Know Your Daily Nutrition Requirements

Guided Summary to Vitamins and Minerals

Ever wondered which vitamins and minerals are essential to body function? Do you know how much of each you need to consume daily to obtain optimal body nutrition?

When it comes to understanding vitamins and minerals the emphasis is often on which vitamins and minerals you should to take rather than how much of each you should be consuming daily.

The recommended daily requirement or recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of certain vitamins and minerals is dependent upon your sex and age. Certain health conditions can also factor into your daily nutritional requirements.

What are vitamins?

Vitamins are classified as a group of organic compounds that are needed for normal cell function, growth, and development.

There are 13 essential vitamins meaning that these vitamins are 100% necessary for the body to work properly.

The 13 essential vitamins are: Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Vitamin B1 (thiamine), Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), Vitamin B3 (niacin) Pantothenic acid (B5), Biotin (B7), Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin), and Vitamin B9 (folate or folic acid).

Are there different types of vitamins?

There are two types of vitamins: fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins.

Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the body's fatty tissue.

There are four fat-soluble vitamins, vitamins A, D, E, and K. These vitamins are absorbed more easily by the body in the presence of dietary fat.

There are nine water-soluble vitamins, Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and all of the B vitamins.

Unlike fat-soluble vitamins, water-soluble vitamins are typically not stored in the body. The body only has a small reserve of these vitamins; thus, water-soluble vitamins must be consumed on regular basis to prevent shortage in the body. After consumption, any water-soluble vitamins not readily absorbed by your body is eliminated through your body's urine.

Vitamin B12 is the only water-soluble vitamin that can be stored in the liver for many years (roughly 2 to 5 years, depending on the person).

What are minerals?

Just like vitamins, minerals are just as important for your body to stay healthy. Your body uses minerals to perform many different functions throughout the body. These vital functions aid in keeping your bones, muscles, heart, and brain working properly. Minerals are also important for making certain enzymes and hormones for your body.

Are there different types of minerals?

There are two kinds of minerals: macrominerals and trace minerals.

Your body needs larger amounts of macrominerals to function properly. These include calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride and sulfur.

Your body only needs small amounts of trace minerals to function properly. These include iron, manganese, copper, iodine, zinc, cobalt, fluoride and selenium.

In our last blog post Retrain Your Brain…Is Irish Sea Moss Really A Superfood? We emphasized the importance of understanding and knowing the recommended daily doses of certain vitamins and minerals to maintain optimal body nutrition.

Eating a variety of foods from different food groups is the best way to achieve your daily recommended dietary allowances of the essential vitamins and minerals.

CLICK HERE To access to an informational chart outlining...

1. The average daily requirement for common vitamins and minerals*

2. The function of these vitamins and minerals in the body

3. Which foods they can be found in

*the daily values listed in the chart are for an adult male

For additional information about a specific vitamin or mineral or to find out the daily requirements for an adult female, infant, or teen please proceed to click on the following hyperlinks below:

• Vitamin A

• Boron

• Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)

• Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin)

• Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)

• Vitamin B3 (Niacin)

• Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid)

• Vitamin B6

• Vitamin B7 (Biotin)

• Vitamin B9 (Folate)

• Calcium

• Choline

• Chromium

• Copper

• Vitamin C

• Vitamin D

• Vitamin E

• Fluoride

• Iodine

• Iron

• Vitamin K

• Magnesium

• Manganese

• Molybdenum

• Phosphorus

• Potassium

• Selenium

• Zinc

“Sorry, there’s no magic bullet. You gotta eat healthy and live healthy to be healthy and look healthy. End of story.” – Morgan Spurlock

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Resources

• Interactive Nutrition Facts Label. accessdata.fda.gov. (n.d.). https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/interactivenutritionfactslabel/vitamins.cfm.

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Vitamin and Mineral Supplement Fact Sheets. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/list-VitaminsMinerals/.

• U.S. National Library of Medicine. (2021, April 6). Minerals. MedlinePlus. https://medlineplus.gov/minerals.html.

• U.S. National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). Vitamins: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. MedlinePlus. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002399.htm.

• Vitamins and Minerals. Vitamins and Minerals | Nutrition.gov. (n.d.). https://www.nutrition.gov/topics/whats-food/vitamins-and-minerals.