All About Supplements

What are vitamins exactly?

Vitamins and Minerals are considered essential nutrients—because acting in concert, they perform hundreds of roles in the body. They help shore up bones, heal wounds, and bolster your immune system. They also convert food into energy, and repair cellular damage. Your body needs to grow and develop normally. There are 13 vitamins your body needs. They are

Vitamin A
B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12 and folate)
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
Vitamin E
Vitamin K

Each vitamin has specific jobs. If you have low levels of certain vitamins, you may get health problems. For example, if you don’t get enough vitamin C, you could become anemic. Some vitamins may help prevent medical problems. Vitamin A prevents night blindness.

Not eating enough fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, whole grains and fortified dairy foods may increase your risk for health problems, including heart disease, cancer, and poor bone health (osteoporosis).

Vitamin A helps form and maintain healthy teeth, bones, soft tissue, mucous membranes, and skin.
Vitamin B6 is also called pyridoxine. Vitamin B6 helps form red blood cells and maintain brain function. This vitamin also plays an important role in the proteins that are part of many chemical reactions in the body. The more protein you eat the more pyridoxine your body requires.
Vitamin B12, like the other B vitamins, is important for metabolism. It also helps form red blood cells and maintain the central nervous system.
Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, is an antioxidant that promotes healthy teeth and gums. It helps the body absorb iron and maintain healthy tissue. It is also essential for wound healing.
Vitamin D is also known as the “sunshine vitamin,” since it is made by the body after being in the sun. Ten to 15 minutes of sunshine 3 times a week is enough to produce the body’s requirement of vitamin D for most people at most latitudes. People who do not live in sunny places may not make enough vitamin D. It is very hard to get enough vitamin D from food sources alone. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. You need calcium for the normal development and maintenance of healthy teeth and bones. It also helps maintain proper blood levels of calcium and phosphorus.
Vitamin E is an antioxidant also known as tocopherol. It helps the body form red blood cells and use vitamin K.
Vitamin K is needed because without it, blood would not stick together (coagulate). Some studies suggest that it is important for bone health.
Biotin is essential for the metabolism of proteins and carbohydrates, and in the production of hormones and cholesterol.
Niacin is a B vitamin that helps maintain healthy skin and nerves. It also has cholesterol-lowering effects at higher doses.
Folate works with vitamin B12 to help form red blood cells. It is needed for the production of DNA, which controls tissue growth and cell function. Any woman who is pregnant should be sure to get enough folate. Low levels of folate are linked to birth defects such as spina bifida. Many foods are now fortified with folic acid.
Pantothenic acid is essential for the metabolism of food. It also plays a role in the production of hormones and cholesterol.
Riboflavin (vitamin B2) works with the other B vitamins. It is important for body growth and the production of red blood cells.
Thiamine (vitamin B1) helps the body cells change carbohydrates into energy. Getting enough carbohydrates is very important during pregnancy and breastfeeding. It is also essential for heart function and healthy nerve cells.
Choline helps in normal functioning of the brain and nervous system. Lack of choline can cause swelling in liver.
Carnitine helps the body to change fatty acids into energy.

Food Sources

FAT-SOLUBLE VITAMINS

Vitamin A:

Dark-colored fruits
Dark leafy vegetables
Egg yolk
Fortified milk and dairy products (cheese, yogurt, butter, and cream)
Liver, beef, and fish

Vitamin D:

Fish (fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring, and orange roughy)
Fish liver oils (cod liver oil)
Fortified cereals
Fortified milk and dairy products (cheese, yogurt, butter, and cream)

Vitamin E:

Avocado
Dark green vegetables (spinach, broccoli, asparagus, and turnip greens)
Margarine (made from safflower, corn, and sunflower oil)
Oils (safflower, corn, and sunflower)
Papaya and mango
Seeds and nuts
Wheat germ and wheat germ oil

Vitamin K:

Cabbage
Cauliflower
Cereals
Dark green vegetables (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and asparagus)
Dark leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, collards, and turnip greens)
Fish, liver, beef, and eggs

WATER-SOLUBLE VITAMINS

Biotin:

Chocolate
Cereal
Egg yolk
Legumes
Milk
Nuts
Organ meats (liver, kidney)
Pork
Yeast

Folate:

Asparagus and broccoli
Beets
Brewer’s yeast
Dried beans (cooked pinto, navy, kidney, and lima)
Fortified cereals
Green, leafy vegetables (spinach and romaine lettuce)
Lentils
Oranges and orange juice
Peanut butter
Wheat germ

Niacin (vitamin B3):

Avocado
Eggs
Enriched breads and fortified cereals
Fish (tuna and salt-water fish)
Lean meats
Legumes
Nuts
Potato
Poultry

Pantothenic acid:

Avocado
Broccoli, kale, and other vegetables in the cabbage family
Eggs
Legumes and lentils
Milk
Mushroom
Organ meats
Poultry
White and sweet potatoes
Whole-grain cereals

Thiamine (vitamin B1):

Dried milk
Egg
Enriched bread and flour
Lean meats
Legumes (dried beans)
Nuts and seeds
Organ meats
Peas
Whole grains

Pyroxidine (vitamin B6):

Avocado
Banana
Legumes (dried beans)
Meat
Nuts
Poultry
Whole grains (milling and processing removes a lot of this vitamin)

Vitamin B12:

Meat
Eggs
Fortified foods such as soymilk
Milk and milk products
Organ meats (liver and kidney)
Poultry
Shellfish

NOTE: Animal sources of vitamin B12 are absorbed much better by the body than plant sources.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid):

Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Citrus fruits
Potatoes
Spinach
Strawberries
Tomatoes and tomato juice

While these are all great options, we understand that it can be difficult to get all of these vitamins in their daily recommended intake. Cook’s is proud to offer both Women’s Multi and Men’s Multi. These multivitamins are made from the finest, highest quality all natural ingredients to make sure that you’re getting real, quality nutrients. Get your vitamins and nutrients the natural way, rather than taking a multivitamin made from synthetic powders mixed with fillers, artificial flavorings, and artificial colors.

How do I know if I’m getting enough?

If you want to know if you’re getting enough vitamins, the best way is to look through your diet and examine the foods you eat. If your diet consists mostly of buttered noodles, you most likely aren’t getting the vitamins you need. If your diet is well balanced, then you should be getting everything the body needs to function properly. Here’s a list of certain symptoms that could happen with different vitamin deficiency. Vitamin deficiency anemia develops when your body has a shortage of the vitamins needed to produce enough healthy red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen from your lungs throughout your body.

If your diet is lacking in certain vitamins, vitamin deficiency anemia can develop. Or vitamin deficiency anemia may develop because your body can’t properly absorb the nutrients from the foods you eat.

Causes of vitamin deficiency anemias include:

Folate deficiency anemia

Folate, also known as vitamin B-9, is a nutrient found mainly in fruits and leafy green vegetables. A diet consistently lacking in these foods can lead to a deficiency.

Deficiency can also result if your body is unable to absorb folate from food. Most nutrients from food are absorbed in your small intestine. You might have difficulty absorbing folate or folic acid, the synthetic form of folate that’s added to foods and supplements, if:

You have a disease of the small intestine, such as celiac disease
You’ve had a large part of the small intestine surgically removed or bypassed
You drink excessive amounts of alcohol
You take certain prescription drugs, such as some anti-seizure medications

Pregnant women and women who are breast-feeding have an increased demand for folate, as do people undergoing dialysis for kidney disease. Failure to meet this increased demand can result in a deficiency.

Vitamin B-12 deficiency anemia

Vitamin B-12 deficiency can result from a diet lacking in vitamin B-12, which is found mainly in meat, eggs and milk.

However, the most common cause of vitamin B-12 deficiency anemia is a lack of a substance called intrinsic factor, which can be caused when your immune system mistakenly attacks the stomach cells that produce this substance. This type of anemia is called pernicious anemia.

Intrinsic factor is a protein secreted by the stomach that joins vitamin B-12 in the stomach and moves it through the small intestine to be absorbed by your bloodstream. Without intrinsic factor, vitamin B-12 can’t be absorbed and leaves your body as waste.

People with endocrine-related autoimmune disorders, such as diabetes or thyroid disease, may have an increased risk of developing pernicious anemia.

Vitamin B-12 deficiency anemia can also occur if your small intestine can’t absorb vitamin B-12 for reasons other than a lack of intrinsic factor. This may happen if:

You’ve had surgery to your stomach or small intestine, such as gastric bypass surgery
You have abnormal bacterial growth in your small intestine
You have an intestinal disease, such as Crohn’s disease or celiac disease, that interferes with absorption of the vitamin
You’ve ingested a tapeworm from eating contaminated fish. The tapeworm saps nutrients from your body.

Vitamin C deficiency anemia

Vitamin C deficiency can develop if you don’t get enough vitamin C from the foods you eat. Vitamin C deficiency is also possible if something impairs your ability to absorb vitamin C from food. For instance, smoking impairs your body’s ability to absorb vitamin C.

Certain chronic illnesses, such as cancer or chronic kidney disease, also increase your risk of vitamin C deficiency anemia by affecting the absorption of vitamin C.

Risk factors

A number of factors can affect your body’s vitamin stores. In general, your risk of vitamin deficiency is increased if:

Your diet contains little to no natural vitamin food sources, such as meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables. Vegetarians who don’t eat dairy products and vegans, who don’t eat any foods from animals, may fall into this category.

Consistently overcooking your food also can cause vitamin deficiency.
You’re pregnant, and you aren’t taking a multivitamin. Folic acid supplements are especially important during pregnancy.
You have intestinal problems or other medical conditions that interfere with absorption of vitamins. Abnormal bacterial growth in your stomach or surgery to your intestines or stomach can interfere with the absorption of vitamin B-12.
You abuse alcohol. Alcohol interferes with the absorption of folate and vitamin C, as well as other vitamins.
You take certain prescription medications that can block absorption of vitamins. Anti-seizure drugs can block the absorption of folate. Antacids and some drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes may interfere with B-12 absorption.

Cook’s is proud to offer both Women’s Multi and Men’s Multi. These multivitamins are made from the finest, highest quality all natural ingredients to make sure that you’re getting real, quality nutrients. Get your vitamins and nutrients the natural way, rather than taking a multivitamin made from synthetic powders mixed with fillers, artificial flavorings, and artificial colors.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.