Are you looking to enhance your fitness level? The 13 essential vitamins and minerals for your health have the power to transform your mental and physical performance. However, you need to consume these nutrients within your diet since your body is unable to produce them. All it takes is a few small changes. Super foods are filled with all the vitamins and minerals you needs to stay healthy. These nutrients will have you exceeding your fitness goals in no time.

The addition of the right foods into your diet is a great start. Always try to get your nutrients first from fresh whole-foods. When you have made changes to your diet, then you can try to boost your intake with some natural supplements. In fact, there are several supplements out there that can have an incredible impact. So, add these 13 essential vitamins and minerals for your health to take your performance to the next level.

The 13 Essential Vitamins and Minerals

Consuming a diet with a variety of different types of fruits, vegetables, and grains is the perfect way to get everything you need. However, it is easy to fall behind on certain nutrients if you are not paying attention. Since vitamins and minerals are needed within the body to perform a variety of functions, it is crucial to get all of the essentials.

For this reason, if you want to dominate mentally and physically, these are the best vitamins and minerals to improve your health. Make sure to add a daily dose of all these nutrients to boost your performance.

1. Vitamin A

Benefits: The benefits of vitamin A include eye protection from age-related declines, supports a healthy immune system, increases clear skin, and promotes healthy growth and reproduction. Vitamin A benefits your performance through protecting your body from free radicals as a powerful antioxidant.

Healthy Foods: The best food sources for vitamin A are carrots, sweet potatoes, cod liver oil, dark leafy greens, broccoli, whole eggs, and cantaloupe.

2. B Vitamins

Benefits: B vitamins include thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), pyridoxine (B6), biotin (B7), folate (B9), and cobalamin (B12). The major benefits of all the B vitamins include energy production, immune support, glucose and protein metabolism, and hemoglobin production. As shown above these nutrients contribute to tissue maintenance and protein synthesis to increase athletic performance.

Healthy Foods: These vitamins are not stored in the body for long periods. Thus, these vitamins are important to attain regularly in your diet. Healthy sources for the B vitamins include salmon, potatoes, chili peppers, dark leafy greens, eggs, beef, legumes, chicken, sunflower seeds, coffee, and milk.

3. Vitamin C

Benefits: Vitamin C is essential for immunity, iron absorption, skin elasticity, and functionality of your blood vessels. Vitamin C helps the body produce collagen. In conclusion, vitamin C is a power supply to keeping your body healthy and running smoothly.

Healthy Foods: The top food choices filled with vitamin C are oranges, kiwi, berries, grapefruits, Brussels sprouts, peppers, broccoli, and potatoes.

4. Calcium

Benefits: Calcium is responsible for the growth, maintenance, and repair of bones. In addition, calcium assists with muscle contractions, nerve conduction, blood clotting, and supporting healthy levels of testosterone. Strong bones and a healthy testosterone level are the perfect combination for improving your physical performance.

Healthy Foods: Healthy food options filled with calcium are dark leafy greens (kale or spinach), almonds, fish, and diary products.

5. Vitamin D

Benefits: Vitamin D works to increase the consumption of calcium to keep your bones strong and healthy. Overall, the combination is required for either to be effective. Additionally, vitamin D plays a role in reducing inflammation, supporting testosterone levels, and improving your mood. Vitamin D is important for your performance with reducing stress fractures and building lean muscle.

Healthy Foods: The best source of vitamin D comes from spending time in the sun. Of course, since direct sunlight in not always possible you can get it through your diet as well. Food sources include salmon, whole eggs, and mushrooms.

6. Iron

Benefits: The importance of iron includes boosting energy, muscle performance, and transportation of oxygen throughout the body. Furthermore, vitamin C assists to increase the absorption of iron. The greatest athletic benefits of iron include muscle growth, energy, and an improved cardiovascular system. Iron has a large impact on athletic performance. In fact, iron improves the function of muscles, reduces fatigue, and increases aerobic efficiency.

Healthy Foods: Red meat contains the highest amount of iron, as well as other meats like poultry and fish. Other rich iron sources include spinach, lentils, whole grains, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, broccoli, tofu, and dark chocolate.

7. Vitamin K

Benefits: Vitamin K contributes to bone health with the help of calcium and vitamin D. Additionally, vitamin K helps to reduce stiffness of blood vessels and is a factor in the blood clotting process. In fact, the versatility of vitamin K makes it a great addition to your diet for heart health, increasing bone density, and lowering your risk of cancer.

Healthy Foods: Vitamin K is found in dark leafy greens like spinach, fermented products, egg yolks, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and chicken thighs.

8. Zinc

Benefits: Zinc aids in muscle repair and growth, reduces inflammation, helps with nutrient absorption, boosts energy production, and enhances immunity. The ability to stay feeling healthy and energized with the immunity boost of zinc are great to improve your physical performance. In addition, zinc is effective with enhancing your nutrient absorption, which can be a game-changer after an intense workout. When you body works more efficiently, you are able to repair, grow, and recover at a much faster rate. Anyone looking for a boost to their recovery should focus on adding more zinc into their diet. With all the benefits, zinc will leave your body feeling more rested and ready for another training session.

Healthy Foods: Healthy food options high in zinc include whole eggs, nuts, legumes, whole-grains, dark leafy greens, and meat.

9. Selenium

Benefits: Selenium is a powerful antioxidant working to support cell health and muscle regeneration. During exercise, the harmful effect of oxidative stress causes the build-up of free radicals. Thus, selenium works to reduce the damage caused from this stress. Selenium is protection to your cells.

Healthy Foods: Healthy food sources with selenium include Brazil nuts, oysters, chia seeds, oats, brown rice, and whole eggs.

10. Magnesium

Benefits: Magnesium is great for getting quality sleep, managing stress, and essential for your metabolism. In fact, magnesium is required for the processes that produce energy within your body. If you are looking to improve your recovery, try adding more magnesium into your diet. Not to mention magnesium works well to improve your mood, prevent damage from stress, and reduce fatigue. Magnesium is crucial for both your mental and physical performance.

Healthy Foods: Healthy food choices filled with magnesium include avocados, nuts, legumes, whole grains, dark greens, seeds, and fatty fish like salmon.

11. Sodium

Benefits: Sodium is both an electrolyte and a mineral important in maintaining the balance of fluids in and out of your cells. Other health benefits include an improvement in heart performance, glucose absorption, and your nervous system. Additionally, sodium plays an important role in the regulation of muscular contractions. Strenuous exercise reduces the amount of sodium. As an athlete, you must replenish all of the sodium lost through your sweat. Sodium is responsible for increasing your fluid retention, leading to better stamina and endurance.

Healthy Foods: The top healthy foods with sodium are dairy products (cheese), pickled vegetables like cabbage, bananas, applies, table salt, smoked meats, egg yolks, homemade soups, and olives.

12. Vitamin E

Benefits: Vitamin E is important to the health of your brain, blood, skin, and eyes. Furthermore, vitamin E can be applied directly to your skin to moisturize, reduce itching, and clear up skin issues like eczema. Also, vitamin E is an antioxidant, thus protecting your body from free radicals. Free radicals are released after strenuous exercise and can cause damage if not taken care of efficiently.

Healthy Foods: The best sources of vitamin E are dark leafy greens, meats, almonds, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, peanuts, pumpkin, and fortified cereals.

13. Potassium

Benefits: Potassium is an essential electrolyte that helps to maintain fluid balance, muscle contractions, and nerve signals. The two electrolytes, sodium and potassium, work closely together to make sure the right amount of fluid is inside and outside of each of your cells. Potassium is directly responsible for the fluid inside of your cells. Additionally, potassium is a major component of conduction of nerve signals. Nerve signals play a direct role in proper muscle contractions and a regular heart beat.

Healthy Foods: The best healthy food sources for potassium are bananas, oranges, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, dark leafy greens, and beans.

In Conclusion: The Importance of Vitamins and Minerals for Health

In fact, vitamins and minerals are essential for your health. With this in mind, including these 13 vitamins and minerals in your daily diet can have a life-changing impact on your performance. A well-balanced diet can be obtained through a variety of fresh foods and natural supplements. You must work to be proactive with your approach to nutrition and athletic performance. Of course, it will be well worth your efforts for the improvement in your health.

Vitamins and minerals can make or break your mental and physical performance. In conclusion, these 13 essential vitamins and minerals provide a number of incredible benefits. For this reason you should pay close attention to the micronutrients in your diet. Certainly, the addition of all these nutrient-dense foods can boost your athletic performance to the next level. For more information, check out vitamins and minerals.