What are the best
Sources of Vitamins?

What sources of vitamins will allow
you to be the healthiest you can be?

However, this is not the only place to get your vitamins. The other sources of vitamins should not be neglected just because you're taking a supplement.

Vitamins can be found in many of the foods you eat, and you can get vitamin D from the sun.

What are fortified foods?

When vitamins or minerals have been added to food, it means they are fortified. The most popular fortified food is milk. Vitamin D gets added to milk creating fortified milk.

Vitamin B

The different vitamins that make up the B complex group come from various sources.

You can get most of the B vitamins that you need through these natural food sources: fish, turkey, potatoes, liver, liver oil, bananas, green leafy vegetables, asparagus, fortified breads, and pasta.

Plain and simple, you get enough vitamin B through your diet. The only exception might be a vegetarian or vegan.

If you're a vegetarian you should watch out for a deficiency in vitamin B 12. This particular vitamin is not found in plant products.

So if you're a strict vegetarian or vegan, please make sure you're getting enough of this vitamin. You might need to take a supplement to be safe.

Are you from the land down under?....

Vegemite, which is Australia's popular breakfast food claims to be the richest source of vitamin B. You spread it on toast like butter or jam.

The only problem is it's a bit of an acquired taste. Once you have a taste, you probably won't be incorporating it into your diet :(

If you're a drinker, than you can get your vitamin B from beer........

Except the alcohol won't let your body absorb the vitamins......Oops......

Maybe it's time to switch to non alcoholic beer....... Just joking :)

Vitamin C

Vitamin C can be found in animal and plant products.

Animals actually produce their own vitamin C, so it is present in meat, but mainly in the liver, not the muscles.

Growing up, I can only remember eating liver once or twice. I'm guessing you're probably the same, so meat is not the best source for this vitamin.

Fruits and vegetables are the best natural sources of vitamin C. It's found in red peppers, parsley, broccoli, oranges, strawberries, raspberries, mangos, kiwifruit, etc.

Many of these foods have good sources of vitamins. The secret is to get your ten servings a day!

What you have to watch out for with these sources of vitamins, is how they are prepared.

Many vitamins breakdown when you cook them. When you're frying or roasting food, it will reach a certain temperature where the vitamins will decompose.

A common cooking practice is cooking vegetables like carrots or corn in the microwave. Because vitamin C is water soluble, when you heat up the vegetables with water in the microwave, a lot of the nutrients are lost.

Vitamin A

The best sources of vitamin A are milk, eggs, liver, fortified cereals, carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, broccoli, oranges, cantaloupe, apricots, peaches, papayas, and mangos.

Vitamin A can also be lost when cooking with very high heat.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a little different when it comes to its sources.

The only meat that has vitamin D is fish.

Most sources are from fish oils, egg yolks and fortified foods such as milk and cereals.

Cereals are not always the best source because even though the vitamins are added, there is usually still a high level of sugar.

You can actually get vitamin D from the sun. Vitamin D3 is produced when the sun's rays react chemically with a natural steroid at the surface of your skin.

Always keep that sunscreen on though :)

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is found in many foods, such as vegetable oils, nuts, avocados, asparagus, olives, seeds and whole grains.

Vitamin K

Vitamin K is found in leafy green vegetables such as spinach, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, and brussels sprouts.

Kiwifruit is also a good source of vitamin K.

Are you going to start incorporating all those foods into your diet?.........

It's unrealistic to image that you will recreate your diet, solely based on your vitamin needs. For the average person, it's not practical.

Here's what I mean by "not practical".......

I think it would be fantastic to create a meal plan that tells you exactly how many calories you're eating, and exactly how many nutrients you're getting........

The only problem is that it's very difficult to follow that diet.

I know from experience that eating the same thing everyday for a month is boring. Even a week would be challenging for most people.

And enjoying your food should not be challenging.

You're a busy person. If you're running late, your nutrition usually comes second. You can't give your boss the excuse that you're late for the meeting because you needed to drop by the store to get your vitamin fix.

So, I'm not suggesting you get out your notebook out and start formulating a whole new diet after reviewing the sources of vitamins.

What I would suggest you do; is examine the sources of vitamins, and see if there's a way to incorporate some of them into your current diet.

If it's practical, then great, you're about to improve your health by making proper choices.

Remember, these are the best natural sources of vitamins.

Supplementation is still the most reliable and efficient way to get all your vitamins.