Having essential micronutrients (i.e., vitamins and minerals) in your diet helps with important processes. Deficiencies in these nutrients often show up as cognitive problems. Deficiencies can manifest as anxiety, poor concentration, fatigue, and eventually depression.
It might be the case that your diet doesn’t contain some of these essential micronutrients which is why it would be prudent to include supplements that are advantageous to function and health in general.
Vitamin D
Direct sunlight on the skin results in our body’s production of vitamin D, over the summer you should get the vitamin D you need from sunlight, however over the autumn and winter months it is essential we get our vitamin D requirements from our diet as sunlight levels are low. Vitamin D can prevent problems such as bone pain or deformities. People that are at risk of vitamin D deficiencies are those who have low exposure to the sun, have dark skin, people that reside in the upper northern hemisphere, and those that work indoors. If you are in that category or struggle to obtain enough from your diet then it is recommended that you introduce a supplement of 10mcg a day.
Multivitamin
If your diet is not inclusive of much fruit and vegetables then having a multivitamin is a good way of ensuring that you are getting vital micronutrients into your diet. However, if your diet is good then you may be taking multivitamins unnecessarily. Just supplement the nutrients you need instead. The benefits of micronutrients range from having healthy skin and good eyesight to producing hemoglobin in blood cells that transport oxygen around the body. If your diet is devoid of fruit and vegetables then you should consider taking a multivitamin tablet daily.
Zinc
helps to make new cells and enzymes, and plays an important role in processing the nutrients in our food. It’s also essential for normal growth and development. Another benefit of zinc is that it helps our immune system function properly, and plays a role in wound healing. Zinc also helps with good eyesight
Magnesium
The benefits of magnesium include improvements in blood pressure, mood, and blood sugar management, as well as a lower risk of developing health conditions such as heart disease.
B-12 (vegetarian/vegan diet)
Vitamin B12 is a nutrient that helps keep your body’s blood and nerve cells healthy and helps make DNA, the genetic material in all of your cells. Vitamin B12 also helps prevent megaloblastic anemia, a blood condition that makes people tired and weak.
