Everyone is different, but one thing we can all agree on is this: we each deserve to live our lives with optimal wellness levels. What should you do to achieve that? Supplement your diet and bridge the gaps in your nutrition with once-daily vitamins and minerals. Because let's face it, it's extremely hard to eat 8 servings of fruits and veggies every single day, and if you're anything like me, you're falling pretty far short of that goal, leaving yourself pretty far away from your optimal wellness levels. But don't fret! We can help you plug in the gaps and choose the vitamins and minerals that are right for you, your lifestyle, and your health.
Well Fed But Undernourished
Despite the abundant amount of food that we have here in the United States, research and statistical numbers collected over the years shows that Americans are missing critical nutrients in their diet, like vitamins and minerals. In fact, it’s such a problem, that Americans are now being considered an undernourished population, which is normally a classification we’re used to hearing about when it comes to developing nations.
Fast Facts About Nutrient Deficiencies in the United States
The study conducted by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) concluded the following about our country’s vitamin and mineral intake, or really, lack thereof. [R, R]
- Nearly one-third (31 percent) of the U.S. population is at risk for at least one vitamin deficiency or anemia.
- 23 percent, 6.3 percent, and 1.7 percent of Americans are at risk of anemia or deficiency of one, two, or three to five vitamins, respectively.
- 1 percent of American adults have an insufficient vitamin A intake.
- 32 percent have an insufficient vitamin B6 intake.
- 1 percent are not getting enough vitamin B12.
- 3 percent have an inadequate intake of folate.
- 1 percent have an insufficient intake of vitamin C.
- 4 percent are not getting enough vitamin E.
- 3 percent have an inadequate iron intake.
- 95 percent of adults and 98 percent of teens have an inadequate vitamin D intake.
- 61 percent of adults and 90 percent of teens don’t get enough magnesium.
EAR vs RDA: What’s The Difference
Data in studies like the one mentioned previously express inadequacies in nutrition intakes relative to the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) and the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA).
The EAR is shown as the nutrient intake value estimated to meet the requirement of half of the healthy individuals in a group.
The RDA is the average level of intake sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of 97-98% of healthy people.
The Basic Vitamins And Minerals Your Body Needs
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to taking vitamin and minerals. While we all need the same nutrients, but depending on your lifestyle and nutrition, you’re going to need different ones as compared to your friend, simply because you live different lives. The following vitamins and minerals are tough to get adequate amounts into the average diet and are clinically proven to provide strong health benefits.
Additionally, one of the most accurate and effective ways to find what essential vitamins and minerals your body needs is to get a full-blood panel ordered through your primary care physician or holistic specialist. This will give you a more precise idea of whether or not you have a vitamin or mineral deficiency.
What Are Essential Vitamins?
The most basic way of explaining what essential vitamins are by classifying them as a nutrient required by the body for various functions that the body cannot make. When you hear the term essential, tied to vitamins and minerals, this means that you can only get essential vitamins from food. Whenever you’re deficient in essential vitamins, you can experience serious health issues that require further treatment.
This is why we suggest that it’s impossible to get all of the vitamins you need, in the right amounts, from diet alone. Why? Because eating 5 to 13 servings of fruit and vegetables every single day, as recommended by the USDA Dietary Guidelines, is a standard by which many of us fall short.
Many health professionals actually stand behind the idea that most of us overestimate how well we really eat and that taking vitamins can’t hurt because they bridge the gaps where our nutrition falls short. At the end of the day, essential vitamins are ‘essential’ and there are 13 of them: vitamins A, C, D, E, K, and the B vitamins, B6, B12, biotin, folate, niacin, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, and thiamine.
What Are Essential Minerals?
In addition to the 13 essential vitamins that you must get from your food and/or supplements daily, there are essential minerals that your body needs, too. There are two general classifications when it comes to minerals; trace minerals your body only requires in small amounts and macrominerals which your body needs relatively large amounts of, daily.
There are 16 essential minerals that you need to get daily. The macro minerals are calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride, and sulfur. The trace minerals are iron, manganese, copper, iodine, zinc, cobalt, fluoride, and selenium. While all of these sound straight off the periodic table, the chemical structure that differentiates vitamins from minerals is that unlike vitamins, minerals do not contain a carbon atom, making them “inorganic”.
What are Essential Fatty Acids?
In addition to vitamins and minerals, the body requires essential fatty acids, or EFAs, that the body requires for optimal health but cannot make on its own. Again, back to the ‘essential’ meaning, these types of fats must be consumed in the diet or by a dietary supplement. We need both groups of EFAs (omega-6 group & omega-3 group) to survive. Backed by clinical studies and scientifically proven to effectively increase overall health and wellness, a Krill Oil supplement is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids and essential fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
How to Maximize Nutrient Intake & Optimal Wellness
There are a few ways that you can improve your overall micronutrient intake to improve overall wellness aside from just taking supplements.
Optimal Wellness Tip: Increase Whole Food Intake
We recommend eating a nutrient-dense diet full of real foods. This means eating less processed foods and eating more foods at home.
Optimal Wellness Tip: Get Enough Rays
Another way to improve nutrient intake and achieve optimal wellness levels is by getting regular exposure to the sun. If you work indoors or live in the upper-most part of the United States, this isn’t always possible, so we recommend supplementing your diet with a vitamin D tablet, like the one from Swolverine. The reason? The rays required for sufficient exposure and digestion of vitamin D aren’t strong enough to reach the northernmost part of the US during 3/4 of the year, leaving us deprived of this essential nutrient to create healthy bones and optimal wellness levels.
Optimal Wellness Tip: Be Smart About Supplementation
Supplements aren't supposed to replace your nutrition from real, whole foods, but they are meant to bridge the gaps so that you can achieve optimal wellness in your day to day lifestyle.
The Wellness Stack: Supplements For Optimal Wellness
While we believe in a food first approach, it’s impossible to get all the nutrients we need, in the adequate amounts that we need them in, on a day to day basis from food alone. The Wellness Stack was created for your active body; the one that demands nutrients on a consistent basis to fuel your lifestyle and performance expectations. It’s a robust collection of high-quality nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, each designed to benefit the body’s overall well-being and optimal functioning. The stack is not a one-pill-fix, it’s a myriad of clinically-studied ingredients combined in a simple, once-daily stack.
Vitamin D3
Most of our vitamin D can and should come from the sun. Unfortunately, vitamin D deficiencies are common for many individuals who do not get adequate amounts of sunlight or food sources that contain the vitamin. Vitamin D3 tablets are metabolized in the body to assist in healthy immune system function, regulating glucose tolerance and blood pressure, while also optimizing bone and muscle tissue health.
RELATED ARTICLE: Guide to Vitamin D Supplementation - How Much Do You Need?
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)
CoQ10 is a powerful antioxidant, which can help protect against nasty bacteria and viruses, and oxidative stress. Supplementing with CoQ10 helps produce and generate ATP more efficiently, and has been proven to improve heart health, delay muscle fatigue, and improve peak power output in trained athletes.
RELATED ARTICLE: You Should You Be Taking CoQ10?
Krill Oil (Omega 3 + Astaxanthin)
Krill Oil contains 500mg of Omega 3 phospholipids and Astaxanthin which are scientifically proven to help protect your heart, reduce post-workout inflammation for joints, improve immune system function, lower your blood pressure, reverse the effects of aging, and increase brain function.
RELATED ARTICLE: Krill Oil vs Fish Oil - Which One is Better?
Probiotics
Probiotics work to help maintain the balance in your body's microbiota and promote optimal wellness levels. The human body carries nearly 100 trillion bacteria in the gut…that’s more than 10 times the total number of human cells in the entire body. Probiotics are those “good” bacteria that help keep the gut healthy and assist in digestion and nutrient absorption, to provide better digestive and immune health.
RELATED ARTICLE: The Health Benefits of Probiotics
Multivitamin
Micronutrients (vitamins & minerals) are an essential food source for our cells so that they can complete a wide variety of tasks throughout the human body. Multivitamin contains a complex variety of essential micronutrients for optimal absorption and replenishment of the key ingredients your body needs.
RELATED ARTICLE: Do You Need A Multivitamin?
Other Nutrients For Optimal Health
In addition to providing the body with an adequate amount of vitamins and minerals through supplementation, there are other nutrients classified and clinically proven to optimize overall health, wellness and bodily function beyond just vitamins and minerals. In addition to the Krill Oil mentioned, the following nutrients have been closely studied with respect to maintaining and improving health through both food consumption and supplementation.
Diindolylmethane (DIM)
A notable phytochemical found in cruciferous vegetables linked to hormone regulation and other benefits like fighting cancer cells, controlling stress levels, improving sleep quality, aiding in weight loss and even regulating PMS symptoms.
RELATED ARTICLE Ultimate Guide To Diindolylmethane DIM: Benefits, Uses, Side Effects
Turmeric & Curcumin
Turmeric is a natural herbal supplement that belongs to the ginger family and contains the active ingredient Curcumin. Curcumin is a powerful anti-inflammatory and a potent antioxidant, which supports exercise-induced inflammation, recovery after exercise, and healthy joints and mobility.
RELATED ARTICLE What Are The Health Benefits Of Turmeric Curcumin?
Too Many Vitamins Can Be Harmful
Well, too much of anything is bad, but consuming too much of an essential vitamin or mineral can be just about as dangerous as having too little. This is where the upper limit (UL) comes into play. Think of it this way: RDI represents the low end or baseline amount of a particular nutrient you need every day and UL is the most you can take in of that nutrient in a day. There are adverse side effects of consuming too many vitamins and minerals in any given day. Signs of reaching ULs include diarrhea, vomiting, irregular heartbeat, neon urine, or otherwise.
You can feel confident when taking a nutritional or vitamin supplement when you know you
A) don’t meet the RDI of vitamins each day
B) are unlikely to exceed the UL of the nutrients from your diet in a day
Keep in mind that the RDI is a useful benchmark for the bare minimum of essential nutrients an average person needs in a day. But vitamins aren’t by any means a one-size-fits-all, just as we mentioned previously, and most likely, you have gaps in your nutrition because you live a busy, active lifestyle, with little time to sit and eat the entire recommended daily servings and amounts of food for optimal functioning.
What Vitamins Should I Take: Takeaway
Everyone is different. Various factors contribute to nutrient needs like lifestyle, environment, food choices, age, and even gender. Just about everyone needs some sort of supplement and you’ve come to the right place to find out which ones are right for you, your health, and your lifestyle.
Ready To Take Your Health And Wellness To The Next Level?
SWOLVERINE is an endurance athlete and active lifestyle brand. Made for the elite athlete, and the strong-willed our products were designed to fuel your athletic performance. We perform when you perform.
We believe that everyone can optimize not only their athletic performance but their human potential. The way we believe we can optimize performance is through transparency, clinically effective doses, and clinically proven ingredients with evidence-based outcomes. We provide the nutrients you need to power your active lifestyle.
