Every day your body produces skin, muscle, and bone.It churns out red
blood that carries nutrients and oxygen to remote outposts, and it sends
nerve signals skipping along thousands of miles of brain and body
pathways. It also formulates chemical messengers that shuttle from one
organ to another. To do all that, your body requires at least 30 vitamins, minerals, and
dietary components that your body can’t manufacture in sufficient
amounts. So you need to get them from the stuff you eat.
These essential vitamins and minerals are often called micronutrients
because unlike the case with macronutrients — protein, fat, and
carbohydrates — your body needs only tiny amounts of micronutrients. Yet
failing to get these small quantities virtually guarantees disease.
Old-time sailors learned that living for months without fresh fruits or
vegetables — the main sources of vitamin C — caused the bleeding gums
and listlessness of scurvy. In some developing countries, people still
become blind from vitamin A deficiency. And even in the United States,
some children develop the soft, deformed bones of rickets because they
don’t get enough vitamin D
With all the focus on calorie counts, BMI’s, weight, and exercise, getting the important building blocks to our body’s functions, vitamins and minerals, can take a back seat in our daily food planning. Essential vitamins are not produced by the body and must be included in meals to keep you alive. While supplements of some nutrients are all the rage, according to the Dietary Guidelines by experts, “Nutrient needs should be met primarily through consuming foods.
Just as a lack of micro nutrients can cause substantial harm to your body, getting sufficient quantities can provide a substantial benefit. For example, a combination of calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K, magnesium, and phosphorus protects your bones against fractures. Many micro nutrients interact. Vitamin C, for example, helps you absorb iron. The interplay of micro nutrients isn’t always cooperative, however. For example, even a minor overload of the mineral manganese can worsen iron deficiency.
Vitamins are different from minerals. A vitamin’s chemical structure can be broken down by heat, air, or acid, whereas minerals hold on to their chemical structure. That means the minerals in soil and water easily find their way into your body through the plants, fish, animals, and fluids you consume. But it’s tougher to shuttle vitamins from food and other sources into your body because cooking, storage, and simple air exposure can inactivate these fragile components.
Your need for certain nutrients varies with your age, gender, and other important characteristics. As a rule, your best strategy is to get vitamins and minerals from food, not supplements. A vast amount of research has shown that you can cut your risk for chronic disease and disability by following a healthy diet, as well as exercising regularly and avoiding smoking. The evidence for taking vitamin and mineral supplements is much less convincing. There are likely many more beneficial components of healthy foods than the ones scientists have identified so far, as well as synergistic effects among them.
in next post we will discus what to eat to get essentials micro nutrients from food?
With all the focus on calorie counts, BMI’s, weight, and exercise, getting the important building blocks to our body’s functions, vitamins and minerals, can take a back seat in our daily food planning. Essential vitamins are not produced by the body and must be included in meals to keep you alive. While supplements of some nutrients are all the rage, according to the Dietary Guidelines by experts, “Nutrient needs should be met primarily through consuming foods.
Just as a lack of micro nutrients can cause substantial harm to your body, getting sufficient quantities can provide a substantial benefit. For example, a combination of calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K, magnesium, and phosphorus protects your bones against fractures. Many micro nutrients interact. Vitamin C, for example, helps you absorb iron. The interplay of micro nutrients isn’t always cooperative, however. For example, even a minor overload of the mineral manganese can worsen iron deficiency.
Vitamins are different from minerals. A vitamin’s chemical structure can be broken down by heat, air, or acid, whereas minerals hold on to their chemical structure. That means the minerals in soil and water easily find their way into your body through the plants, fish, animals, and fluids you consume. But it’s tougher to shuttle vitamins from food and other sources into your body because cooking, storage, and simple air exposure can inactivate these fragile components.
Your need for certain nutrients varies with your age, gender, and other important characteristics. As a rule, your best strategy is to get vitamins and minerals from food, not supplements. A vast amount of research has shown that you can cut your risk for chronic disease and disability by following a healthy diet, as well as exercising regularly and avoiding smoking. The evidence for taking vitamin and mineral supplements is much less convincing. There are likely many more beneficial components of healthy foods than the ones scientists have identified so far, as well as synergistic effects among them.
in next post we will discus what to eat to get essentials micro nutrients from food?
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