What vitamins can be taken

We all lack vitamins to one degree or another. On this score, doctors distinguish two conditions: a lack of vitamins – hypovitaminosis and their absence – vitamin deficiency. What to do?

Vitamins are antioxidants, detoxifiers, immunomodulators and antidepressants all rolled into one. They participate in the work of the nervous and reproductive systems, the hematopoietic system, promote repair and wound healing, regulate carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, improve the structure of skin, hair, nails … In short, they are real magicians of our body.

Most vitamins are not synthesized in the human body, but are ingested with food, vitamin-mineral complexes or food supplements. An exception is vitamin K, which is synthesized in the large intestine of a person due to the vital activity of bacteria.

What are vitamins?

Vitamins are divided into fat-soluble (A, D, E, F, K) and water-soluble (all the rest are B, C, PP, etc.). Fat-soluble vitamins are able to accumulate in tissues, while water-soluble vitamins are not, therefore, primary hypo- and avitaminosis are more typical for the group of water-soluble vitamins. A pathological lack of vitamins also occurs due to various chronic diseases.

What vitamins do we lack and why?

According to research by the Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, about a third of the country’s population has a deficiency of B vitamins, two-thirds of vitamin C. The reason is that we increasingly consume refined food (white bread, confectionery, sugar, deodorized vegetable oils) and canned foods … Indeed, during the cooking process, they lose almost all vitamins, including fat-soluble ones, and improper storage and use of products – reheating, boiling, long-term storage – also emasculate vitamin C. As a result, hypovitaminosis D, B1, C develops.

Solution: it is necessary to minimize all the listed products, especially semi-finished products, fast food, shelf-stable products, canned food.

What do diets lead to?

Sitting on a rigid diet, we begin to deny ourselves healthy foods. As a result, we lose vitamins A, K, D, C, B2, B12, which are found in fresh herbs, vegetables, nuts, cereals and legumes, fruits, meat, eggs and offal, natural milk, cottage cheese and dairy products.

Solution: monitor nutritional balance, do not exclude the most important products for health from the menu.

What other factors provoke a lack of vitamins?

Pregnancy, the period of breastfeeding, intense mental and physical exertion, acute infectious and chronic diseases such as gastritis, dysfunction of the gallbladder, hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver, intestinal diseases and others, can cause hypovitaminosis of group B, C. PP, A, K , E, D, N.

Long-term use of certain medications, including antibiotics and antidepressants, can lead to vitamin deficiencies. In this case, most likely, there will be a lack of vitamins of group B, folic acid, A, E, K, D.

Alcohol abuse and smoking contribute to impaired absorption of vitamins, which can also be the cause of vitamin deficiency.

In addition, everyone knows the fact of vitamin deficiency in the winter-spring period, when the proportion of fresh fruits and vegetables in the diet is significantly reduced.

Solution: you need to start taking multivitamin complexes and dietary supplements.

What will happen if you do not make up for the lack of vitamins?

– Lack of vitamin A (retinol) leads to decreased immunity, acne.

– Vitamin D (calciferol) – to osteoporosis.

– Vitamin E (tocopherol) – to disorders of sexual function, dysfunction of the nervous system, muscle weakness, anemia.

– Vitamins of group B – to skin diseases, focal hair loss, neurological disorders, including depression, anemia, gastritis and peptic ulcer disease, impaired reproductive function in women.

– Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) – to a decrease in physical and mental activity, increased sensitivity to cold, drowsiness, loss of appetite, diseases of the teeth and gums (an extreme form of deficiency – scurvy).

– Vitamin PP (nicotinic acid) – to dermatitis, diarrhea, lack of appetite (anorexia), the development of anemia, gum disease, neurasthenic syndrome and even dementia.

What to do: Be sure to check with your healthcare professional and start taking vitamins.