Most of us can get all the vitamins and minerals we need by eating a healthy balanced diet, as shown in the Eatwell Guide. However, in some cases – such as with vitamin D – supplements may be recommended.
Vitamins and minerals
Vitamins and minerals are essential nutrients that our body needs to work properly
Why vitamins and minerals are important
There are two main groups of vitamins: fat-soluble and water-soluble.
Fat-soluble vitamins are found in animal products and foods that contain fat, like milk, butter, vegetable oils, eggs, liver and oily fish. Our bodies can store fat-soluble vitamins. This means we don’t need to consume them every day. It can be harmful to consume a lot more fat-soluble vitamins than we need.
Fat-soluble vitamins include:
- vitamin A
- vitamin D
- vitamin E
- vitamin K
Water-soluble vitamins come from food like fruit, vegetables, milk, dairy and grains. Unlike fat-soluble vitamins, our bodies can't store them. This means we need to eat them more often. If we consume more than we need, our bodies flush out the extra through urine.
Water-soluble vitamins can be destroyed by heat or exposure to air. They can also get lost in water when cooking, especially when boiling food.
Water-soluble vitamins include:
- vitamin C
- thiamin (vitamin B1)
- riboflavin (vitamin B2)
- niacin (vitamin B3)
- vitamin B6
- folic acid (vitamin B9)
- vitamin B12
We need minerals to build strong teeth and bones, control body fluids inside and outside cells and turn the food we eat into energy.
Minerals are found in foods like cereals, bread, meat, fish, milk, dairy, nuts, fruit and vegetables. We need more of some minerals than others. For example, we need more calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium chloride and potassium than we do iron, zinc, iodine, selenium and copper.
Why are vitamin D supplements recommended?
Since vitamin D is found only in a small number of foods, it might be difficult to get enough from foods that naturally contain vitamin D and/or fortified foods alone. Also, in Scotland, we only get the right kind of sunlight to make vitamin D between April and October.
