Since the health industry is filled with millions of multivitamins and supplements, knowing what you really need to take on a daily basis can get confusing. Maintaining a healthy diet will give your body access to almost everything that it needs, but you may be inclined to take a conservative multivitamin as well to make sure you’re covered.
Here’s a look at the top five essential vitamins you need to be getting everyday. When you realize that the first five letters of the alphabet will keep your body stocked up with much of the nutrients it needs to function well, remembering which vitamins are among the most important should be a cinch.
Vitamin A
Vital for healthy vision, immune system functioning and reproduction, vitamin A is a daily must-have. The necessary vitamin also aids organs like the heart, kidneys and lungs. There are two basic types of vitamin A, one kind found in meat, fish and dairy products and another kind found in plant-based picks like fruits and vegetables.
Recommended dietary allowance
Women nineteen and older have a recommended dietary allowance of seven-hundred micrograms. This means that nearly all healthy adult women will have sufficient access to vitamin A for their body’s needs if this figure is met. Pregnant women have a recommended dietary allowance of seven-hundred-seventy micrograms and those lactating have an allowance of one-thousand-three-hundred micrograms.
Tolerable upper intake levels
Women nineteen and older have an upper intake level of three-thousand micrograms, meaning this is the highest level of daily nutrient intake that is likely to pose no negative health risk. Routinely exceeding this limit can be dangerous. Pregnant and lactating women also have the same upper intake level of three-thousand micrograms.
A caution with units
In these official recommendations, the micrograms listed reflect a measurement of retinol or retinol activity equivalents. Over-the-counter supplements often list vitamin A in terms of international units, but the conversion of international units into retinol activity equivalents will depend on the source of vitamin A because your body processes different sources differently.
A dietary supplement with three-thousand international units of vitamin A in the form of retinol is equal to nine-hundred micrograms of retinol activity equivalents, but the same number of international units of vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene would only be four-hundred-fifty retinol activity equivalents.
To bypass the formulations when you don’t know the source of vitamin A, a rough estimate of five-thousand international units of vitamin A gets used as a reference for dietary intake.
Vitamin B
The B vitamins help boost your metabolism and include thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin and folic acid. Making sure you get enough of each of these nutrients on a daily basis is crucial for feeling good and functioning well.
Recommended dietary allowances and adequate intakes
Adult women should daily get:
- one-and-one-tenth milligrams of thiamin
- one-and-one-tenth milligrams of riboflavi
- fourteen milligrams of niacin
- five milligrams of pantothenic acid
- thirty micrograms of biotin
- four-hundred micrograms of folate
- two-and-four-tenths micrograms of vitamin B12
Those who are pregnant should get:
- one-and-four-tenths milligrams of thiamin
- one-and-four-tenths milligrams of riboflavin
- eighteen milligrams of niacin
- six milligrams of pantothenic acid
- thirty micrograms of biotin
- six-hundred micrograms of folate
- two-and-six-tenths micrograms of vitamin B12
Those who are lactating should get:
- one-and-four-tenths milligrams of thiamin
- one-and-six-tenths milligrams of riboflavin
- seventeen milligrams of niacin
- seven milligrams of pantothenic acid
- thirty-five micrograms of biotin
- five-hundred micrograms of folate
- two-and-eight-tenths micrograms of vitamin B12
Tolerable upper intake levels
Adult women, regardless of pregnancy or lactation, have a daily tolerable upper intake level of thirty-five milligrams of niacin and one-thousand micrograms of folate. Thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, biotin and vitamin B12 do not have established upper intake levels because of insufficient data. In these cases, limiting your consumption to the recommended dietary allowances is the safest precaution you can take.
Vitamin C
This vitamin boosts your immune system, helps the body make collagen and protects against cellular damage from free radicals. A healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables should provide much of the vitamin C your body needs, but supplementation in tablet form is widely accessible as well.
Recommended dietary allowances
Adult women nineteen and older should be covered by taking seventy-five milligrams of vitamin C a day. Those who are pregnant should be getting eighty-five milligrams a day and those who are lactating should be getting one-hundred-twenty milligrams a day.
Tolerable upper intake levels
Women should avoid taking more than two-thousand milligrams a day whether they are pregnant, lactating or neither. Doses above this threshold could have adverse side effects.
Vitamin D
For strong and healthy bones, your body needs vitamin D every day. Your muscles, nerves and immune system also use vitamin D to function properly as the special nutrient is actually located in cells throughout the body.
Recommended dietary allowances
As of 2011 recommendations, adult women should take fifteen micrograms of vitamin D everyday. That is also the recommended dietary allowance for those who are pregnant or lactating. Women older than seventy, however, should increase their consumption to twenty micrograms a day. These recommendations are referencing micrograms of cholecalciferol, with one microgram of cholecalciferol being equal to forty international units of vitamin D. Hence, if your dietary supplement lists vitamin D in terms of international units, six-hundred would be the equivalent number to look for.
Tolerable upper intake levels
All women have a tolerable upper intake level of one-hundred micrograms, or four-thousand international units, of vitamin D. Even those who are older than seventy should still abide by this same limit.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E helps keep your muscles, brain, blood vessels, immune system and cells healthy, fighting against free radicals and helping to prevent blood clots. The all-around good guy is an essential for your body’s daily needs.
Recommended dietary allowances
Women should intake fifteen milligrams of vitamin E everyday, which is equal to twenty-two-and-four-tenths international units. Those who are pregnant should also get fifteen milligrams, but those who are lactating should shoot for nineteen milligrams, which is equal to twenty-eight-and-four-tenths international units.
Synthetic forms of vitamin E are less potent than natural forms so certain supplements may report that thirty or thirty-three-and-one-third international units of vitamin E is actually closer to the recommended daily intake in terms of biological activity in some cases.
Tolerable upper intake levels
Women, regardless of pregnancy or lactation, should avoid consuming more than one-thousand milligrams of vitamin E in any given day.
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