Vitamins and minerals benefit your health by contributing to key, everyday functions. They can promote healthy muscles, blood, and immunity. You can intake these nutrients from food sources. Sometimes supplementation is required to ensure you intake optimal amounts and encourage a healthy lifestyle. Learn the ways essential nutrients benefit your immunity, bones, muscles and more, with our expert guide.
Table of Contents:
- Benefits of Essential Vitamins
- Benefits of Vital Minerals
- Vitamin & Mineral Supplements from BetterYou
Benefits of Essential Vitamins
Vitamins are denoted by letters, and each includes various health claims to support your health. The benefits of vitamins range from supporting your eyesight, energy production, and battling coughs and colds. Identifying the different types of vitamins, and their advantages, can help you ensure you’re getting the right amount of beneficial nutrients.
Supplements can help you avoid vitamin and mineral deficiencies, which can cause detrimental side effects. Whilst at-home health test kits can help identify which you may need to take to improve levels. The main ones to know are:
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient with many vitamin benefits. It comes in two types: Vitamin D3 and D2. Boasting many advantages for your wellbeing, the benefits of vitamin D include:
- Muscle function – Supporting faster muscle recovery, this vitamin benefits you as a sports supplement. Helping to ensure your muscles have the nutrients they need.
- Immune system support – This nutrient aids the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines and aids production of immune cells. Immune supplements may contain D for this reason.
- Conception – This vital vitamin benefits fertility chances and health during pregnancy. Maintaining normal levels of vitamin D is important for parents-to-be trying to conceive. It is also important to take vitamin D in pregnancy. Some may consider taking pregnancy supplements to help support pre and post-natal health.
- Promoting good mood – Serotonin levels in the brain can be affected by the sunshine nutrient. Serotonin is known as the happy hormone. It’s important for keeping your mood up and you feeling your best. Taking this vitamin can benefit your mood and support you in the winter months.
- Supports normal bone health – D plays a vital role in regulating the calcium and phosphorus levels in your bones. This helps to ensure they are strong and healthy.
- Teeth health – In the same way this nutrient supports your bones, it also helps your teeth.
Vitamin D supplements can support your intake, to help you see the ways they encourage balanced health.
Vitamin B
Vitamin B is a complex of 8 B nutrients. The most common is vitamin B12, which is important for the brain, blood, and DNA synthesis. There are many benefits of vitamin B which support your health.
- Maintaining healthy red blood cells – B helps to create red blood cells, the agents which carry oxygen in your blood. In vitamin B12 deficiency, these cells can become abnormally large. Making them inefficient at providing oxygen to the body.
- Supporting your immune system – Vitamin B12 supports the immune system thanks to its role in red blood cell production. Ensuring your immune cells have the oxygen it needs to keep you free from illness.
- Boosting your energy levels naturally – This nutrient boosts your energy naturally by breaking down amino and fatty acids, which produces energy. When you feel tired or fatigued, energy supplements containing this nutrient could help.
- Promoting cell health – The vitamin benefits your body by keeping your cells working as they should. Maintaining skin cells, brain cells, and body tissue.
- Supporting healthy brain function – By aiding the development of neurotransmitters, this vital nutrient benefits the health of your brain. This can help to promote normal concentration levels.
- Supporting good digestion – The nutrient helps your body process the proteins you eat. Supporting your dietary intake of foods and key nutrients.
- Encouraging proper nerve function – B1 contributes as a coenzyme in a process called carbohydrate metabolism, which is to make ATP (energy) to supply nerve fibres.
- Supporting cardiovascular health – B contributes to the breaking down of homocysteine (an amino acid). Splitting it into other structures your body needs.
You can see these vitamin benefits and support your health thanks to vitamin B supplements. It is essential you obtain the correct amount of all 8 B nutrients, especially B12 in order to avoid fatigue from low B12 and help you see the benefits of vitamin B12.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is often found in food sources such as citrus fruits. It contributes to immunity, skin health, and more. The benefits of vitamin C include:
- Maintaining bones and cartilage – Because this vitamin benefits collagen creation, it supports your bone health. While vitamin C deficiency, also known as scurvy, is known to lead to increased risk of fractures and osteoporosis.
- Encouraging immune defence – Vitamin C helps your immune system by producing white blood cells, known as lymphocytes and phagocytes. These essential cells attack pathogens to help keep you free from illness.
- Maintaining healthy skin – The nutrient accelerates the production of both collagen and elastin, which can help your skin stay plump and elastic. Skin supplements help to promote these qualities in your skin.
- Avoiding prenatal health problems – This vitamin benefits your little one’s normal growth, and promotes healthy tissue and wound healing. Prenatal vitamins containing C can help to support you and your baby during this important time.
- Helping to protect cells – By being an antioxidant, the vitamin benefits your cell health by protecting them from unstable substances known as free-radicals.
- Supporting blood vessels – It does this by tightening the endothelial barrier (the lining of your blood vessels), which helps to maintain its integrity during inflammation. Keeping them supported and helping wounds to heal.
- Protecting from cardiovascular disease – Helping to reduce blood pressure, C helps to improve nitric oxide production.
- Supporting eye health – By aiding in collagen production, it can help by maintaining the structure of your eyes.
Vitamin C supplements provide you with this vital nutrient, which could maintain optimal levels, and help you experience nutrient wellbeing.
Vitamin K
This nutrient benefits your body through its contributions to your blood health. Core benefits of vitamin K include:
- Bones – This vitamin benefits your bones in partnership with D. Vitamin D and vitamin K work together to move the calcium into your bones. Bone supplements can support your bone strength in this way.
- Heart health – By moving minerals along the circulatory system, this nutrient benefits your heart. Vitamin K reduces the risk of calcification – where calcium deposits harden in your blood vessels. By helping to stop this build up, this supports your blood pressure by keeping it lower. As one of the key nutrients for an older stage of life, it could help reduce your risk of a stroke as you age.
- Blood clotting – Thanks to its role as a blood clotter, the vitamin benefits you by forming blood around cuts. This stops your wounds from continuously bleeding and allows them to heal.
Support your intake with vitamin K supplements, to encourage a proper vitamin D and K2 dosage, and help you see essential nutrient welfare.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is also known as retinol, and is an essential nutrient which supports your immune system and other vital processes. Some advantages to know are:
- Helping to maintain normal skin – Vitamin A contributes to the production of sebum, which helps to maintain optimum levels of moisture. Skin, hair, and nails vitamins can contain A to support your skin. Helping to keep it looking healthy.
- Contributing to normal iron metabolism – It does this by keeping iron soluble, to aid proper function.
- Supporting the maintenance of normal vision – A is essential in converting light that hits your retina into a signal your brain can convert to an image.
- Aiding the immune system – The nutrient benefits the production of mucous barriers that trap bacteria. As well as the production of white blood cells.
This nutrient is found in multivitamins to contribute to your healthy lifestyle, and support your nutrient intake.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a group of eight fat-soluble compounds. It contributes to the overall health of your cells, and without enough, could cause nerve problems. The key benefits of vitamin E are:
- Fights free radicals – Free radicals are unstable and can damage cells. As an antioxidant, vitamin E supports the immune system by helping to defend cells from free radicals.
- Supports growth of T cells – T cells fight against infection in the body and Vitamin E is an essential part in their growth. Supporting the proper working of the immune system, fending off illness.
- Supports skin and hair health – By limiting the impact free radicals can have on your body. Working to keep hair shiny and skin smooth.
- Increases red blood cell count – The vitamin benefits your red blood cells by helping to prevent oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in these cells. Thereby, helping to supply the body with oxygen as they should.
- Improves kidney function – Thanks to its role as an antioxidant, supporting your kidneys to function properly.
- Supports healthy eyes – This vitamin benefits your eyes by reducing free radicals. These break down healthy eye tissue, so ensuring you have enough encourages proper eye function.
Benefits of Vital Minerals
Minerals benefit your health by contributing to essential processes for your health. There are many different types of minerals, and it’s vital you obtain the optimal amount of each one. These nutrients work alongside each other to provide well-rounded health. Identifying the benefits of minerals can help you ensure you’re getting the right amount of nutrients. The main ones to know are:
- Magnesium
- Iron
- Selenium
- Zinc
- Calcium
Magnesium
Magnesium is an important nutrient which contributes to your sleep, energy, and muscles. The benefits of magnesium include:
- Helping you sleep – Magnesium supplements can help you sleep and help you feel well rested. This mineral benefits sleep by alerting the receptors in your brain that it is time to wind down and go to sleep, acting as a natural sleep aid.
- Promoting exercise recovery – This nutrient benefits your muscles by acting as a natural relaxant. It also moves sugar into your muscles and removes lactic acid, supporting your athletic performance. Thanks to these traits, magnesium helps to relieve muscle tension after exercise so you can get back out sooner.
- Boosting energy levels – By helping to create energy from food and make proteins, boosting energy production. Helping you get an extra boost, without the need to reach for energy drinks. While magnesium deficiency can leave you feeling fatigued if your levels get too low.
- Improving mood – Thanks to its job with serotonin, the brain’s “feel good hormone”, the mineral benefits regular hormone levels. Maintaining hormones such as serotonin and melatonin can help in encouraging beating the winter blues and promoting restful sleep.
- Maintaining heart health – The nutrient supports your heart by helping muscles relax. Together with calcium (which makes muscles contract) it supports a regular heartbeat. Thus, taking calcium and magnesium together can be good for your health.
- Easy to supplement – One benefit of magnesium is that it is effortless to supplement. With magnesium creams and magnesium sprays to apply on the skin, and magnesium bath flakes to help you relax. Seeing these mineral benefits is hassle-free, and even enjoyable!
Magnesium supplements provide you with an effective way to increase your intake. Helping to prevent the symptoms of sleep deprivation, and restore your energy levels. Try magnesium water to hydrate, energise, and focus whilst enjoying a refreshing drink and help to avoid electrolyte imbalance.
Iron
Iron, the most common mineral on earth, is found in many food groups and plays an essential part in your energy levels. The ways iron benefits you include:
- Reduces fatigue – Iron promotes your energy levels, thanks to its role in the blood. Iron deficiency can be known to cause tiredness and fatigue because your body cannot make enough energy to keep you moving.
- Encourages a healthy pregnancy – During this special time, the body needs more iron. This is because iron contributes to the making of blood. Proper iron dosage can encourage a healthy pregnancy, and supply oxygen to your little one.
- Maintains stamina – The mineral benefits your mental and athletic performance thanks to its vital contribution to oxygen and energy. If you have low iron levels, you may experience low energy levels. Thus making maintaining performance more difficult.
- Proper red cell production – Red blood cells transport oxygen to your body. Iron is essential to make haemoglobin, the part of the cells which carry the oxygen. Therefore, bolstering the oxygen provided to your body.
- Supports focus – Thanks to the way the mineral benefits your oxygen transportation, supplying your brain with oxygen, it can help to promote normal concentration levels.
- Reduces bruising – Keeping your blood cells healthy is essential. If they aren’t, you can’t get the oxygen that it needs to function. That way, the mineral reduces how susceptible you are to bruising.
- Supports the immune system – Supporting your immune cells, it can help to keep you healthy and free from illness. This is because iron contributes to the maturation of your immune system, such as white blood cells.
Iron supplements can help you to obtain optimum levels. In spray form, it can help avoid side effects of traditional iron tablets. That way, you can encourage your body to see the mineral benefits it can provide.
Selenium
Selenium is a non-metal which supports immunity thanks to its role as an antioxidant. The important benefits of selenium are:
- Supporting the immune system – Thanks to the way this mineral benefits your immune system, having optimal levels can help prevent infection and illness. You can support your little ones’ immunity with our children’s immunity supplements range, which include selenium for this reason.
- Aid turning food into energy – Selenium concentration is higher in the thyroid gland than in any other organ in the body. Important for the function of thyroid hormone synthesis and metabolism (the process of turning food into energy). Selenium deficiency can cause fatigue, because your body cannot make enough energy to keep you fuelled for the day.
- Protect cells from oxidative stress – Thanks to its role as an antioxidant, selenium helps to reduce the number of free-radicals. These contribute to the health effects of air pollution, selenium assists by neutralising them. Removing these excess free radicals aids in protecting cells from damage.
- Spermatogenesis – The process of spermatogenesis is aided by selenium. This process is the maturation of sperm cells within the male reproductive organs. It is also present within the tail of sperm cells, so naturally, these cells are sensitive to low levels. Encouraging levels with conception supplements could promote health ahead of parenthood.
- Reducing inflammation – Selenoproteins help prevent the oxidative modification of lipids, reducing inflammation and preventing platelets from aggregating.
- Maintaining normal hair and nails – This is because this nutrient benefits the regulation of iodine, which your thyroid needs. It is the thyroid which then is responsible for the growth of your hair and nails.
- Helping elderly function – Serum selenium concentrations decline with age. These lower concentrations might be associated with age-related declines in brain function, possibly due to decreases in selenium’s antioxidant activity. Maintaining proper nutrient levels is therefore crucial to see these mineral benefits as you age.
Selenium supplements are designed to provide optimal dosage and support your balanced nutritional intake.
Zinc
Zinc can encourage proper gene expression and promote wound healing. The ways zinc benefits your health include:
- Wound healing – The nutrient supports the way your body heals your cuts and scrapes after an accident or bump. Those with long-term wounds may be suffering from zinc deficiency and need to increase their intake.
- Immune function – This mineral benefits your immunity. Contributing to the body’s protection from disease. Therefore, zinc is good for adding to lozenges and common cold treatments.
- Gene expression – Genes are made up of smaller components including RNA. The nutrients benefit the making of this RNA by speeding up the reaction. This makes zinc essential for gene expression. Gene expression is how the body “reads” information about the cells and products it makes.
- Enzymatic reactions – Zinc is present in every cell in the body, including enzymes. These enzymes speed up reactions by either stabilising the structure of these enzymes, or by directly taking part in the reactions themselves.
- Protein synthesis – Meaning to make proteins, the nutrient benefits this creation by regulating the structures of the elements which go into making proteins.
- DNA synthesis – Thanks to its role in cell division, zinc is needed for DNA synthesis by stabilising the structure of the elements required to make DNA.
- Growth and development – Thanks to the way zinc bolsters cell division, it helps growing and development because your body is made of cells.
- Act as an anti-inflammatory – Zinc may help to reduce oxidative stress caused by free-radicals and therefore help to reduce inflammation.
Zinc supplements promote your body’s natural levels of this nutrient. Ensuring you have sufficient dosage could mean you experience balanced health.
Calcium
Calcium is an essential mineral, where 99% of it is stored in the bones and teeth. There are key ways calcium contributes to your health, including:
- Support bone health
- Helps children’s bones to grow
- Supports bone density as we age
- Aids muscle contraction
- Support blood clotting
- Aids healthy blood pressure
Calcium’s role in supporting bone density makes it especially pivotal in menopause supplements, helping to keep bones strong with age. You can encourage your intake alongside magnesium, with BetterYou’s Magnesium + Calcium Lotion which is easily applied to the skin to soothe and help you see mineral benefits.
Vitamin & Mineral Supplements from BetterYou
With BetterYou, finding hassle-free solutions to supplementing is easier than ever. We pioneered vitamin and mineral oral sprays. They make it even more simple to ensure you’re getting the nutrients you need. See vitamin benefits and mineral benefits with a pill-free formula. Ideal for use on the go, simply spray into the mouth, and continue on with your day. No need to swallow a pill or tablet!
Pill-free supplements are designed to encourage an optimal intake of nutrients alongside your diet. Your body needs each nutrient in different amounts. Ensuring you obtain the correct dosage of each means you can encourage the health advantages of each. Always adhere to Nutrient Reference Value guidelines when taking supplements.
Those with dietary restrictions don’t have to miss out either. Whether you are following a plant-based diet. Or you need to exclude certain foods for health reasons. We have food supplements to help everyone see mineral and vitamin benefits.
- Vegan supplements – Designed to provide the supplements vegans should take, in great-tasting pill-free formulas. Certified Vegan Approved by the Vegetarian Society.
- Vegetarian supplements – Designed to bridge the gap which may be missing from a vegetarian diet with supplements vegetarians should take. Certified vegetarian-friendly by the Vegetarian Society.
- Gluten-Free Supplements – For those who exclude or cannot eat gluten. As with our other sprays, they are never tested on animals.
Thanks to this optimal absorption supplementation method, you can support your health without the hassle