There’s no doubt that we are all becoming much more health-conscious as a collective and many of us now understand that our nutritional needs will naturally change during each stage of our life. It is vital to understand women’s vitamins and which ones should be taken every day, depending on a number of factors such as your age.
As an example; women of a childbearing age will need to take women’s vitamins that contain folic acid to prevent birth defects whereas women experiencing the menopause should take women’s vitamins such as calcium and vitamin D to help maintain strong and healthy bones.
In short, vitamins are essential chemicals that are used in practically all of your body’s processes by aiding reactions that occur inside our cells. Every vitamin will perform a very specific function inside the body, and there are no foods types that contain all of the vitamins that you need for the best health. To this end, it is vital that you get you take women’s vitamins to ensure optimal health, especially if your diet is lacking in certain vitamins, nutrients or minerals.
The first kind of women’s vitamins that you can take are antioxidants. Antioxidant vitamins include vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin A (retinol and the carotenoids). Medical research has found that antioxidants may help to reduce damage to cell DNA and cell membranes.
To this end, if you have a weak immune system or you are suffering from a cold, antioxidants are often recommended to help boost your immune system. However, you can take multivitamins everyday that include vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin A to ensure that you get your correct antioxidant daily levels.
Other women’s vitamins that are vitally important are B vitamins. B vitamins in general are very important to overall woman’s health. In particular, B6 and B12 and folic acid are of great benefit for the building of DNA, red blood cell formation and correct brain function. To this end, B vitamin folic acid is recommended to all women who are either trying to fall pregnant, or who are already pregnant.
As well as ensuring general health, B vitamin folic acid has also been proven to help lower the risk of neural tube defects occurring such as Spina Bifida. Vitamin B6 is also very important to a women’s overall health, also known as pyridoxine, a lack of Vitamin B6 can result in a type of anaemia.
Vitamin D is also highly recommended as it helps to keep your bones strong by activating calcium and phosphorus in the body. If you are lacking Vitamin D, your body can turn to your bones for the replenishing of calcium and phosphorus, in turn this can thin your bones and even contribute to osteoporosis.
Vitamin D can be absorbed through the exposure of the body to sunlight, therefore if you find that you work indoors for long periods of time (or you cannot go outside every day due to a physical problem), it’s a great idea to take Vitamin D to ensure that your levels are high enough.
So, women’s vitamins really are vitally important to help maintain a healthy body, but how can you get the correct amount of vitamins to suit your individual needs? Many women will opt to take a multivitamin tablet every day – and this can be a great way to ensure that you are getting your full spectrum of vitamins.
However, if you have any specific medical problems, or you have any questions about women’s vitamins, always ask your doctor for further advice before you start taking any new supplements.