Women tend to need completely different vitamins and minerals that men do. It’s a result of the way we are built, but also of our biological cycle. At certain moments of our life our need for some vitamins and minerals might be increased. Which ones are crucial for us and in which products can we find them?
For healthy hair, nails and skin
Are you dreaming about shiny hair, strong nails and pampered skin? There is one recipe: antioxidants! And these are vitamin A, E and C – also called the vitamins of youth :) Those vitamins fight all the free radicals that enhance the ageing process.
Vitamin A is a real ally to our beauty – it stops our nails from splitting, decreases hair fall and damage, and also protects our skin from drying. That’s not all – it also has a great influence on our sight as it protects our eyes from many diseases such as cataract and cancer.
You’ll find vitamin A in e.g. carrots, fish, spinach, green cabbage.
Vitamin E protects our skin from UV radiation and air pollution (also from the cigarette smoke!). You can find it in many beauty products, but don’t forget about natural sources such as green vegetables, peanuts, cereal sprouts, vegetable oil and margarine.
Vitamin C also affects our skin, protecting it from ageing process – e.g. from getting wrinkles. It increases our immunity and works antibacterial. What is more, it helps regenerate vitamin E so these two make a great team :) Vitamin C can be found in peppers (yellow, red, green ones), black and red currant, spinach, Brussels sprouts, citrus fruits.
During your period
Vitamin K works great on blood coagulability so it really helps women with heavy periods. You can find it in green leaf vegetables (spinach, salad), yogurt, cottage cheese, cereal, broccoli.
No matter how heavy your period can get, you always need to take care of your iron lever – which is absorb better with vitamin C. What should you eat, then? Choose parsley, Brussels sprouts, spinach, green cabbage.
Before and during pregnancy
If you’re trying to get pregnant, you should think about vitamin E and C, which – apart from diminishing the ageing process of our body – also affect fertility.
For pregnant women, Folic acid (vitamin B9) is crucial. It can be found in green vegetables, milk, cottage cheese, liver.
Menopause
Vitamin E, again! It helps lessens the pains that comes with menopause, it increases our immunity and also decreases cholesterol level. For blood circulation, memory and concentration you should pick vitamin B6. As we absorb calcium worse with age, you should also remember about vitamin D.
Stressed or depressed?
Do you feel not in shape with your state of mind? Pick vitamins from group B – especially B1 and B6, and also vitamin C. They all positively affect our nervous system.
The vitamin B products can be found in cereal, liver, green leaf vegetables, leguminous plants, fish.
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If it’s possible, try to choose the natural sources of vitamins and minerals instead of the products you can buy at your local pharmacy. Why is that? Eating healthy and natural products, you absorb not only the vitamins and minerals, but also many other healthy elements – which can’t be found in the pills!
Also remember that the natural products should be as little processed as possible – then it contains the most vitamins and minerals.
