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LILY Online Magazine
THE BENEFITS OF
VITAMINS FOR WOMEN Information provided by Miss Nutrition
AS NATURE’S DESIGNATED CUSTODIANS OF OUR HEALTH, VITAMINS ARE AMONG THE MOST ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF OUR DAILY NUTRITION. They participate in chemical reactions inside your cells, contributing to the release of energy to the production of enzymes. You can view them as the invisible workers that work tirelessly to defend and protect your body from diseases and keep you healthy. Vitamins play a crucial role in the metabolic process - activating (catalyzing) body functions with the help of various enzymes produced by your body. There are many different vitamins and each vitamin performs a specific function. However, with the exception of vitamin D, our body cannot make vitamins. This is the reason we need to get them from food sources and from vitamin supplements. When you don’t get vitamins in sufficient quantities, you expose yourself to a myriad of health problems. Therefore, every woman should ensure that she gets adequate quantities of vitamins. Sadly, most women, and especially those who are on a diet, do not eat enough fruits and vegetables, which are the primary sources of vitamins. As a result, they are at a high risk of suffering from diseases and conditions resulting from vitamin deficiencies. If you are like the majority of women who do not
eat enough vegetables and fruits, you may need to take vitamins in the form of supplements. Most vitamins are water-soluble and not harmful to consume in high quantities as any excess is expelled with urine. However, vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble and stored in the tissue and can become toxic if consumed in excessive quantities. Therefore, careful monitoring of the quantities of these vitamins that you ingest is advised. Vitamin D levels are something that I recommend checking quite regularly. Pregnant, breastfeeding and menopausal women need adequate amounts of vitamins. But they should also take care not to consume vitamin supplements excessively as they can end up harming themselves and their babies. While most of the vitamins can be obtained from food sources, having supplements in the form of pills and syrups can augment the supply. The need for vitamin supplements increases with advancing age. As you become older, your body may lose the ability to absorb some vitamins naturally, resulting in vitamin deficiencies. Vitamin deficiency can lead to serious health problems and even untimely death. Deficiency of certain vitamins can make you look older than your age because of damage to your skin cells.