Vitamins and Supplements for Beginners
Vitamins and Supplements for Beginners
Stephen Powers
Diet and Training Coach Extraordinaire
Looking at the back of a multivitamin bottle, you will be met with a plethora of vitamins and minerals that you may not even be aware of. Be honest, how much thought do you put into Vitamin K on a daily basis?
Taking a multivitamin is a great way to supplement your nutrition throughout the day; however, is your diet scheduled to take advantage of all of the nutrients contained in them? Should you take your vitamins with water? With carbohydrates? Fats? Protein?
We’ll address the best ways to supplement with our article on vitamins and supplements for beginners.
Solubility
Vitamins can be classified into two groups of solubility: water and fat. Below is a quick list of examples for these two. Fat soluble vitamins have a higher bio-availability when consumed with lipids (fats). As such, we typically recommend you consume them with your breakfast since you’re more likely to have fatty foods such as eggs and butter.
Fat soluble
VITAMIN A enhances your vision, improves bone growth, and the production of new cells are the key roles for this powerful nutrient. This vitamin actually crosses both solubilities. The fat-soluble version is Palmitate, and the water-soluble version is the more common form, beta carotene.
VITAMIN D Known as the sunshine vitamin, roles of this vitamin include heart health, blood sugar stabilization, immunity, and strengthening bones. It also plays a key role in helping the body process calcium.
VITAMIN E This is an antioxidant that supports the immune system, improves blood circulation, and promotes tissue repair.
VITAMIN K As we mentioned before, Vitamin K is often overlooked as a vital nutrient. It is known for its blood clotting capabilities and is essential for bone strength and heart health. Even though it is found in spinach, soybeans, and eggs, it is hard for the body to absorb.
Water Soluble
Vitamin B One of the more popular vitamins, it can be broken down into a number of subsets (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12). Without going into a lengthy discussion on each version, here is a list of a few roles these vitamins play in the body:
- Catabolism of sugars and amino acids
- Lipid metabolization
- DNA repair
- Enables rapid cell division (think pregnancy and infants)
- Fatty acid and amino acid metabolization
Vitamin C A powerful antioxidant, Vitamin C has a number of roles in the body such as the synthesis of L-carnitine (an amino acid that helps you focus and drive hard into a workout), protein, and other neurotransmitters. It is also heavily involved in the metabolism of protein, making it essential for anyone on a high protein diet.
Water soluble vitamins are one of the main reasons it is recommended to ear your vegetables raw. Doesn’t make sense to boil your veggies and dissolve away those vital nutrients!
Uprise Nutrition has a great multi-vitamin supplement that we are very proud of so give it a try and feel the difference with your new found knowledge!
