Feel tired and more fatigued than you think you should be? Experiencing brain fog? Lacking energy?
As physicians our patients often ask us about vitamins they can take to help raise energy levels. Many people are unsure what is safe and beneficial to take. These are great questions, given the overwhelming number of supplements and vitamins on the market today.
It turns out that we all have different needs for vitamins. Treating our individual deficiencies is the one of the best ways to feel your best and boost your energy. For example, the person who eats no red meat may be iron deficient and repleting this important nutrient may be a helpful for vitamin for improving energy. Another person may be vitamin D deficient because they live in a get minimal exposure to the sun due to working indoors or living in a temperate climate. Building up their vitamin D with a supplement may be helpful in boosting energy.
Or perhaps for many of us, the right blend of important vitamins in varied doses, depending on our individual needs, may be the way to go. Determining which vitamins are safe and useful to take for each person is essential. A custom multivitamin is the perfect way to find the best vitamins to take for your needs. A personalized vitamin quiz can help determine individual needs based on who you are, your health concerns, your diet and lifestyle.
Many who want to take vitamins for energy find that a variety of vitamins including but not limited to vitamin D, iron, B12 , iodine and magnesium can all be beneficial. Iron is an essential to improve energy and feel your best as it is a key element of red blood cells. These are the cells which transport oxygen all over our bodies and allow every organ system to function optimally. Women especially tend to be deficient in iron after decades of having periods, pregnancies and nursing.
Likewise magnesium is an elemental electrolyte that assists all our cells fire the way that they should, powering our muscles and other aspects of bodily regulation which are essential for energy. We lose magnesium in sweat, urine and through our GI tract. Many of us are lacking. Repleting this important electrolyte helps muscles fire better, including those in the heart, blood vessels and GI tract.
Iodine is also an important supplement for maintaining energy because of its role in supporting the thyroid. The thyroid gland is a key part of maintaining our metabolism. Taking a safe and proper amount of iodine as a part of a custom all in one daily vitamin helps to support the thyroid to do its important work in regulating metabolism.
B12 is an essential vitamin that helps with nerve function. When we lack this nutrient our nerves are sluggish and can send signals of discontent to our bodies— sensations of pain, “pins and needles”or numbness. Sleep is suboptimal and energy is affected. B12 deficiency should be reversed to help both your brain and other nerves operate effectively.
So you may wonder, “I eat a balanced diet, how would I be deficient in vitamins?”. It turns out that it’s hard to obtain enough of all of the nutrients we need to feel our best. The person who follows a vegetarian diet may lack iron and the meat eater may be low in magnesium, iodine and vitamin D. Some of these deficiencies are due to the fact that our food supply is not as nutrient rich as it once was. The soil has been demineralized and our food does not contain the levels of vitamins that it did decades ago. Likewise sometimes our efforts to eat more healthfully back fire and cause key vitamin deficiencies. Those who avoid salt may lack iodine since it is mainly obtained in table salt and processed foods (not in Kosher or sea salt). Our efforts to protect ourselves from the sun (to understandably avoid skin cancer) has lowered our vitamin D levels to the extent that almost everyone is deficient to some degree.
The best way to determine exactly what you need to feel your best is to take a personalized vitamin quiz and obtain a custom multivitamin. You may not require the same nutrients in the same exact amounts as your friend or neighbor. Finding the right custom daily blend of vitamins is the way to safely taking the right things to boost your energy levels.
Remember, this does not happen instantly. Your energy levels decrease gradually over time, sometimes as a result of a lifetime of vitamin deficiencies. It can take several months to start rebuilding your nutrient stores. So get started now, but have patience. Hopefully a few months from now you can look back and realize how much better you feel. Taking the right vitamins for your individual needs is just one essential part of a healthy lifestyle that should also include good sleep habits, regular exercise and of course, a nutritious diet. Find a custom multivitamin that is tailored to your individual needs to help raise your energy and read more about ways to lead a healthier life at vousvitamin.com/blog/.