Vitamins and our immune system
Vitamins are an essential part of our life, which enables our body to work properly and to stay healthy. Today we are living in a difficult time such as Coronavirus and all the attention in the world has turned to health care, so vitamins became one of the main strengthening ingredients that we use to protect our immune system. Most vitamins can be found in food or we can take vitamin supplements. Vitamins are organic compounds that people need in small quantities.
There are 13 essential vitamins: A, C, D, E, K, and 8 vitamin of group B. The group B complex includes: Thiamine (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacine (B3), Pantothenic acid (B5), Pyridoxina (B6), Cyancobalamine (B12), Folic acid (Folacin folate) dhe Biotine (H). Each one of them plays different functions in our body.
Why do we need vitamins?
- We need vitamins because we need to protect our body and mind.
Without them our body wouldn’t be able to perform vital tasks such as converting food into energy, building and maintain bones, teeth, muscle, skin, blood and hair and keeping our brain, eyes, nerves and immune systems in good working order.
Vitamins and food
Vitamins are compounds that our bodies need to work properly and we found them in a variety of foods and products. For example: vitamin C has antioxidant abilities and it can be found in oranges, broccoli, strawberries, red and green peppers, Brussels sprouts and even potatoes. The group of B complex vitamins can be found on wholegrain foods, fortified cereals, rice, oats, liver, meat, fish, eggs, potatoes, broccoli, and spinach. Vitamin D is important for bones, muscle and immunity and is found in dairy products such as milk or yogurt. Also vitamin A which is important for normal vision, the immune system and reproduction, is found especially in milk and eggs.
Role of Vitamins
The ingredients that you get from vitamins helps your body to carry out essential functions such as:
- Protection of skin, bone and muscle
- Strengthening of the immune system
- Maintenance and repair of cells tissues and organs
- Converting food into energy
- Protecting heart health
Lack of intake vitamins in the body can lead to: feeling tired, lack of appetite, fatigue, and lack of concentration, recurrent infections, vision problems, open sores in the mouth or problems with the gums or develop sleep problems. So it is important that each of us should get the necessary dose that our metabolism needs for a normal functioning.