You’re tired, even after a full night of good sleep. Your body aches, you’re sad for no reason … the list goes on and on.
Have you considered that you could be deficient in some essential nutrients?
It’s nearly impossible to get every nutrient your body needs through diet alone, so supplementing with vitamins is critical for optimal health.
But don’t just go taking every vitamin under the sun.
Learn how to assess your lifestyle to discover which daily vitamins to take to keep your body functioning the best it can.
Table of Contents
- What Vitamins Should I Be Taking Daily?
- 4 Factors To Consider Before Deciding Which Vitamins You Should Be Taking
- How To Determine What Gaps Need To Be Filled by Vitamin Supplements
- 5 “Non-Negotiable” Vitamins You Should Be Taking as an Overall Healthy Person
- What To Look for in Daily Vitamins
- VTMN Packs: Daily Vitamins Personalized Just for Your Needs
What Vitamins Should I Be Taking Daily?
There is no one-size-fits-all response here. Like many things, this will depend greatly on each person’s diet and lifestyle.
While taking a multivitamin is never a bad idea, you could still be missing out on some important nutrients that your body needs.
For example:
The only thing you currently take is a multivitamin. You’re not sleeping great and you notice that you regularly feel inflamed.
Incorporating vitamins like magnesium for sleep and vitamin D for inflammation could be a great option for your health.
At VTMN Packs, we strongly believe in a food-first approach.
What does this mean?
We encourage you to eat a well-balanced and healthy diet that allows your body to get most of what it needs from whole food sources.
However, we understand that this can’t be done 100%, and even if you get as close to 100% as possible, the nutrient density of fresh foods is declining. As a population, we are also way busier and more stressed than ever before and that takes a toll on our bodies and their ability to store and use food effectively.
That’s why we offer a 5-minute health assessment that allows us to help you find the vitamins that would best fill the gaps in your lifestyle and diet and help you on your wellness journey.
4 Factors To Consider Before Deciding Which Vitamins You Should Be Taking
Vitamins aren’t meant to be the sole source of getting the recommended dosage of nutrients your body needs. However, they do help supplement and fill in the gaps in your diet and lifestyle to ensure you don’t become deficient in any important nutrients.
Now you’re asking, “What vitamins should I be taking daily?” Consider these factors.
#1: Assess Your Diet — Is It Balanced?
We believe that a food-first approach is most important. But you can’t just go along eating whatever you please and hope you’re getting all of the vitamins and minerals your body needs.
Here we suggest taking a deep look into your diet.
Is it balanced? Are you getting both water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins through your food? Are you taking in the right minerals for optimal health?
Generally, eating with an emphasis on …
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Whole grains
- Beans
- Legumes
- Lean protein; and
- Dairy
… should help you meet your minimum daily vitamin and mineral intake.
#2: Look at Your Lifestyle
Are you active? Maybe you walk every day. Maybe you spend 30 to 60 minutes weight training. Maybe you surpass your 10,000-step goal daily.
People with sedentary lifestyles are going to need something completely different from someone active and always on the go.
If you spend most of your day sitting, you may need:
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin D
- Calcium
- CoQ10
- Iron
Take a good look at your lifestyle and utilize the health assessment offered by VTMN Packs to help determine what might be best for you.
#3: Consider Your Age
As you age, you may start to require more vitamins and minerals than you did when you were younger.
You could probably benefit from:
- Calcium to help keep bones strong
- Vitamin D to help absorb and retain calcium
- Vitamin B6 to help form red blood cells
- Vitamin B12 to keep your red blood cells and nerves healthy
- Antioxidants like beta-carotene, selenium, vitamin C and vitamin E to help protect from diseases
#4: Be Gender-Specific
Gender plays a part here, too.
For example, a menstruating woman may require more daily iron and folate than men similar in age. Conversely, women tend to need a lower total intake of vitamins A, B, E, K, and zinc than men based on their body size.
A pregnant woman should also take …
- Folic acid
- Iron
- Calcium
- Vitamin D
- Choline
- Omega-3 fatty acids
- B vitamins; and
- Vitamin C
… which may not be required as heavily, or at all, in most men.
It’s often suggested that men focus on:
- A multivitamin
- Collagen
- Vitamin D
- Ashwagandha
- Omega-3 fatty acids
- Cranberry
How To Determine What Gaps Need To Be Filled by Vitamin Supplements
Of course, you can take a deep look into your diet and lifestyle to help determine if you’re getting enough of the vitamins and minerals your body needs for optimal health and performance.
But, unless you’ve studied this before, you probably have no idea what “enough” really means.
At VTMN Packs, we offer a quick 5-minute health assessment that helps highlight where your body may be deficient when it comes to vitamin supplements. We then present you with three options for subscriptions to help you along your wellness journey.
Take our quick assessment today.
5 “Non-Negotiable” Vitamins You Should Be Taking as an Overall Healthy Person
#1: Daily Multivitamin
A daily multivitamin won’t replace an overall healthy diet and lifestyle, but it can fill some of the nutritional gaps you might have. The key to choosing a multivitamin is to look for one that meets Health Canada’s Natural Health Product Regulations and has a Natural Product Number (NPN) or a Homeopathic Medicine Number (DIN-HM) on the label.
You’ll find nutrients like …
- B6
- B12
- Folate
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Selenium
- Zinc
- Thiamin
- Riboflavin
- Niacin
- Vitamin C
- Calcium
- Iron
- Potassium
… in a multivitamin.
How a Multivitamin Can Support Your Health
Because a multivitamin is designed to fill small nutritional gaps in your diet, taking a daily multivitamin that contains all of these nutrients is often sufficient.
However, if you’re attempting to target a specific health concern, taking the individual supplement might be better since a multivitamin has smaller amounts of each nutrient.
#2: Probiotics
Probiotics are designed to promote a healthy balance of gut bacteria which can be linked to a range of health benefits. You might be getting probiotics through your food if you eat things like:
- Yogurt
- Kombucha
- Kimchi
- Tempeh
- Miso; or
- Sauerkraut
Taking probiotics helps add healthy bacteria to your gut to help combat the bad bacteria. This is especially important for those who suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Clostridium Difficile (C. Diff).
How Probiotics Can Support Your Health
Having healthy bacteria in your gut helps to combat the unhealthy bacteria that try to grow there. In some cases, the healthy bacteria can be more than enough to not even allow the unhealthy bacteria room to grow.
A healthy balance, or equilibrium, is key because too much of the bad bacteria in your gut can cause:
- IBS
- Ulcerative colitis
- Crohn’s disease
Gut bacteria can also be linked to:
- Cholesterol and heart disease
- Chronic kidney disease
- Emotions
- Brain processes
- Autism
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Chronic pain
- Obesity
#3: Magnesium
Magnesium is key for many parts of your body, including your:
- Heart
- Muscles
- Bones
- Nerves
- And more
Luckily, it is an easy nutrient to obtain through your diet, but even still, many people don’t get enough.
You can meet your magnesium-intake need through:
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Whole grains
- Milk
- Peanut butter
- Oatmeal
- Salmon
- Raisins
- Dark chocolate
- Beans
- Leafy vegetables
- Yogurt
- Water
The RDA for adults 19-51+ years is 400-420 mg for men and 310-320 mg for women. If you’re pregnant, 350-360 mg is ideal.
You might be deficient in magnesium if you’re showing signs of:
- Weakness
- Fatigue
- Numbness or tingling
- Seizures
- Abnormal heart rate
- Nausea or vomiting
- Muscle cramps
How Magnesium Can Support Your Health
If you’re experiencing any of the above signs of deficiency, or you’re looking to promote …
- Hormone health
- Energy
- Relaxation
- Healthy stress levels; or
- Good sleep
… consider a magnesium supplement.
It’s a required nutrient for a healthy lifestyle because it plays a role in many processes in the body.
#4: Omega-3s
Western diets are especially deficient in omega-3 fatty acids and instead have an excessive amount of omega-6 fatty acids. Our diets are typically high in sugar and fat, promoting obesity, depression, and a pro-inflammatory environment.
This can lead to:
- Impaired immune function
- Chronic degenerative diseases, like cardiovascular disease
- Inflammation and cellular dysfunction
- Metabolic and cardiometabolic disease
How Omega-3s Can Support Your Health
Even though omega-3s are essential fats, the body cannot make them from scratch, so we must get them through our food.
If you’re not eating things like …
- Fish
- Vegetable oils
- Nuts
- Flax seeds; and
- Leafy vegetables
… you might be deficient in omega-3 fatty acids.
Omega-3s affect the function of cell receptors in our cell membranes, working to:
- Make hormones that regulate blood clotting
- Contract and relax the artery walls
- Control inflammation
If you get the RDA (1.6 grams for men, 1.1 grams for women), you can help to prevent or control …
- Lupus
- Eczema
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Heart conditions
… and protect against roles in cancer and other conditions.
#5: Vitamin D
Vitamin D is known for helping the body absorb and retain calcium and phosphorus which you need for building bones. It’s also been shown to:
- Reduce cancer cell growth
- Help control infections
- Reduce inflammation
You can get vitamin D through foods like …
- A variety of fish
- Orange juice or dairy fortified with vitamin D
- Beef liver
- Egg yolk
… or by getting 10-30 minutes of midday sunlight a few times each week.
How Vitamin D Can Support Your Health
If you become deficient in vitamin D, it can lead to:
- Loss of bone density
- Rickets
- Osteomalacia
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Cancer
- Autoimmune conditions
An adult between 19-70 years old should aim to get 600 international units (IU) of vitamin D.
Common symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency include:
- Fatigue
- Trouble sleeping
- Hair loss
- Depression
- Getting sick easily
- Muscle weakness
- Bone pain
What To Look for in Daily Vitamins
The most important thing we can stress is that vitamin supplements should be an extension of an already healthy diet and lifestyle. They’re designed to help fill in the gaps that your body isn’t getting from whole foods and activity.
So when choosing a supplement, you want to focus on quality. What good is using a supplement that’s not actually going to help?
Read the labels and look for:
- Supplements in their activated and most absorbable forms
- Products free from artificial dyes and fillers
- Capsules over tablets when possible
- Non-GMO products
- Products that are third-party tested for quality and purity
VTMN Packs: Daily Vitamins Personalized Just for Your Needs
Maybe you follow a healthy diet and feel you get most of your necessary vitamins and minerals from fruits, vegetables, and whole foods. Maybe you’re pregnant and pop a daily prenatal. Maybe you’re a male who lifts weights daily and thinks your exploding muscles are a sign of a healthy lifestyle.
At VTMN Packs, we think that even if you believe you’re living a healthy lifestyle and getting enough vitamins and minerals daily, there’s probably more that you can do. At a minimum, we suggest that you take the five healthy foundation vitamin supplements regularly.
Still not sure what you need? Take our 5-minute health assessment and be on your way to daily vitamins personalized just for your needs sent right to your doorstep.
The content in this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
