Choosing A Multi-Vitamin for Women
As a woman I feel like I am always measured on how I look, what I am doing, and what else I could be doing. I grew up in a very “green” organic home. So there were no room for junk food or laziness there. It was all about pulling our own weight and being active in our decisions. Concerning health, my parents did not believe in westernized medicine. We did not have a physician, but rather a holistic health consultant and herbal home remedies for any ailment imaginable. My mother cooked fresh vegan meals every night. Every person’s dream isn’t it?
The problem was this was the lifestyle of an established home that I totally took for granted. When I moved out on my own, it took adjustments of every kind, and my health did not appreciate the transition. I became a busybody, too busy to cook meals for myself. The fruits and vegetables that I had rotting away in my refrigerator were not grown organically from my parent’s garden, but had been shipped from Belize or Mexico. Eventually, cereal and take-out became my staple.
After some time, you could tell I was not getting the nutrition my body was used to getting. I got fatigued faster. I started having problems with my skin, and my hair and nails were not as healthy. My roommate suggested that I invest in a woman’s multivitamin. I thought that was a great idea! The first step though was to figure out what kind to get. There were so many different kinds of multivitamins and prenatal vitamins out there how could I ever discern what is best for me?
Benefits
In a world depleted of proper nutrition taking a multivitamin more importantly finding a women’s multivitamin right for you is getting to be an essential chore. But that is what it is. a chore. So we did most of the grunt work for you, creating a list of top vitamins and minerals needed for a balanced healthy lifestyle.
Vitamin A: Maintains normal good vision. Aids in the formation and maintenance of healthy skin, teeth and soft tissues of the body.
Vitamin B1, 2, 3, 6, 12: Used for obtaining energy from food, breaking down and using carbohydrates, proteins and fats and their building blocks, maintaining healthy skin and nerves, and releasing calcium from cellular store.
Vitamin C: Protects against oxidative damage. It aids in the absorption of iron and copper, the formation of collagen, healthy bones, fighting infection, and in regenerate of other vitamins such as vitamin E or folate (folic acid).
Vitamin D: Needed for the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, maintenance of calcium levels in blood, immune function, healthy skin, and muscle strength.
Vitamin E: Acts as antioxidant particularly for fats, and keeps the heart, circulation, skin and nervous system in good condition.
Biotin: Needed for the breaking down and using the building blocks of fats and proteins. Also, great for healthy hair and nails.
Calcium: Needed for the development and maintenance of bones and teeth, the good functioning muscles and nerves, and proper heart function.
Choline: Makes nerve cell transmitters and cell membranes. Important for inflammatory and allergic response, the health of our kidneys and liver, reduces the risk of heart disease, and for the fat and cholesterol transport and break down in our bodies.
Chromium: Used for enhancing the action of insulin to regulate blood sugar in our bodies.
Copper: Vital for the functioning of several enzymes, the formation of connective tissue, the iron metabolism and blood cell formation, and for proper nervous system, immune system and cardiovascular system function.
Folic Acid: Vital for the breaking down and use of the building blocks of proteins, the processes of tissue growth and cell function, maintaining good heart health, and most importantly preventing neural tube defects in newborns.
Iodine: Essential for the normal thyroid function (important in the growth and development of central nervous system), energy production, and the oxygen consumption in cells
Iron: Needed for the hemoglobin in red blood cells (important for transport of oxygen to tissues), and is the component of myoglobin (muscle protein).
Magnesium: Provides the nutrition for the functioning of more than 300 enzyme systems, energy production, regulating potassium levels, the use of calcium, and last but not least helps maintain healthy bones.
Manganese: Produces healthy bones, regulates carbohydrate, cholesterol and protein metabolism.
Patothenic Acid: Assists in making hormones to get vitamin A and D and substances help make nerves work, and assists in making new fats and proteins in the body.
Potassium: Assists in nerve impulses, muscle contraction, regulate blood pressure.
Selenium: It is an antioxidant, it helps thyroid metabolism, and it plays a part of several functional proteins in body.
Zinc: Is a component of enzymes that help maintain structure of proteins and regulate gene expression. It is needed for growth, immunity appetite and skin integrity.
Not surprisingly, all of these essential vitamins and minerals and more are the ingredients that make up the top prenatal vitamins and daily womens multi-vitamins on the market. We would recommend making sure you are not allergic to anything before deciding on a daily vitamin. Make sure the ingredients are pure quality ingredients. Most importantly make sure you know what you need to maintain the kind of lifestyle you want.