Vitamins

Get answers about liquid vitamins and other vitamin supplements

Vitamins are an essential part of good health and nutrition, so if you’re not getting enough from your diet, it’s strongly recommended that you use vitamin supplements. They serve a number of vital purposes in bodily processes, helping regulate hormones, acting as antioxidants, adjusting your metabolism and aiding tissue growth and regeneration.

A Vitamin Overview

While there is some overlap, the various vitamins each perform specific functions in the body:

• Vitamin A. Helping promote growth, good eyesight, a healthy appetite and a strong sense of taste, vitamin A can be found in carrots, egg yolks, yellow fruits, leafy green vegetables, liver and fish-liver oil. Night blindness is a sign of vitamin A deficiency.
• Vitamin B1. Helping to heal nerve tissues damaged by alcohol consumption while aiding the heart and the body’s nervous and digestive systems, vitamin B1 occurs in pork, milk, liver, rice, yeast and peanuts.
• Vitamin B2. Found in milk and cheese, liver, yeast, green leafy vegetables and fish, vitamin B2 helps growth and allows you to maintain healthy skin, hair and nails. Itchy eyes, skin, nose, mouth and throat can indicate vitamin B2 deficiency.
• Vitamin B6. Fish, bananas, chicken, pork, beans and whole grains are good sources of this member of the vitamin B family.
• Vitamin B12. The formation of nerves and production of red blood cells are regulated by vitamin B12. Fatigue, dizziness and difficulty breathing are the signs of a deficiency of this vitamin, which can be found in fish, pork, beef, milk, cheese and liver.
• Vitamin C. This well-known vitamin helps heal wounds, reduce bad cholesterol and protect against viruses and bacteria while promoting a healthier, stronger immune system. Berries, tomatoes, cauliflower, peppers, potatoes, green leafy vegetables, kiwifruit and citrus fruits are all good sources of vitamin C.
• Vitamin D. If you want strong bones and teeth, you need vitamin D. In addition to milk and milk products—as well as tuna, salmon, herring and cod-liver oil—sunlight is an excellent source of vitamin D. Your body produces vitamin D naturally when sunlight is absorbed by your skin.
• Vitamin E. An extremely potent antioxidant, vitamin E fights toxins and can be found in vegetable oil, broccoli, sprouts, spinach, eggs, nuts and soy beans.

Liquid Vitamins or Vitamin Pills?

Both liquid vitamins and vitamin pills have benefits as well as drawbacks. Liquid vitamins are more rapidly and easily absorbed by the body, but they don’t keep their potency for a long time compared to nutrients in tablet form. Vitamin pills have a longer shelf life, but they can be difficult for people with certain medical conditions to swallow and aren’t as efficiently absorbed by the body as liquid vitamins are.

If you take vitamins regularly and won’t leave your supplement sitting on the shelf for long periods of time, liquid may be a better option. On the other hand, if you only occasionally supplement with vitamins, pills may be the better choice.