Vitamins and minerals are essential compounds because they play countless roles in our bodies. Every day, our body metabolizes these nutrients to make tissue (skin, muscle, bone), cells, enzymes, antibodies, to ensure millions of nerve transmissions and to metabolize the substrates from food.
Vitamins and minerals are essential micronutrients for life. “Micro” because we need it in minute quantities. Minerals are generally readily available in food and retain their chemical structure even after harvest, transport, and cooking. But in the case of vitamins, it’s different. The quality of vitamins can easily deteriorate over time and can eventually get lost from the food where it contained.
To avoid deficiencies that can cause metabolic disorders and endanger our health, experts recommend to supplement yourself, all year round, with multivitamin complexes. But we have to be careful to respect the doses and avoid interactions between these compounds, which are extremely fragile.
Vitamins
There are two categories of vitamins: water-soluble vitamins and fat-soluble vitamins.
Water-soluble vitamins
They are found in the liquid part of the food we eat, they circulate easily in the body and are carried by the blood. They are not stored in the body. Our kidneys regulate the number of water-soluble vitamins that circulate and excrete what the body does not use immediately. It is therefore necessary to provide these vitamins on a daily basis.
The water-soluble vitamins include Vitamin C and Vitamin B:
- Thiamine (B1)
- Riboflavin (B2)
- Niacin (B3)
- Pantothenic acid (B5)
- Pyridoxine (B6)
- Biotin (B8)
- Folic acid (B9)
- Cobalamin (B12)
Their role
Water-soluble vitamins are essential for energy metabolism (production and use of energy), to make proteins, cells and collagen.
Fat-soluble vitamins
Unlike water-soluble vitamins, which enter and circulate easily in the body, fat-soluble vitamins enter the body through the intestines and the lymphatic system. They are present in the fats of the foods we eat. The body can store them in the liver and fats, so there is no need to consume them every day.
The fat-soluble vitamins are:
- Vitamin-A
- Vitamin-E
- Vitamin-D
- Vitamin-K
Their role
These vitamins strengthen and protect the eyes, intestines, lungs, skin, and nervous system. They help to:
- Training and protecting bones
- Vision
- Body protection
The minerals
The mineral requirements are important and we can store large quantities. The main role of minerals is to maintain the body’s water balance.
Sodium, chloride, and potassium are so-called “electrolytes” because they are responsible for the management of water in the body.
Calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium are important for bone health.
Sulfur helps to structure proteins that makeup hair, skin, and nails.
Trace elements
Trace elements, or trace elements, are minerals present in minute quantities in the body and which are nevertheless essential. It contains copper, chromium, fluorine, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, zinc, and selenium. Trace elements are involved in the transport of oxygen in the blood or the strengthening of the immune system.
Why should we supplement with vitamins and minerals?
These micronutrients are all present in our diet, provided that it is balanced, from organic or family cultures, and that the products are consumed immediately after their harvest or slaughter. Which is rarely the case. Most vitamins do not resist modes of transport and storage, making supplementation necessary if you want to stay fit and healthy.
Athletes: higher needs for vitamins and minerals
The recommended daily allowance is calculated according to the theoretical needs of a person of average age, height, and weight. Elderly and as well as athletes should recalculate accordingly.
Athletes who train frequently have, for example, higher energy requirements which require a recalculation of the intake of group B vitamins, essential for the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. Also, they are particularly sensitive to the recovery period between two workouts, where the needs for magnesium, calcium, vitamin C, and vitamin D are higher. Finally, their frequent and intense training subjects their body to the ravages of free radicals, which can be countered with additional intakes of antioxidants. All athletes must supplement themselves with vitamins and minerals throughout the year.