Vitamins supplements in the fitness and health industry can become a heated discussion. Some people will tell you that you don’t need to take them as you can easily get all your vitamins through food. Others will tell you that you should take hundreds of different vitamins and spend a lot of money on them.
No wonder beginners in their fitness journeys feel overwhelmed by all the conflicting information that they read online. Let’s not get started on the misinformation on social media! I wasted so much money on supplements that I didn’t need at the beginning of my journey. I thought I had to be taking all these vitamin supplements to reach my goals. I’m in the middle when it comes to this debate. As a woman, I’m here to tell you that there’s probably three vitamin supplements that are worth taking.
Nutrients & Vitamins
As an athlete, my body needs a lot of nutrients that I may not be able to get sufficiently through my diet. Even if I try to eat all the fruits and vegetables that cover every single vitamin in a day…it is not easy at all. On the other hand, a person who exercises regularly, eat a healthy and balanced diet would also need to take some vitamin supplements. This is to ensure that they are consuming enough to survive and to help the body function optimally. Even if a person is really strict with their diet and their nutrition schedule, there is a likely probability that they are lacking some vitamins too.
Here I am sharing three vitamins supplements that I believe that you should take if you are living an active lifestyle, a competitive athlete or you exercise regularly. I can only talk about the needs of women, and not about men, as men require may require different supplements. These supplements are not a substitute for a poor diet. They add support and supplement your existing diet. Let’s get into it.
Multivitamin
We should all be taking a multivitamin. Our bodies need a certain level of vitamins, minerals and nutrients to perform at its best. You will find a lot of research on Google recommending multivitamins as they are essential to living a healthy lifestyle.
Multivitamins help to increase your energy levels and improve your mood. They help reduce anxiety and stress and helps you maintain a healthier lifestyle. You are providing your body with the nutrients that it needs to perform harder tasks. Also, you are conserving energy to perform easier tasks. It can help to reduce your anxiety and stress as the body uses vitamin B to convert food into energy. It keeps the nervous system functioning efficiently, and to produce stress hormones. Think about a multivitamin as an insurance policy. It bridges the gaps in your diet and provide you with additional health benefits. I recommend making a multivitamin a daily habit every morning to ensure that you are getting your daily allowance.
I take Actilife Multivit every morning.
Vitamin D3
With an increase in physical activity, there is more stress on our bones, joints and tendons. It’s important that we get enough of this vitamin to support and regulate the calcium and phosphate in our bodies. These nutrients help keep our bones, teeth and muscles healthy. If we have low levels of vitamin D, it could lead to certain diseases and have a negative effect on our immune systems. It can reduce our levels of post-workout recovery and cause stress fractures.
Our bodies create vitamin D from the sun. During spring and summer, we can get this vitamin that by spending more time outside. In the autumn and winter, especially if you live in areas that don’t get enough sunlight, our bodies are not able to create a sufficient amount of vitamin D. With isolations and lockdowns, the need to take a vitamin D supplement increased due to the lack of direct sunlight. You can get vitamin D from food such as:
- Oily fish – salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines and herring (SMASH)
- Red meat
- Liver
- Egg Yolks
- Fortified foods
I take Actilife Vitamin D3 & K in the winter.
Iron
Let’s talk about iron. Firstly, as women, we lose an average 1mg of iron per day during our menstrual cycle. This number could be higher if we have heavier flows. Iron deficiency is common worldwide . Some symptoms includes: feeling extreme levels of fatigue, feeling cold especially with your hands and feet, chewing on ice etc. The reason that I know this is because I lack iron in my diet. My hands and feet are always cold. Around the time of my period, I eat iron-rich foods to substitute for the iron that I am going to lose through my blood. As women, it does take time for our iron levels to increase after our periods. Another reason I increase my iron intake through foods and supplementation to counteract the loss through the blood as well as to reduce period cramps.
Iron-rich Foods
Iron is important for optimal health and well-being. It is an essential part of our red blood cells that transports oxygen around our bodies. It is an integral part to the functioning and performance of our bodies. Unfortunately, we are not able to make it ourselves and need to eat it through our diet. It’s important to combine iron-rich foods with a source of vitamin C to help with faster iron absorption. Iron-rich foods include:
- Liver (not to be eaten during pregnancy)
- Red meats
- Beans -red kidney beans, chickpeas, edamame
- Nuts
- Dried fruits
- Fortified breakfast cereals
I take Actilife Iron and vitamins C, B12 and folic acid.
So there we have it! 3 vitamins supplements that you should take daily. Not everyone is a competitive athlete, but this post is written for those who exercise regularly. Also for those who want to improve their health and overall well-being. Taking care of our bodies is a form of self-care. Everyone should have a body that functioning and performing well to maintain their lifestyles.
If you take any other vitamin supplements, let me know in the comments. Share this with a friend who would find this useful. I’d really love for this to become a resource for all of you.
Until next time,
Folakemi
