There’s a good reason why your parents tell kids to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Remember when your teacher told you about nutrients like vitamins and minerals? Well, most of these are found in your greens and fruits.
A vitamin and mineral deficiency chart will sum up the core functions of essential nutrients. It includes their food sources. It also shows the respective consequences in case you fail to reach the required amount of daily intake. Watch the video below.
We come up with a list of facts you need to know regarding vitamin and mineral deficiency. We included fruits, veggies and several other foods and where you can get them.
VITAMINS
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is best known for keeping our eyes healthy. It also aids in cell growth. It helps our body’s key organs to perform their day-to-day duties. Because of lack of access to food rich with Vitamin A, several developing countries suffer from a deficiency of this nutrient.
You also can check this article to know more about benefits of Vitamin A.
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Best Food Sources:
B-Complex Vitamins
This group of vitamins is composed of eight-water soluble vitamins. They aid in our body’s metabolic processes, like fat and amino acid metabolism. They are also needed in red blood cell formation.
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Vitamin C
Vitamin C is one of the most effective essential nutrients. Its range of benefits includes giving protection against autoimmune diseases related to the heart and the eye. Being a powerful antioxidant, it helps in repairing cells and tissues.
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Vitamin D
Have enough Vitamin D if you want to make sure your bones are healthy. Known as the sunshine vitamin (because it is produced with exposure to sunlight), this also helps in keeping our immune, respiratory and nervous systems functioning. It’s also beneficial in regulating our body’s level of insulin.
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Vitamin E
Vitamin E is acknowledged as an effective treatment against degenerative diseases such as heart problems and high blood pressure. It can also decrease your risk of developing cancer. As an antioxidant, it can help people, who are smokers or have been exposed to air pollution, repair their damaged cells.
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Vitamin K
You might be familiar with Vitamin K as the “blood-clotting vitamin”. Its main role is to help our body heal wounds. Out of the 13 proteins need for our blood to clot, Vitamin K produces four. But more than this rather vital role, this vitamin is also helpful to keep our bones strong. It teams up with Vitamin D to ensure our skeletal framework is still intact.
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MINERALS
Calcium
Calcium is a mineral widely recognized for providing and sustaining strength to our bones. This is also needed for our muscles and nerves to remain functional. Experts are also now looking for evidence affirming calcium’s ability to protect us from cancer and prevent us from having high blood pressure.
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Iron
For oxygen to be transported to different tissues and organs of your body, there should be enough iron. Lack of this mineral, which is an important component of the so-called hemoglobin, translates to low count of red blood cells -- which are the main messengers of oxygen throughout our body.
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Zinc
Zinc is a key mineral that aids in our body’s metabolism. Besides providing support to our immune system, it also heightens our sense of smell and taste. It’s also important in healing colds and wounds. If your children have diarrhea, this mineral helps in reducing the disease’s symptoms.
Signs of Deficiency:
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Managing Vitamin Deficiencies
There are many reasons why some people experience vitamin deficiencies. The main cause would poor diet and nutrition. Once you or a loved one experience signs of these deficiencies, it is important to seek medical help. This will help prevent further damage and life-threatening consequences.
Furthermore, in your own home and family having a diet rich in vitamins and minerals should be practiced. Avoid eating foods with no nutritional value such as junk foods. They can also be harmful to the body as most of these types of food have high preservatives, salt or sugar content.
Living a Healthy Lifestyle
Avoiding deficiencies caused by poor nutrition and improper selection of food is achievable. Aside from this, it is also important to practice healthy lifestyle life by avoiding alcoholic beverages and smoking cigarette.
Along with eating right with more amounts of fruits and vegetable, exercising will also help improve your health. Do this outside in the sun. With adequate and safe sun exposure you can produce enough Vitamin D in your skin, which aids in the absorption of calcium. This helps strengthen the bones which are the main frame of our body.
It is also advisable to drink plenty of water and have enough rest and sleep. By doing all of these changes, you can surely live a healthy and productive life.
Below are fully Vitamin and Mineral Deficiency Charts
In Conclusion
The importance of vitamins and minerals has long been discussed -- in school and in the medical community. Generally speaking, if you want to embody a healthy lifestyle, you must not be lacking any of these nutrients.
Like what you can infer from any vitamin and mineral deficiency chart, getting the right amount of the above-mentioned nutrients is key for you to live a healthy life.
Did our feature help you comprehend the importance of knowing the ABCs of vitamins and minerals? Let us know the best thing you’ve learned; drop a line in the comments section below.
Sources
- https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminA-HealthProfessional/
- https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/vitamin-b
- https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-benefits-of-vitamin-c#1
- https://www.livescience.com/51908-vitamin-k.html
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/calcium-supplements/art-20047097
- https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/features/iron-supplements#1
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-zinc/art-20366112
