Diet & Nutrition

The Truth About Tryptophan: Why Your Turkey Isn’t Making You Tired

Tryptophan, a compound found in turkey, is often erroneously blamed for that sleepy feeling you get after eating a big Thanksgiving meal. It may surprise you to learn that while tryptophan does start off a chain of reactions that results in the release of melatonin, the “sleep hormone,” there is actually less tryptophan in turkey than in many other commonly consumed foods. Even chicken, which many of us eat regularly throughout the year, contains higher levels of tryptophan than turkey. As Thanksgiving approaches, it’s especially important to understand the truth about tryptophan.

The Truth About Tryptophan and Human Health

Because tryptophan is found in a number of foods we eat all year long, it can’t be said that eating turkey is any more likely to cause sleepiness than eating other foods. On holidays like Thanksgiving, in all likelihood it’s the high amount of fats, sugar and carbs in the meal that are zapping your energy — not the turkey. Even so, the tryptophan in turkey does play an important role in human health, and eating turkey on Thanksgiving can benefit you in a few different ways.

Tryptophan is an amino acid that triggers the production of serotonin, a mood-elevating hormone. Research has found that not getting enough tryptophan in your diet can actually cause a serotonin deficiency. While serotonin does help the body produce more melatonin, as mentioned above, it primarily benefits the mind and body in other ways. If you’re prone to the holiday blues, eating turkey leftovers in the coming weeks could help you feel more like yourself. As a mood-boosting hormone, serotonin gives you that feel-good vibe that you experience when doing something enjoyable. Since it helps you feel better, it makes sense that serotonin can help alleviate the symptoms of depression and anxiety. In fact, many people now refer to serotonin as a natural antidepressant.

Other than depression and anxiety, serotonin also influences many other health conditions. For instance, a serotonin deficiency can cause short-term and long-term memory problems. Conversely, people who eat more foods rich in serotonin-fostering tryptophan experience greater memory recall. Tryptophan has also been found to be effective in helping children with ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, by boosting the level of serotonin in the brain. Children suffering from ADHD have been found to have a significantly lower level of tryptophan in the brain, exhibiting less than half the amount found in healthy children’s brains.

Since getting enough tryptophan results in higher serotonin levels, research has determined that it can be effective in helping relieve PMS symptoms in women. Serotonin works to stabilize the mood and reduce feelings of irritability. Women who experience more severe mood-related PMS symptoms can increase their serotonin production by taking a supplement that contains tryptophan.

Tryptophan: One Reason Vegans Shouldn’t Skip the Turkey

When it comes to serotonin deficiency, it may seem that simply eating more foods that provide the body with serotonin is the answer, especially for vegans or vegetarians. Since serotonin is commonly found in many plant-based foods, it’s easy to assume that eating these foods will help your body benefit from the increased levels of serotonin without forcing you to give up your lifestyle. Some examples of serotonin-rich natural foods include bananas, cherries, eggplant, grapes, potatoes and tomatoes.

While there are many more natural foods that provide serotonin, eating these foods actually won’t increase serotonin levels in your brain. This is because serotonin is unable to cross the blood-brain barrier once ingested, so it will never make it to the parts of the brain that need the hormone. The truth about tryptophan is that it’s vital for the production of serotonin, since it is able to cross the blood-brain barrier. Once there, it begins contributing to the production of serotonin. Therefore, to ensure adequate serotonin levels in the brain, it’s necessary to eat foods that are rich in tryptophan, such as most types of meat.

In addition to red meat, tryptophan can be found in seafood and poultry of all kinds. Other foods containing adequate amounts of tryptophan include:

cheese
chickpeas
eggs
nuts
aats
seeds
soy

In striving to eat tryptophan-rich foods, it can be tempting to adopt a high-protein diet, can defeat the purpose of altering your diet in the first place. As you eat more protein-rich foods, you’re introducing other types of amino acids into your blood stream, all of which compete for transportation to the brain. In this situation, you won’t necessarily experience a boost in serotonin levels even though you’re eating more tryptophan-rich foods. If you’re consuming more tryptophan and wondering why you haven’t experienced a change in your emotional state, you may be experiencing this problem.

To correct the problem, take a look at your diet and try to increase your intake of tryptophan-rich foods without adding more protein to your diet. The best foods for vegans and vegetarians to consume are spinach, asparagus, soybeans, peanuts, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds. Along with Swiss, Parmesan and cottage cheeses, these foods are rich in tryptophan, so they can help increase the production of serotonin without forcing you to make undesired dietary choices. Supplements like Tryptochron provide both tryptophan and 5-HTP, which are both compounds used by the brain to produce more serotonin. Tryptochron also contains certain B vitamins which are vital for the process of converting tryptophan into serotonin.

In addition to sticking to a healthier diet, you may want to increase your level of physical activity and incorporate relaxation techniques into your daily routine. Stress and anxiety can inhibit the way tryptophan is processed in the body, so more exercise, yoga, meditation and other similar practices can help your body transform tryptophan into serotonin more efficiently.

Certain Lifestyle Factors Found to Increase Risk of Menopause Hot Flashes

Nov 22 by Ewcopywriting

Menopause is a natural occurrence in a woman’s life, and as such should not be considered an illness or adverse medical condition. Although it typically occurs when a woman reaches her 40s or 50s, it can occur earlier. The onset of menopause is marked by a woman’s last menstrual period; specifically, menopause commences with the cessation of the menstrual cycle for at least a 12-month period. While this is a natural occurrence, it does produce some adverse symptoms, which women may experience for years after they have had their last period. The severity and frequency of the symptoms will vary from woman to woman, so some may only experience them for a brief time. A new study finds that two lifestyle habits increase the chances of experiencing menopause hot flashes, offering a possible way to reduce the risk of certain menopausal symptoms.

What are Some Symptoms of Menopause?

Once a woman experiences menopause, she’s no longer fertile and cannot conceive a child. This is just one result of the lower levels of estrogen the body now produces. Since hormone levels are decreased during this period, other physical and emotional changes can also occur. These symptoms often include:

vaginal dryness
hot flashes
night sweats
irregular sleep patterns
urinary problems, including urinary tract infection
depression
mood swings
inhibited cognitive abilities, especially poor concentration and memory recall

As women enter this stage in their lives, they also have a greater risk of developing certain diseases. Lower estrogen levels raise the risks of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and breast cancer. In some cases, women can counteract these increased risks by altering their diets, increasing physical activity and making other natural changes.

Certain Lifestyle Habits Increase Risk of Menopause Hot Flashes

Two of the most troubling symptoms that women experience are menopause hot flashes and night sweats. According to some new research, these symptoms can be alleviated by making a few lifestyle modifications, but only if the changes are made earlier in life. The researchers found that hot flashes and night sweats were less common among women who had quit smoking and reduced their body fat by the age of 40.

It’s believed that the hypothalamus region of the brain is responsible for controlling body temperature. A misfiring in this part of the brain may be responsible for causing the hot flashes and night sweats that older women experience after menopause. These symptoms, which are called vasomotor symptoms, are experienced by more than 85 percent of menopausal women. New research that was conducted at Australia’s University of Queensland suggests vasomotor symptoms may be avoided with some lifestyle changes.

Dr. Hsin-Fang Chung led the project, which involved combing over eight previous studies that evaluated the health of 21,460 middle-aged women. The subjects in the study were all over 50 years of age and consisted of women from the U.S., U.K., Japan and Australia. The team compared obesity and smoking habits of the subjects against their risks of experiencing vasomotor symptoms. In making the comparisons, the researchers noted how the changes occurred in relation to the stage of menopause each subject was experiencing.

As the research project began, more than 60 percent of the subjects reported experiencing night sweats or hot flashes. The researchers also noted that more than half of the women in that group were overweight, with 21 percent of them registering as obese. Additionally, 17 percent were smokers. The study revealed that the women who were smokers and/or obese for most of their lives experienced vasomotor symptoms more frequently and more severely as they reached menopause.

Specifically, Dr. Chung reported that obesity raised the risks of experiencing more pronounced vasomotor symptoms by 60 percent. Smokers raised their risk of experiencing hot flashes and night sweats in menopause by 80 percent when compared to non-smoking women. When combined, smoking and obesity raises the risks of experiencing more severe hot flashes and night sweats by three times. This was found to be especially true for women who smoked more than 20 cigarettes daily, or those who had smoked for more than 30 years consistently.

The research found that these effects could be prevented by making early lifestyle changes. The women who quit smoking before the age of 40 faced the same risks of experiencing severe vasomotor symptoms as women who had never smoked. Similarly, dropping excess weight earlier in life will help women enjoy these same benefits when they do reach menopause.

How Can You Alleviate the Symptoms of Menopause Naturally?

Improve Your Diet

Your eating habits can greatly affect the severity of your menopausal symptoms. Spicy foods should be avoided as much as possible, while coffee, soda and alcohol should be eliminated. Staying away from caffeinated products in the late afternoons and evening hours can also improve sleep quality. Your doctor can provide you with a more thorough list of foods you should avoid and those you should add to your diet.

Take a Supplement

A daily supplement, such as Menochron, can also help alleviate certain menopause symptoms. The supplement’s isoflavones mimic the effects that natural estrogen has on the body, supporting healthy hormone balance and helping to make up for the lower levels of hormones. Additionally, other ingredients help the body metabolize sugar and fat more efficiently, protect bone health and fight free radicals. Research also shows that testosterone supplementation may help boost libido and improve sexual health during menopause.

Get More Exercise

The body needs a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise each day, but women facing menopause should be getting more physical activity. Workouts should combine cardio activities such as brisk walking, jogging or swimming with resistance training activities like lifting weights, push-ups and crunches, and should make up at least 60 minutes of each day.

Physical Therapy May Help

Finally, yoga, acupuncture and massage therapy may help to reduce some symptoms. While these treatments haven’t been shown to affect vasomotor symptoms, they may help alleviate other symptoms. They can help keep the body more limber, so workouts will be more effective, and they reduce stress and allow subjects to rest easier. If you have difficulty sleeping, one of these methods may improve your ability to sleep soundly.

The Best Time of Day to Take Nutrients for Cognitive Health

Nov 14 by Ewcopywriting

As people age, it’s normal to experience a natural decline in cognitive ability. This is why seniors can tend to be more forgetful, less patient and exhibit a decline in critical thinking abilities. However, some seniors experience more severe cognitive degeneration as a result of a condition known as dementia. Dementia involves a more rapid decline of mental functioning that can cause the individual to exhibit severe memory loss, an inability to perform complex tasks and changes in social behaviors. There are several factors that may increase the risk of more serious cognitive decline as you age. Consuming an unhealthy diet and lack of physical and mental activity are just a few. In addition to adhering to a healthy diet and getting enough physical activity, taking dietary supplements at the right time of day can make a big impact on your future cognitive health. Knowing the nutrients for cognitive health and taking the right supplement at the right time of day can help protect against mental decline.

Which Nutrients for Cognitive Health Should Be Taken During the Day?

Each person’s bodily functions are controlled by a biological clock called the circadian rhythm, which mandates how the brain regulates certain processes. In part, this means that certain nutrients are more important to the body at specific times of the day, and that taking these nutrients at those designated times will help the brain and body function more efficiently. Here is a short list of nutrients for cognitive health that should be taken in the morning or early afternoon hours.

Vinpocetin

Derived from myrtle seeds, this powerful nutrient acts as an antioxidant. As such, it supports healthy blood circulation, ensuring optimal levels of oxygen are delivered to the brain. It also helps improve the brain’s metabolic rate, so it can better communicate with the central nervous system to regulate various bodily functions more effectively.

Inositol

This is a carbohydrate used by the brain to deliver messages to the cells. Primarily, it helps regulate the level of neurotransmitters sent to a cell and manages the way the cells process insulin. As a result, increasing inositol levels in the brain can help soothe the symptoms of anxiety and may help support healthy blood glucose levels.

Choline

Research has found that choline is necessary to cardiovascular health in that it supports healthy blood pressure, affects lipid levels and lowers the risks of plasma homocysteine. In terms of cognitive health, higher levels of choline can help the brain produce phosphatidylcholine, a compound found to slow the rate at which dementia progresses.

DMAE

Dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE) is essential for the processing of choline in the brain. Without a sufficient supply of this compound, the brain cannot synthesize the neurotransmitters produced by choline, and that can lead to increased cognitive dysfunctions.

Huperzine A

Derived from Chinese club moss, Huperzine A helps boost the amount of neurotransmitters in the brain. Researchers are hopeful that this substance may one day become the basis for an Alzheimer’s disease treatment.

NADH

Since NADH is a metabolite, it improves energy levels in the brain and can positively impact memory recall, alertness, mental clarity and concentration. This compound has been eyed as showing promise in relation to a variety of conditions, including Alzheimer’s and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Coenzyme Q10 and Vitamin E

The mitochondria is the engine that powers each cell and these compounds are responsible for keeping the mitochondria functioning. Without coenzyme Q10 and vitamin E, the cells would stop producing the energy they need to thrive. Unfortunately, the body reduces the production of these vital nutrients as we age, so a supplement may be necessary.

What Nutrients for Cognitive Health Should You Take at Night?

Just as specific nutrients are best taken during the day, there are some nutrients for cognitive health that should be taken in the evening hours. By taking a supplement that contains these ingredients prior to going to bed, you’ll ensure your brain will make better use of them. This can help support healthy cognitive functioning as you sleep.

B Vitamins

Specifically, vitamins B1 and B2 are essential to the functioning of cells in the brain because they support oxygen-rich blood circulation to the brain. They also help improve overall cell functioning, which is important for protecting memory and concentration.

Folic Acid

This compound is essential in that it protects cellular health and reduces the risks of developing anemia. In the brain, it helps in the production of new cells and protects cells from damage, which makes it important for slowing the progression of cognitive decline.

Acetyl-L-Carnitine

A common ingredient in many supplements, Acetyl-L-carnitine helps to balance mood, improves memory recall and makes learning easier. It has also been shown to help the body burn more fat and promotes lean muscle growth.

Phosphatidyl Serine

The neurotransmitters that allow our cells to communicate rely on Phosphatidyl serine. Research has found that, as Phosphatidyl serine production declines with age, it causes memory and critical thinking to become inhibited as we age.

Panax Ginseng

As an antioxidant, Panax ginseng protects the cells from damage caused by free radicals. It can also improve the functioning of brain receptors, strengthening concentration, memory and critical thinking. Studies have found that the effects of Panax ginseng are temporary, meaning you must keep taking a supplement to continue enjoying this compound’s benefits.

While the brain does produce many of these nutrients naturally, there’s a decline in their production as people reach their senior years. As there are fewer of these compounds in the brain, the symptoms of cognitive decline become more evident. Taking a supplement that contains these nutrients consistently can help ensure you don’t experience a deficiency that could harm your cognitive health.

Drinking More Coffee Boosts Gut Health

Nov 09 by Ewcopywriting

Previous research has found that drinking coffee can provide a growing list of health benefits, from protecting cognitive functioning to strengthening cardiovascular health. While these benefits may seem unrelated, new research has discovered that they may all be attributed to the way in which coffee affects the gut microbiome. A new study finds drinking more coffee boosts gut health, adding another option to the multitude of ways you can strive to naturally maintain a healthy gut microbiome.

New Research Finds Coffee Boosts Gut Health

The human gut microbiome is home to trillions of bacteria, and each person’s microbiome is different. A more diverse gut microbiome provides greater protection against illness, disease and infection. Since the foods and beverages we consume affect the diversity of the gut microbiome, it’s easy to see how a beverage like coffee could possibly affect our susceptibility to certain medical conditions. A study at Houston’s Baylor College of Medicine sought to identify just how coffee affects the gut microbiome in order to learn more about how coffee benefits our health. Specifically, the study wanted to define how the caffeine in coffee interacts with the microorganisms in the gut.

The researchers, led by Dr. Dr. Li Jiao, recruited 34 participants for the research project and evaluated the health of their colons via endoscopy and colonoscopy exams. The subjects were also asked to complete a survey, which inquired about their diets and their coffee intake. From there, the researchers separated the subjects into two groups based on their coffee consumption. Those who drank coffee with the equivalent of 82.9 mg of caffeine or more per day were assigned to the high-coffee-consumption group, while those consuming up to 82.9 mg daily were determined to be low-consumption subjects.

Once the results were examined, the researchers found that those who drank larger quantities of coffee had a greater amount of the beneficial bacteria Faecalibacterium and Roseburia in their guts. The research team also found a higher presence of other beneficial bacteria. Additionally, the presence of a harmful bacteria, Erysipelatoclostridium, was found to be much lower. These results were found to be consistent regardless of age and the quality of the individual’s diet. Previously, Erysipelatoclostridium has been linked to metabolic syndrome. It boosts the levels of glucose and fat transporters in the small intestines, which increases the risk of obesity in individuals who eat poor diets.

The researchers concluded that drinking more coffee can help maintain a healthier and more diverse gut microbiome, while limiting the presence of harmful bacteria. This may explain why people who drink more coffee are better able to maintain healthier weights and achieve greater benefits when pursuing healthier lifestyles.

Coffee Provides Other Health Benefits

Prior to finding that coffee boosts gut health, it was discovered that drinking coffee helps people maintain healthier weight. The goal of the study on caffeine and fat targeted how caffeine affects the white fat (fat stored by the body) and brown fat (fat usually converted into usable energy) in the body. The researchers found that brown fat was stimulated by coffee consumption, although it remained unaffected by water consumption. While it couldn’t be determined whether the effects were due to the caffeine or another ingredient, the researchers are confident that the consumption of coffee does help burn fat. They hope to pinpoint the component responsible for the thermogenesis of brown fat with additional research.

In another study, scientists were looking for ways to use coffee bean husks to benefit human health, since the husks constitute a significant amount of waste in the coffee bean production process. The University of Illinois study found that the husks are not toxic to humans and, more astonishingly, they possess great antioxidant properties. They hope this will lead to treatments for obesity, because those antioxidants can attack the low-grade inflammation that occurs alongside obesity. Together with an increased concentration of fat in the body, that inflammation causes the body to become more insulin resistant, raising the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The researchers found that the protocatechuic acid and gallic acid, which were found in the coffee bean husks, helped to block fat accumulation in the cells. Additionally, these antioxidants reduced the release of inflammatory agents and lowered the level of oxidative stress in the cells. Although the research is new, the team hopes to continue to evaluate the possibility of using coffee byproducts to improve health. If future research confirms these findings, using coffee byproducts may provide more eco-friendly ways of improving human health.

Another study showed that drinking three or more cups of coffee a day could improve arterial health. Unfortunately, these health benefits were restricted to people who had never smoked cigarettes. For those non-smokers, arterial health was improved by 63 percent as a result of increasing coffee consumption. This is important, because poor arterial health raises the risks of experiencing a heart attack or stroke.

How Can You Naturally Improve Your Gut Microbiome?

Your gut microbiome relies heavily on the foods you eat to maintain a diverse community of bacteria, which is why eating plant-based foods is so important. However, there are other lifestyle factors that can affect the diversity of your microbiome. Here are just a few ways you can improve the health of your gut.

Take a Probiotic Supplement

You can boost your gut health by adding a daily probiotic supplement to your routine. In addition to benefiting your gut microbiome, these supplements can also protect your intestinal health.

Eliminate Stress

Living a stressful lifestyle has a range of adverse effects on your health. This includes disrupting the healthy functioning of the microorganisms in your gut. If you feel stressed, take time to meditate, read a book, or go for a walk.

Get More Exercise

Those who engage in more physical activity have healthier gut microbiomes, especially when their physical activity is accompanied by a healthier diet. While you should get a minimum 30 minutes of moderate- to high-intensity exercise daily, getting more will benefit your gut and overall health.

Sleep Better

Getting enough quality sleep is also important for a healthy gut. If you’re not sleeping soundly through the night, reduce evening caffeine intake, buy more comfortable bedding and try to reduce late-night distractions.

Which Foods and Fibers Are Best for Supporting a Healthy Gut Microbiome?

Oct 30 by Ewcopywriting

Past research has confirmed that trillions of microorganisms thrive in our large intestines, comprising what we call the gut microbiome. This collection of bacteria influences our health in a variety of ways, including how likely we are to develop medical conditions such as Crohn’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome. Research has found that one of the primary ways that bacteria is introduced into this system is through the foods we eat, leading researchers to study how diet can affect the gut microbiome. Now that we recognize the importance of a healthy gut microbiome, new research focuses on how to develop a more diverse population of gut bacteria.

Which Foods Promote a Healthy Gut Microbiome?

In a recen tstudy led by Laura Bolte, a researcher at the University Medical Center Groningen, researchers looked at how 160 different factors in an individual’s diet affected their gut microbiome. The subjects chosen for the study were separated into four different groups: subjects with Crohn’s disease, subjects with ulcerative colitis, subjects with irritable bowel syndrome and subjects who had not been diagnosed with any digestive disorder.

To conduct their study, the researchers collected stool samples from each subject, while also asking each subject to complete a food frequency survey. They were able to link 61 foods to 123 classifications of bacteria. They also found that 49 foods could be linked to specific microbial groups. This helped the team determine that the Mediterranean diet was the best for promoting a healthier and more diverse gut microbiome.

The Mediterranean diet consists of consuming a greater quantity of plant-based foods, particularly nuts, seeds, vegetables and legumes. While meat portions are minimized, they are still an important part of this type of diet. Meats, such as fish, poultry and lean red meat are permitted in smaller portions. Red wine is also a staple of this diet.

The foods in a Mediterranean diet help reduce the amount of harmful bacteria in the gut, while allowing more helpful microbes to thrive. This is important because a low quantity of short-chain fatty acids has been linked to inflammatory digestive problems such as ulcerative colitis. Eating more plant-based foods helps introduce more short-chain fatty acids into the gut.

What Types of Fiber are Best for Your Gut Microbiome?

Past research has also found that fiber is essential to a healthy gut microbiome, but all fiber may not have the same effects on the gut. While we know that eating a minimum of 22 grams of fiber will help reduce our risks of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other medical conditions, a new study sought to identify which types of fiber interact best with our gut microbiome.

For the study, researchers used mice that were bred to be sterile and lacked their own gut microbiomes. The mice were given 20 strains of a common type of human gut bacteria and were given high-fiber diets for a four-week period. The researchers fed the mice different types of fiber, derived from a variety of sources. Some of the fiber sources included peas, citrus fruits, tomato peels, oranges, apples, cocoa, rice bran and chia seeds.

As the mice were fed a variety of fiber-rich diets, the researchers analyzed how bacterial strains in the gut interacted with each type of fiber. The study revealed that fiber obtained from peas, orange peels and rice bran had the biggest and most beneficial impact on the gut microbiome. They also found that probiotic and prebiotic foods had a strong effect on the gut microbiome. Thus, it appears that high-fiber foods that contain probiotics and prebiotics are ideal in helping to maintain a healthy gut.

How Else Can You Improve the Health of Your Gut Microbiome?

Take a High-Quality Prebiotic/Probiotic Supplement

Each type of food delivers a different selection of bacteria into the gut, so the diversity of your gut microbiome may be limited by the foods you consume. Taking a high-quality daily supplement that provides both probiotics and prebiotics can help your gut microbiome thrive by giving your gut the nutrients and compounds it needs on a daily basis. It can also help you keep your gut healthier and more diverse.

Lower Sugar Intake

An essential part to adopting a healthier diet rich in beneficial bacteria is reducing your sugar intake. Studies have shown that foods and beverages rich in either sugar or artificial sweeteners will cause an imbalance of helpful gut bacteria. This can lead to metabolic disease.

Reduce Stress Levels

Emotional stress has been shown to influence the physical body, especially in terms of disrupting the activities of the microbes in the gut. For this reason, engaging in relaxing activities, such as reading, yoga or meditation, can help keep your gut healthier.

Exercise Every Day

Research has found that athletes have more diverse gut microbiomes than those who live sedentary lifestyles. While athletes likely eat healthier foods and that will partly account for their diverse gut bacteria, it’s also believed that physical exercise helps keep the gut healthy. It controls weight and encourages healthy weight loss, which may be one way that physical activity keeps the gut healthy on a microbial level.

Get Enough Quality Sleep

While you’re asleep, the body is hard at work repairing damage, improving muscular health and performing a variety of other functions. This may also be a time when the gut microbiome is becoming stronger, because research has found that insufficient sleep leads to a compromised gut microbiome. People who don’t get at least seven hours of quality sleep are at a greater risk of developing inflammatory intestinal diseases.

Fat-Soluble Vitamins: Everything You Need to Know

Oct 18 by Ewcopywriting

There are two primary types of vitamins: those that dissolve in water and those that dissolve in fat. Fat-soluble vitamins, or those that don’t dissolve in water, should be taken along with some dietary fat in order to obtain the most benefits. After the supplement has dissolved, the vitamins contained within it are delivered to the liver and to fatty tissues throughout the body. These vitamins will be stored in these locations until the body needs them.

Here is everything you need to know about fat-soluble vitamins, so you can choose a vitamin supplement that will provide you with the best health benefits.

Which Vitamins are Fat-Soluble?

There are four specific vitamins that are fat-soluble: vitamins A, D, E and K. Each one of these vitamins provides different health benefits and your body needs a daily supply of them to function properly. While these vitamins are found naturally in foods, it may be necessary to take a supplement to ensure you’re getting a sufficient supply of each vitamin. However, it’s equally important to not overdo it. Since these vitamins are stored in the liver, ingesting too much of any of these vitamins can lead to liver toxicity. This is why it’s important to check with your doctor before starting a new vitamin supplement if you have a medical condition or are taking prescription medication.

If you want to add fat-soluble vitamins to your diet, they can each be found in a variety of foods. Vitamin A can be found in butter, animal liver and fish liver oil. Vitamin D is separated into two groups. D3 is found in animal fat, while D2 is common in many types of plants. For instance, mushrooms are a good source of vitamin D2. Vitamin E is found in almonds, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds and oil and wheat germ oil. Vitamin K can be found in kale, parsley, spinach, liver, egg yolk and butter.

How Do Fat-Soluble Vitamins Differ From Water-Soluble Vitamins?

While vitamins that are fat-soluble are stored in the body for later use, water-soluble vitamins are used immediately. As soon as the water in the body dissolves the vitamins, they are instantly distributed to the parts of the body that can use them. This means you’ll need to ingest a higher supply of these vitamins to ensure your body has a sufficient quantity of them when needed.

Another difference is that water-soluble vitamins don’t represent a danger to the liver. While fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the liver and fatty tissue, water-soluble vitamins are never stored. If you take more than the recommended daily allowance of a water-soluble vitamin, the body will expel the excess amount through the urine. This is why your urine may change color if you take too much of certain water-soluble vitamins. In some cases, taking too much of a water-soluble vitamin may also cause you to experience diarrhea.

There are more vitamins that are water-soluble than fat-soluble. Water-soluble vitamins are:

vitamin B1 (thiamine)
vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
vitamin B3 (niacin)
vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
folate (folic acid)
vitamin B12 (cobalamin)
biotin
pantothenic acid
vitamin C (ascorbic acid)

It should be noted that a healthy diet won’t cause you to overload on vitamins that are fat-soluble or water-soluble. This is something that only occurs when taking too much of a quality multivitamin. In addition to consulting your doctor before starting a new supplement, it’s important to read the label and follow the recommended dosages. This will ensure you won’t be taking more than your body needs.

The Benefits of Taking a High-Quality Multivitamin Supplement

Taking a quality multivitamin that includes daily allowances for both fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins can help you ensure you won’t suffer a vitamin deficiency. When taking a high-quality multivitamin you’ll be able to enjoy a broad range of health benefits. Some common benefits of the most crucial vitamins are listed below:

Vitamin A: The primary benefit of vitamin A is in promoting healthy vision, but it can also be effective in fighting acne and other skin disorders.
Vitamin D: This vitamin is essential to bone health, making it especially beneficial to those at a risk of developing osteoporosis. Vitamin D also helps keep the teeth strong and healthy.
Vitamin E: Recognized as an antioxidant, vitamin E can help fight off the free radicals that exist throughout the body. It also boosts heart health, skin health and blood circulation.
Vitamin K: A good supply of vitamin K will help blood clotting, so you won’t bleed too much from minor injuries. The blood clotting this vitamin helps to promote is also helpful in preventing excessive menstrual blood flow.
Vitamin B1: Promotes stronger energy levels and keeps the nervous system in good condition.
Vitamin B2: This is another vitamin that promotes healthy skin and vision.
Vitamin B3: Regulates the metabolism and improves digestion. It also helps promote good enzyme functioning.
Vitamin B6: Aids in the production of red blood cells, hemoglobin and insulin.
Folate: Helps protein metabolism, while also promotes the production of red blood cells.
Vitamin B12: In addition to regulating red blood cell production, this vitamin also helps keep the nervous system functioning properly.
Pantothenic Acid: Regulates hormone production and metabolism.

The body relies on a steady supply of vitamins, which is why eating a healthy diet is so important. The vitamin intake you receive from eating healthy foods can be supplemented by taking a quality multivitamin. Together, good food and a daily supplement will help you give your body the vitamins it needs to stay healthy and strong.