Without vitamins, human and animal survival would be impossible. It's not enough to eat adequate amounts of high quality proteins, carbohydrates and fats; your body also requires vitamins and minerals.
There are lots of different vitamins that you can derive from food and via supplementation. Everybody needs every single one of them in at least the minimum recommended daily amounts, and a good step toward this goal is to take an all-purpose, daily multi-vitamin and multi-mineral pill. This will ensure that you obtain at least the mandatory minimum of vitamin intake to protect health and prevent deficiencies. It's also a good idea to eat a healthy diet containing a broad selection of produce, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and low-fat protein.
Consuming adequate amounts of vitamins brings a multitude of benefits, beginning with proper metabolic functioning. Vitamins will also improve eye and brain health, ensure the cardiovascular system is functioning well, promote bone health and help to maintain a strong immune system. Your skin, nails, teeth, gums and hair health will improve with the right vitamins and your ligaments, joints, tendons and musculature will remain strong and healthy. And one more very welcome aspect of vitamins is their ability to guard against many dangerous illnesses.
Antioxidants are a certain kind of vitamin that will battle free radical damage to our cells. Free radicals can accelerate the aging process and lead to various diseases, so it is in your best interest to introduce enough antioxidants into your diet and supplement routine. Vitamins A, C and E are the most commonly known antioxidants, but there are several other vitamins that are vital to good health, including beta-carotene and retinol, B1 or thiamine, B2/riboflavin, B3/niacin, B5/pantothenic acid, B6/pyroxidine, B9/folic acid, B12/cobalamin and biotin/vitamin H.
When you obtain less than the recommended daily amount, or RDA, of a particular vitamin, you may experience the symptoms of a deficiency: