Saturday, January 28, 2012

Vitamins, Minerals and YOU

              It is important to listen to your body and not so much your head in the case of feeding yourself. Most of the time there are things that our bodies crave based on how we have been eating. If you go the day without eating, towards the end of the day you are starving and most likely craving something fattening and something quick. This is because your body is in starvation mode and needs quick fats as fast as possible, so you drive through a fast food restaurant and get your burger.  Another is your body is craving greens and fruits but your head is telling you that you want ice cream and pizza, you have to learn to make better choices when deciding what it is you will eat, but also know how to feed your body regularly during that day and with nutrient complete meals that help balance your self out.  
We all know the food pyramid from when we first were growing up. Its pretty simple, the stuff at the top such as sugars and oils we eat less of and the things at the bottom we eat more of. Although this pyramid is pretty accurate my preference would to have fruits vegetables and meats at the bottom, but grains are extremely important. What we don't realize is that almost all packaged and processed foods are made with Cornmeal, Corn syrup, Cornstarch, Ethanol, Corn oil; pretty much CORN! Corn is not very substantial and has almost no nutritional value. If we look on a cereal box and it states "Made from Whole Grains" this simply says that it comes from corn, it even has a small picture of a corn stalk!? Ironic yes, but to people who are not educated about what goes into our food, it is very deceiving.


 These labels clearly state "whole grain corn flour" and "sugar" as their 1st ingredients.


If you are receiving all your nutrients and vitamins through a balanced diet there is no need to take daily vitamins unless you have medical reasons to be taking them. On a side note, some vitamins such as vitamin C and B-complex are water soluble vitamins and when you have reached the daily max amount that your body needs, you eventually get rid of the extra via your urine. Also fat soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K dissolve in fat and then are absorbed into the blood stream to do work on your body, extra of these are then stored in your liver so they are not needed every day unlike water soluble vitamins that are needed on a daily basis.  
              If you know that you are not getting enough vitamins in your diet and taking vitamins will help you to maintain healthy levels of everything you need, then you should take them but some food scientists recommend that you take half of your multi-vitamin in the morning and the other half at night. This allows you to use the vitamins sufficiently instead of spending lots of money taking vitamins that your body wont use. An example of this is that emergen-C 1000mg packets you put into water, they are great for getting a lot of vitamin C but the catch is that your body can only absorb 500mg at one time, so essentially you are paying more. Like I said before take half of it at one time and save the other half for later! Below I have listed vitamins and what foods you can find them in!

         As I was browsing through the web for research on vitamins and minerals I came across some awesome information from the extension education program at Colorado State University. There are three links I am going to post, the first one will discuss the water soluble vitamins, second will be fat soluble vitamins and the last one will go into depth on food vs pills. You can even print them out at the top or download them as a PDF! Go to work my little food nuts!

Colorado State University Extension Education Links:


Vitamin A (Retinol) Cod liver oil

Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) Rice bran

Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) Citrus, most fresh foods

Vitamin D (Calciferol) Cod liver oil

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) Meat, eggs

Vitamin E (Tocopherol) Wheat germ oil, unrefined vegetable oils

Vitamin B12 (Cobalamins) liver, eggs, animal products

Vitamin K1 (Phylloquinone) Leafy green vegetables

Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid) Meat, whole grains,
in many foods

Vitamin B7 (Biotin) Meat, dairy products, eggs

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) Meat, dairy products

Vitamin B3 (Niacin) Meat, eggs, grains

Vitamin B9 (Folic acid) Leafy green vegetables


  1. I do not see any chocolate soluble vitamins. dad

  2. What are the "healthy" benefits of eating chocolate so dad can feel better about his food choices? :) Kel