Maintaining the immune system is important, especially during the current pandemic. One way is to meet daily vitamin needs.
Failure to meet the needs of vitamins according to the prescribed dose can lead to a body that feels weak and susceptible to disease.
So, what is the right daily dose to meet the needs of vitamins in the body? Come on, see the explanation below.
The importance of meeting daily vitamin needs
Vitamins are essential nutrients that the body needs to develop and function normally. Vitamins are classified as micronutrients, or micronutrients, which means the body requires them in small amounts.
Unfortunately, the human body cannot produce vitamins on its own or store reserves. Therefore, you must get your vitamin intake from foods that are rich in these nutrients.
There are many kinds of vitamins to support body functions to run normally. These vitamins can generally be obtained from the “4 healthy 5 perfect” foods that you consume every day.
In addition to eating foods with balanced nutrition, you can also get vitamins from vitamin supplements. Here we review some vitamins that you should consume every day.
1. Vitamin A
Vitamin A or retinol is a type of vitamin that you should get every day. This vitamin is an essential nutrient for vision, growth, cell division, reproduction, and immune function.
Vitamin A is an antioxidant or can protect your body’s cells from the effects of free radicals, which can cause heart disease, cancer and other diseases.
You can get vitamin A from foods such as:
1. Cheese
2. Counts
3. Fish oil
4. Milk and yogurt
5. Animal liver (chicken or goose)
6. Green, red, or yellow vegetables (spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, and red bell peppers)
7. Yellow fruit (mango, papaya, and apricot)
2. Vitamin B1
Vitamin B1 or thiamine helps the body produce energy from the nutrients you get. In addition, vitamin B1 is also needed to support cell growth, development and function.
Generally, vitamin B1 can be obtained from food. Before serving food that is rich in vitamin B1, make sure you don’t heat it for too long because it can reduce the benefits of vitamin B1 itself.
Vitamin B1 can be obtained from the following food sources:
1. Nuts
2. Fresh fruit (bananas and oranges)
3. Wheat bread
4. Animal heart
5. Red rice
3. Vitamin B12
One of the important roles of vitamin B12 or cobalamin is to form red blood cells. Deficiency or lack of vitamin B12 makes you susceptible to anemia.
Not only that, vitamin B12 also supports cell metabolism, nerve function, DNA production, and molecules in cells that carry genetic information.
You often consume food sources of vitamin B12 without realizing it every day, namely:
1. Meat (poultry, beef, fish)
2. Milk
3. Cheese
4. Counts
5. Fortified cereal
4. Vitamin B complex
Vitamin B complex is a collection of 8 B vitamins that are useful for supporting the body’s performance. This type of vitamin is water soluble so it cannot be stored in the body.
For this reason, you need vitamin B complex recommendations through food intake or vitamin supplements to prevent deficiency.
Below are eight vitamins that are classified as B complex vitamins.
1. Thiamin (vitamin B1)
2. Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
3. Niacin (vitamin B3)
4. Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5)
5. Pyridoxine (vitamin B6)
6. Biotin (vitamin B7)
7. Folate (vitamin B9)
8. Cobalamin (vitamin B12)
Each vitamin has a unique structure and different functions for the human body.
For example, vitamins B1, B2, B3, and biotin play a role in energy production, vitamin B6 for amino acid metabolism, and vitamins B12 and folate which can support cell division.
Meanwhile, vitamins B1, B6, and B12 are also known as neurotropic vitamins which can help maintain nerve health.
5. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is known to have an antioxidant effect to maintain endurance and speed up the body’s recovery process after illness.
Another function of vitamin C is to form blood vessels, cartilage, muscles, and collagen in bones. Vitamin C is also important in the wound-healing process in the body and iron absorption, so it can reduce the risk of anemia.
Vitamin C can be found in a variety of fruits and vegetables. Some of them:
1. Orange
2. Paprika
3. Strawberry
4. Broccoli
5. Brussels sprouts
6. Potatoes
Daily Vitamin Adequacy Rate (RDA).
In order for the needs of the vitamins mentioned above to be properly met, you can follow the guidelines for the Adequacy of Nutrition Rate (RDA). The following is a summary of the daily RDA that you can use as a reference for consuming special vitamins for babies and children, men and women.
Additional need of vitamin supplements
Apart from food, you can also meet your daily vitamin needs through vitamin supplements which are available in various forms, one of which is a tablet.
However, what you need to know before taking vitamin supplements is to make sure you have read the packaging label carefully so that you fulfill your daily vitamin needs according to the recommended dosage.