Vital Vitamins
I often get asked by patients whether they should start a vitamin supplement. Sometimes it’s because they feel excessively tired, or they might feel that their diet is lacking something. Sometimes it is possible to diagnose a pure vitamin deficiency, such as anaemia due to too little folic acid, but it’s not often that clear and it can be hard to identify a true vitamin deficiency. However it is easy to make sure that you’re getting enough in your daily diet.
A good diet is one which contains plenty of these vital nutrients. Vitamins are proteins which help make the body work, are essential for growth and development, and are important for us to be able to use the calories we get through protein, carbohydrates, and fats. For the most part we can get our daily intake of vitamins through the food that we eat. No one food contains them all, and so it’s important to have a diet rich in fruit and veg, but varied. Eating the same fruits every day might not be ideal.
Some cooked or processed foods lose vitamins during preparation and so have added vitamins, such as white bread which has added vitamin B1 and niacin. When dieting, the reduction in total food intake can occasionally, though not often, lead to small deficiencies in vitamins. That’s one reason why choosing a range of fruit and veg to accompany your meals is so important. Additionally it’s helpful to take a simple multi-vitamin and mineral supplement which doesn’t contain more than 100% of your recommended intake of any one vitamin or mineral, to make sure your levels are sufficient. It’s very difficult to have too much.
How you prepare your vegetables is important too. Best eaten while fresh, or from frozen, and with minimal cooking is preferred. Cooking vegetables till they are too soft, in a large pan of water causes vitamins to leak out into the water. Might make a good base for a soup though……
Easy to overlook, their importance should be restated. Vitamins are the building blocks of a healthy diet, and a healthy body. And if we’re going to do a good job, we may as well start it at the beginning.
Dr Ian Campbell
Vital Vitamins
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By Dr Ian Campbell November 2010
I often get asked by patients whether they should start a vitamin supplement. Sometimes it’s because they feel excessively tired, or they might feel that their diet is lacking something. Sometimes it is possible to diagnose a pure vitamin deficiency, such as anaemia due to too little folic acid, but it’s not often that clear and it can be hard to identify a true vitamin deficiency. However it is easy to make sure that you’re getting enough in your daily diet.
A good diet is one which contains plenty of these vital nutrients. Vitamins are proteins which help make the body work, are essential for growth and development, and are important for us to be able to use the calories we get through protein, carbohydrates, and fats. For the most part we can get our daily intake of vitamins through the food that we eat. No one food contains them all, and so it’s important to have a diet rich in fruit and veg, but varied. Eating the same fruits every day might not be ideal.
Some cooked or processed foods lose vitamins during preparation and so have added vitamins, such as white bread which has added vitamin B1 and niacin. When dieting, the reduction in total food intake can occasionally, though not often, lead to small deficiencies in vitamins. That’s one reason why choosing a range of fruit and veg to accompany your meals is so important. Additionally it’s helpful to take a simple multi-vitamin and mineral supplement which doesn’t contain more than 100% of your recommended intake of any one vitamin or mineral, to make sure your levels are sufficient. It’s very difficult to have too much.
How you prepare your vegetables is important too. Best eaten while fresh, or from frozen, and with minimal cooking is preferred. Cooking vegetables till they are too soft, in a large pan of water causes vitamins to leak out into the water. Might make a good base for a soup though……
Easy to overlook, their importance should be restated. Vitamins are the building blocks of a healthy diet, and a healthy body. And if we’re going to do a good job, we may as well start it at the beginning.
Tags: fruit & veg, healthy diet, mineral, vitamin