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Learn why vitamins C, D and K and group B vitamins are essential. Avoid potential vitamin deficiencies by taking natural supplements

Do vitamins help reduce tiredness? Discover the importance of vitamin supplements

Vitamins are organic compounds that are essential for life and can be generated by the body or ingested through our diets, helping our physiological processes function properly1. Essential vitamins are vitamins that cannot be synthesised by our bodies and so must be incorporated through our diets.

What vitamins should I take?

Our bodies don’t need high amounts of vitamins – small daily amounts (we’re talking milligrams or micrograms) are enough. But too few or too many vitamins can cause illnesses of varying severity2. Deficiency in a vitamin is known as hypovitaminosis, while too much of a vitamin is known as hypervitaminosis.

One famous example is scurvy, which was common in sailors who didn’t eat enough fruit and was caused by vitamin C (ascorbic acid) deficiency.

Vitamin-based dietary supplements are preparations that contain one or more vitamins, allowing them to be easily incorporated into the diet and preventing deficiency. They can be used to supplement a poor diet or to offset a vitamin deficiency caused by something else.

Vitamins can be classified into two categories: water-soluble and fat-soluble (vitamins that do not dissolve in aqueous media). Vitamin C and group B vitamins are water-soluble, so any excess quantities are eliminated through urine and they don’t usually cause problems with build-up. But vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble, so excessive amounts can build up in the adipose tissue and liver, which can lead to health complications.

In this article, we’ll discuss a range of vitamin supplements, what they’re used for and where you can buy high-quality vitamin supplements.

Vitamin A for the immune system

Vitamin A belongs to a group of organic compounds that include retinol and its derivatives, as well as several carotenoids. Vitamin A is fat-soluble and has antioxidant properties. This vitamin helps to maintain healthy vision and skin3. Vitamin A also supports normal immune system function and mucous membrane maintenance4.

Anastore's Dunaliella salina (plant-based vitamin A) supplement is made from Dunaliella salina algae. These are capsules that contain 30% beta carotene and are free from allergens and genetically modified organisms.

Dunaliella salina

Group B vitamins for hair

There are eight known vitamins belonging to group B: vitamin B1 or thiamine, vitamin B2 or riboflavin, vitamin B3 or niacin, vitamin B5 or pantothenic acid, vitamin B6 or pyridoxine, vitamin B7 or biotin (also known as vitamin H), vitamin B9 or folic acid, and vitamin B12 or cobalamin. Each of these vitamins plays a role in different physiological processes5.

Pantothenic acid, folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, pyridoxine and cobalamin help to reduce tiredness and fatigue4. Meanwhile, biotin, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, pyridoxine and cobalamin support normal energy metabolism4. Riboflavin also supports the normal metabolism of iron4, which plays a role in the formation of red blood cells, and whose deficiency can cause anaemia4. Biotin helps to maintain healthy skin and hair4. Finally, cobalamin plays a role in normal DNA synthesis4,5.

Anastore’s website offers vitamin supplements that include group B vitamins, our Organic Brewer's yeast, which contains all these vitamins, and another vitamin B complex containing vitamin B12 or cobalamin. These capsules do not contain allergens or genetically modified organisms.

vit C

Vitamin C for tiredness and fatigue

Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is an essential nutrient for human beings. Since our bodies cannot synthesise it, it has to be incorporated into our diets. Plants – which can synthesise vitamin C – are an important source of vitamin C in the diet. This vitamin is a powerful, water-soluble compound with antioxidant properties4 that plays a crucial role in numerous physiological processes.

Not only does vitamin C help to reduce tiredness and fatigue and contribute to normal immune system function4,6, it also helps to protect cells from oxidative damage, thanks to its antioxidant properties4. Vitamin C also contributes to normal collagen formation4, playing a role in healthy skin function7. It also helps to maintain healthy psychological function8.

Anastore’s vitamin C supplement is made from organic acerola fruit, from the Malpighia punicifolia L. plant. It is a fruit known to have the highest vitamin C content – between one and two grams of vitamin C per 100 grams of fruit. Our vitamin C from acerola is free from allergens and genetically modified organisms.

vit C

Vitamin D for bones

The most common forms of vitamin D are vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). These are obtained through sun exposure and subsequent internal production of its active form or, to a lesser extent, through dietary supplements and diet. Vitamin D3 plays an important role in the metabolism of calcium and phosphorus and bone mineralisation. It also helps to maintain a healthy immune system4,9.

Vitamin D is produced naturally in the skin when exposed to sunlight10. Moderate exposure of the face and arms each day is enough to maintain the required levels of vitamin D in the body. Vitamin D deficiency, either from too little sunlight exposure or from a dietary deficiency of vitamin D precursors, can lead to poor bone health.

Anastore’s vitamin D3 supplement is made from plant-based ingredients, making it suitable for vegans, and its active ingredient is cholecalciferol. It is one of five different forms of vitamin D. This product does not contain allergens or genetically modified organisms4.

Vitamin K for cardiovascular health

Vitamin K is a fat-soluble substance that plays an important role in blood clotting4,11. There are two natural forms of vitamin K – vitamin K1 or phylloquinone and vitamin K2 or menaquinone. As well as helping with blood clotting, vitamin K plays a role in maintaining healthy bones4,11.

The body is only able to store a small amount of vitamin K, so it needs a constant supply through the diet. On Anastore’s website you can find a vitamin K2 supplement, obtained from natural fermentation that is free from allergens and genetically modified organisms. The active ingredient of these capsules is menaquinone MK-7.

The best multivitamins

In addition to all the vitamins discussed above, the human body needs a range of different minerals in the diet. For example, magnesium, selenium and zinc help to protect cells from oxidative damage4,12,13,14. Iron plays an important role in the normal formation of red blood cells, which carry oxygen in the blood4,15. Meanwhile, copper helps to maintain a healthy nervous system and immune system4,16.

Multivitamin supplements help to provide the micronutrients that are needed for the body to function properly17. Anastore’s multivitamin formula contient du contains iron, zinc, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iodine, selenium, chromium, molybdenum, vitamins A, C, D3, E and all the B-complex vitamins. This multivitamin supplement contains most of the micronutrients needed for the body’s different functions to work well.

Multivitamin formula

690 mg / 60 capsules

15,00 €

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Organic Acerola

170 mg / 60 tablets

24,00 €

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Vitamin B-Complex

200 mg / 30 capsules

19,00 €

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Vitamin K2

105 μg / 60 capsules

21,00 €

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Vitamin D3

5 μg (200 IU) / 60 capsules

14,00 €

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Vegetable vitamin D3

25 μg (1000 IU) / 60 capsules

14,00 €

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-15%

Vitamin A (Retinol)

16 mg / 60 capsules

14,45 € (17,00 €)

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Bibliography:

  1. Ryan-Harshman and Aldoori (2005). Health benefits of selected vitamins. Canadian Family Physician. 51(7): 965–968.
  2. Darnton-Hill (2019). Public Health Aspects in the Prevention and Control of Vitamin Deficiencies. Current Developments in Nutrition. 3(9): nzz075.
  3. Gilbert (2013). What is vitamin A and why do we need it? Community Eye Health. 26(84): 65.
  4. COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 432/2012 of 16 May 2012 establishing a list of permitted health claims made on foods, other than those referring to the reduction of disease risk and to children’s development and health.
  5. Kennedy (2016). B Vitamins and the Brain: Mechanisms, Dose and Efficacy—A Review. Nutrients. 8(2): 68.
  6. O’Leary and Samman (2010). Vitamin B12 in Health and Disease. Nutrients. 2(3): 299–316.
  7. Chambial et al. (2013). Vitamin C in Disease Prevention and Cure: An Overview. Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry. 28(4): 314–328.
  8. Pullar et al. (2017). The Roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health. Nutrients. 9(8): 866.
  9. COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 432/2012 of 16 May 2012 establishing a list of permitted health claims made on foods, other than those referring to the reduction of disease risk and to children’s development and health.
  10. Aranow (2011). Vitamin D and the Immune System. Journal of Investigative Medicine. 59(6): 881–886.
  11. Nair and Maseeh (2012). Vitamin D: The “sunshine” vitamin. Journal of Pharmacology & Pharmacotherapeutics. 3(2): 118–126.
  12. DiNicolantonio et al. (2015). The health benefits of vitamin K. Open heart. 2(1): e000300.
  13. Zheltova et al. (2016). Magnesium deficiency and oxidative stress: an update. Biomedicine (Taipei). 6(4): 20.
  14. Brenneisen et al. (2005). Selenium, oxidative stress, and health aspects. Molecular Aspects of Medicine. 26(4-5):256-67.
  15. do Nascimento et al. (2017). Zinc and Oxidative Stress: Current Mechanisms. Antioxidants (Basel). 6(2):24.
  16. Abbaspour et al. (2014). Review on iron and its importance for human health.Journal of Research in Medical Sciences. 19(2): 164–174.
  17. Hordyjewska et al. (2014). The many “faces” of copper in medicine and treatment. Biometals. 27(4): 611–621.
  18. Blumberg et al. (2018). The Evolving Role of Multivitamin/Multimineral Supplement Use among Adults in the Age of Personalized Nutrition. Nutrients. 10(2): 248.
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