Did you know that the human body requires 13 vitamins to function properly?
Did you know that all 13 essential vitamins are found in whole foods?
According to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, “Nutrients should be obtained primarily through food consumption. Food provides a variety of nutrients and other compounds that may have beneficial health effects. Dietary supplements, although recommended in some cases, they cannot replace a healthy diet.” In simple terms, this means that by increasing your intake of healthy, nutrient-dense foods, you are guaranteed to lose weight and boost your metabolism.
B vitamins
Of the 13 essential vitamins, the B vitamins are the most commonly linked to weight loss. To better understand this relationship, let’s look at family B itself. It contains a total of eight vitamins B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), niacin, B6 (pyridoxine), folic acid, B12 (cobalamin), biotin, and pantothenic acid. The B vitamins serve in a number of different capacities and perform a number of functions, including creating new blood cells, increasing energy, and regulating metabolism.
With regard to metabolism, the B vitamins are especially important so much so that many weight loss clinics will offer weight loss patients B12 injections to help them progress through their weight loss period. For best results, the B vitamins should be consumed collectively. Developing a diet that contains foods rich in B vitamins like dairy products, egg yolks, meat, fish, leafy greens, and legumes will certainly improve your chances of boosting your metabolism.
Vitamin C
Along with vitamin E, vitamin C aids in the antioxidant process and can help prevent harmful oxidation of cells. Vitamin C also serves as a facilitator of the absorption of supplementary vitamins and minerals, including calcium, iron, and folcacin. Vitamin C has also been linked to healthy hormones, bones, blood vessels, collagen, and teeth. Aside from the nutritional benefits, vitamin C is also essential for boosting your immune system, which is absolutely necessary for weight loss. For best results, consider incorporating the following vitamin C-enriched foods into your diet: dark green vegetables and broccoli, red and green bell peppers, citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruit, and tomatoes.
Vitamin D
Through recent research, vitamin D has been cited as a contributing factor to greater weight loss success. Know that vitamin D is not the answer to all your weight loss problems, but it can change and improve some things. In particular, for people with inadequate vitamin D levels who are on a weight loss program, supplementation with the vitamin can help create balance and increase weight loss success. Of course, this would be carried out in accordance with other routine weight loss techniques such as exercising and eating healthy foods.
Like vitamin C, vitamin D also helps with calcium absorption, which is critical for preventing osteoporosis and maintaining strong bone density. In the most natural source, vitamin D can be created through 10 to 20 minutes of direct sunlight a few (three times) per week. If it’s the winter season or you’re not a big fan of sun, you can also get a decent amount of food like cereal, bread, milk, yogurt, fish liver oils, catfish, tuna, herring, and salmon.
Vitamin E
Like the B vitamins and vitamin C, vitamin E has also been identified as a strong antioxidant and a contributing factor in establishing an efficient metabolism rate. Additionally, vitamin E also boosts the immune system and has been linked to preventing heart disease and, in some cases, cancer. Healthy skin is another benefit of vitamin E. Vitamin E will help stimulate skin elasticity, which for someone looking to trim inches is a good thing. Your best bet for best results is to look for vitamin E found in unsaturated fats, including leafy greens like lettuce or broccoli, vegetable oil, whole grains, avocado, germ oil wheat, seeds and nuts.