Vitamins are kind of like wearing your retainer after you get your braces off: at first, you’re super excited to do something good for you, then, your parents have to make you do it. And then after you move out, it’s closer to “Do I even know where my retainer/nearest bottle of Vitamin D is?” Well, it’s time to find your nearest Vitamin Shoppe because vitamins are like small doses from the fountain of youth. Whether it’s helping your hair become shinier or preventing cell damage, vitamins are the easiest way to start being healthier right away.
Here are the most important vitamins you should start taking right now:
Vitamin D
Why you need it: Vitamin D helps your muscles, bones, and teeth maintain their strength. It also helps your body absorb calcium, which is important for nerve transmission, bone density, and heartbeat regulation.
Where it’s found: Outside—most Vitamin D is absorbed through your skin via sunshine. A reason to lay out in the sun if you ever needed one! If it’s cold, rainy, and not sunny (like our lovely city of Eugene, for example), you can also find it in milk, fish oils, butter, and egg yolks.
Vitamin K
Why you need it: Vitamin K helps your blood clot normally, which is utilized by the liver. And anything that can make up for what I do to my liver every weekend is a great thing.
Where it’s found: Green leafy vegetables, dill pickles, and soybeans.
Vitamin C:
Why you need it: Vitamin C supports and perks up your immune system, which is great to have when you’re the only healthy roommate in the house. It also repairs connective tissue in the body, keeps your attention span up and increases concentration, and helps your body to recover more quickly. Not to mention, it assists in iron absorption, which plays a key role in hair growth.
Where it’s found: Citrus fruits, brussel sprouts, red bell peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, and potatoes.
B Vitamins (B6, B12, riboflavin, thiamin, niacin):
Why you need it: B vitamins play a key role in turning food into energy and promote healthy skin, good eyesight, and proper brain function. They also give your metabolism a boost for digesting sugar, fat, and protein, plus a natural energy kick (ever noticed how B vitamins are always in energy drinks?).
Where they’re found: Avocado, green vegetables, banana, beans, cereal, meats, oatmeal, poultry, seeds, cheese, eggs, fish, milk, and yogurt.
Vitamin A
Why you need it: Vitamin A helps keep your skin looking beautiful, as well as maintaining vision and keeping the digestive and urinary tracts functioning.
Where it’s found: Carrots, liver, milk, butter, cheese, and spinach.
Vitamin E:
Why you need it: An important antioxidant, Vitamin E prevents cell damage and aids in the formation of red blood cells (take it after you give blood!); it also helps dull hair become more shiny.
Where it’s found: Eggs, legumes, whole grains, oatmeal, and green leafy vegetables.