YOUR VITAMIN GUIDE
ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH OF THE 13 ESSENTIAL VITAMINS YOUR BODY NEEDS TO STAY HEALTHY? HERE'S WHAT EACH VITAMIN DOES—AND HOW TO ACHIEVE THE RECOMMENDED DAILY INTAKE THROUGH A HEALTHY DIET.
VITAMIN A
ADULTS 700-900 mcg
- Essential for vision and eye health
- Strengthens the immune system
- Supports reproductive health and fertility
- As a strong antioxidant, helps organs like the heart, lungs, and kidneys work as they should
FIND IT IN:
- Meat: organ meats
- Seafood: king mackerel, salmon, bluefin tuna
- Dairy: goat cheese, cheddar cheese
- Vegetables (provitamin A): green, orange, and yellow vegetables like broccoli, leafy greens, carrots, and squash
- Fruit (provitamin A): cantaloupe, grapefruit, mango
VITAMIN B1
ADULT MEN 1,2 mg
- Helps maintain muscle tension and reflexes
- Vital for turning food into energy in the body
- Important for growth, development, and function of cells
FIND IT IN:
- Meat: pork, poultry, beef liver
- Seafood: salmon, mussels
- Vegetables: asparagus
- Nuts, beans, and legumes: flax seeds, navy beans, macadamia nuts, edamame, black beans, lentils
- Grains: enriched bread, noodles, cereal
VITAMIN B2
ADULT MEN 1,3 mg
- Vital for energy production
- Ensures proper growth, development, and function of cells
- Helps metabolize fats, drugs, and steroids
FIND IT IN:
- Meat: organ meats, beef
- Seafood: salmon, trout, oysters, clams, mussels
- Dairy: milk, yogurt, swiss cheese
- Eggs
- Vegetables: mushrooms, asparagus, broccoli, spinach Grains: fortified cereal
- Other: nutritional and brewer’s yeast
VITAMIN B3 (niacin)
ADULT MEN 16 mg
- Combats oxidative stress and boosts the body’s immune system
- Aids development and function of cells
- May help lower cholesterol and blood fat levels
FIND IT IN:
- Meat: organ meats, beef
- Seafood: salmon, trout, oysters, clams, mussels
- Dairy: milk, yogurt, swiss cheese
- Eggs
- Vegetables: mushrooms, asparagus, broccoli, spinach Grains: fortified cereal
- Other: nutritional and brewer’s yeast
VITAMIN B6 (pyridoxine)
ADULT MEN 1,7 mg
- Helps promote and maintain healthy brain function
- Important for red blood cell creation
- Vital for nutrient metabolism
- Lowers levels of homocysteine, high levels of which are a risk for several health conditions
FIND IT IN:
- Meat: beef, pork, organ meats
- Seafood: salmon, tuna
- Poultry: turkey and chicken breasts
- Eggs
- Dairy: milk, ricotta cheese
- Vegetables: spinach, potatoes
- Fruit: bananas, avocados
- Grains: fortified cereal Nuts and legumes: pistachios, chickpeas, peas
- Other: nutritional and brewer’s yeast
VITAMIN B7 (biotin)
ADULT MEN 30 mcg
- Helps keep cells and tissues healthy
- May promote hair growth
- May promote lower blood sugar levels
FIND IT IN:
- Meat: organ meats
- Seafood: salmon
- Dairy: milk, cheese, yogurt
- Egg yolks
- Fruit: avocados
- Vegetables: sweet potatoes, broccoli mushrooms, spinach, cauliflower
- Nuts and seeds: almonds, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, nut butters
- Other: nutritional and brewer’s yeast
VITAMIN B9 (folate)
ADULT MEN 400 mcg
- Helps lower the risk of neural tube defects
- Important for gene expression and DNA repair
- Helps combat inflammation
FIND IT IN:
- Meat: organ meats
- Eggs
- Vegetables: asparagus, Brussels sprouts, dark leafy greens, beets
- Fruit: oranges and orange juice, grapefruit, lemons, limes
- Grains: fortified grain products
- Legumes: edamame, black beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, pinto beans, peanuts
- Nuts and seeds: walnuts, flax seeds
- Other: nutritional and brewer’s yeast
VITAMIN B12 (cobalamin)
ADULT MEN
- Helps make DNA
- Keeps nerve and blood cells healthy Helps prevent anemia Lowers risk of birth defects
- Promotes bone density
- May improve symptoms of mild depression in those with B12 deficiency
- Helps lower inflammation
FIND IT IN:
- Meat: organ meats, beef
- Seafood: trout, salmon, oysters, clams, mussels, tuna, sardines
- Dairy: milk, yogurt, Swiss cheese
- Eggs
- Other: nutritional yeast, fortified nondairy milk, supplements
VITAMIN C
ADULT MEN 90 mcg
- Improves iron absorption Is a potent antioxidant
- May help lower blood pressure
- May reduce gout symptoms
- Helps produce collagen, the building block of body tissue
- Boosts the immune system
FIND IT IN:
- Fruit: citrus fruits and juice, Kakadu plums, kiwis, acerola cherries, strawberries, cantaloupe, tomatoes, guavas
- Vegetables: red, green, and yellow peppers; kale; Brussels sprouts; broccoli
VITAMIN D
ADULT MEN 600 IU (age 70+ 800 IU)
- Strengthens bones and reduces the risk of osteoporosis
- Boosts the immune system
- May help fight depression
- Linked to a lower risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) and heart disease
FIND IT IN:
- Seafood: fatty fish like salmon, tuna, herring, and sardines
- Eggs
- Other: cod liver oil, mushrooms treated with UV light, sunshine, fortified nondairy milk and other fortified foods
VITAMIN E
ADULT MEN 15 mg
- Helps protect cells from damage and aids their regeneration
- Boosts the immune system Is a potent antioxidant
- Helps prevent blood clots
- May oer benefits for your skin and face when consumed or applied topically
FIND IT IN:
- Seafood: salmon, trout
- Fruit: avocado, kiwi
- Vegetables: red peppers, butternut squash, asparagus, broccoli
- Nuts and seeds: sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, almonds, pine nuts, nut butters Legumes: peanuts
- Vegetable oils: wheat germ oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil
VITAMIN K
ADULT MEN 120 mcg
- May lower heart disease risk by reducing the risk of artery calcification
- Plays a critical role in blood clotting Keeps bones healthy
FIND IT IN:
- Meat: organ meats, pork, chicken
- Dairy: cheese, butter
- Vegetables: dark leafy greens, parsley, kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, edamame, green beans
- Fruit: blueberries, grapes, figs, avocado
- Fermented soy products: natto Legumes: soybeans
- Vegetable oils: canola oil, soybean oil, olive oil
Taking care of your skin is so much more than just a face cream you put on your face. We love to share our knowledge with you. The Read is our way of showing you we care about your skin, body and mind.
STOCK UP ON BRAIN SUPERFOODS
Superfoods are loaded with certain nutrients or compounds that have measurable impacts on our body. Including many of these in your diet can play a beneficial role in your cognitive health — for instance, avocado brings a boost of lutein which improves memory and problem solving, and oily fish like trout or salmon help improve your learning ability. Adding more berries to your diet helps combat memory loss and walnuts sharpen both your memory and reflexes.
EXPERIMENT WITH INTERMITTENT FASTING
Intermittent fasting is the practice of purposefully going without food for designated periods of time, often in the form of skipping breakfast. When we forgo a meal or lengthen the time between meals, we activate the evolutionary traits that increase neuroplasticity and autophagy, leaving us sharp and refreshed.
BOOK IN WITH THE HYGIENIST
Believe it or not, taking good care of your mouth means taking good care of your brain. The same bacteria that festers in an unhealthy mouth can get past your gums and into your brain and body, lowering your brain function and increasing your risk for Alzheimer's.
MAKE SOME SIMPLE SWAPS
When it comes down to it, life is a series of choices and the more frequently we make better choices, the better our life can be. So when you need to focus, opt for a matcha or coffee over an energy drink. The former are loaded with antioxidants, the latter with a host of chemicals. Instead of an energy bar, have a fruit and nut bar that gives you healthy fats and probiotics. Remembering to hydrate rather than snacking on sweets will leave you better focused and without the inevitable crash that comes from eating processed foods.
When your work and personal calendar is packed, it’s easy to forget things but constant forgetfulness is actually a sign of stress. If you’re finding it hard to focus or are forgetting things that once came easy to you, give your brain some TLC.
Anxiety can increase digestive acid and lead to heartburn, gas, bloating and diarrhoea. If this sounds familiar, it could be worth reducing stress to better support your brain. Stress can overwork your adrenal glands and reduce production of aldosterone, which regulates fluid levels and can lead to dehydration. The brain is 75% water, so keep this in control.
Don’t simply dismiss those strange dreams. If you find yourself waking up from especially bad or vivid dreams, your brain may be subconsciously dealing with things you haven’t yet accomplished or worked through.
THINK POSITIVE
Positivity is another doubly beneficial practice, impacting both the quality of day-to-day life, and significantly extending the number of years we can expect to live. Spend time with people who contribute to a positive outlook on life, pursue activities that bring you joy and don't hold on too tightly to negative people or negative feelings. Setting manageable goals and working with a purpose will feed your sense of achievement and help build your positive outlook on life.
LOOK AFTER YOUR GUT
Being mindful of the vast ecology within your gut and keeping it happy not only aids your production of serotonin but also raises your learning capacity and general cognitive functions. An awareness of this means eating a diet with a colour-diversity of vegetables and high-fibre foods, and integrating more fermented foods like kimchi and sauerkraut that are loaded with probiotics into your diet. That doesn't mean cutting out all fun from your diet: beer for example is rife with yeast and is often associated with a healthy gut!
‘‘A lack of sleep causes your grey matter to work less efficiently, thus making it less able to deal with stress.”
TRY NOOTROPICS
Most of us are wonderfully aware of the positive effects of caffeine on cognition, but it's far from the only compound that can help give us a little boost. Consider adding a Lion’s Mane, Reishi, Chaga. and ginkgo biloba to your regimen for a safe, healthy assist for your memory and attention.
STRESS LESS
While minor stressors can be good for productivity and motivation, chronic stress can be detrimental to both your mental health and to your brain — literally shrinking it or blocking its ability to communicate properly. Making sleep quality a priority is one of the most concrete ways to counteract stress, along with staying active and managing your productivity load — a manageable to-do list helps prevent you from being overwhelmed and offers the satisfaction of accomplishment.
EAT A COLOURFUL DIET
With our meals we often reduce our side of vegetables to just "greens" to accompany our protein and starch and this can lead to a lack of variety in our diet. When we aim to eat the rainbow instead, we not only diversify the nutritional benefits we get from consuming an array of plants, but also the polyphenols that colour our foods are fantastic cornerstones for our gut health and reduce oxidative stress in the brain.