular exercise will improve how well you stay asleep throughout the entire night. Even just 10 minutes of activity a day can show positive results. So many of us get trapped in the 9-5 bubble of sitting at a desk all day and then going home and just sitting on the couch to unwind. When you keep up with an active exercise schedule, you’re lowering your risk for certain sleep conditions such as sleep apnea. 

Regardless of what issues you have when it comes time to turn the lights out, keeping up with healthy lifestyle habits will always help improve the way your body functions, regardless of if you’re conscious or not.