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Bioavailability of Nutrients
Ever wonder how much of the vitamins & minerals you consume actually helps your body? That’s right, not a lot of them.
Ever wonder how can I get more out of the vitamins & minerals you consume? Actually, simple combinations of foods & drink, will make vitamins & minerals more available for your body to consume & get the benefit.
Welcome to the concept bioavalability! This is not new, but a concept that is coming more into the mainstream of nutrition. To me this concept makes a lot of sense, and can really drive us to be healthier
One of the biggest expectations from the food / drink that we consume is the nutrients they will provide us. Nutrients (in the form of vitamins & minerals) are important to do several functions for our body including providing energy, focus, and supporting our immunity. However not because you are consuming vitamins & minerals in any form (through either supplements or foods) means that your body is getting the best of them. How & when you consume the minerals and vitamins has a huge impact on how well your body digests these nutrients!
Enter the concept of BIOAVAIALBILTIY!! Optimizing how you consume every vitamin and mineral makes them more available for your body to absorb during digestion process. For example, some vitamins need to be consumed alongside fat and others need to be consumed through a beverage, likewise some vitamins may cause some discomfort if consumed at certain times of the day. So below is a simple guide to consider:
Vitamin A | Vitamin C | Vitamin D | |
Good for | Vision | Immunity | Immunity |
Best with a little | Fat | Water | Fat |
When to consume | With or through a meal | Through out the day along with drinks or a snack | Through out the day by spending time in the sun |
| Vitamin E | Vitamin K | Iron |
Good for | Regeneration | clots | Energy & focus |
Best with a little | fat | fat | Through food |
When to consume | With or through a meal | With or through a meal | Along with vitamin C |
What does it mean to consume a vitamin with fat? This vitamin is best consumed in meals or through foods that have some fat to ensure that the body readily absorbs the vitamin during the digestion track. See fat is not all that bad, it helps to make some vitamins get absorbed
What does it mean to consume a vitamin with water? This vitamin does not need to be consumed with a food that has some fat to ensure it is absorbed by the body, further any excess of this vitamin will exit the body through urine
Actually as you dig deeper into this space you will discover more and more interesting combinations, for example vitamin E helps vitamin K get absorbed, or vitamin C helps us absorb iron better. Did you know that calcium could hinder the absorption of iron, and iron is one of the most important minerals out there? So just eating vitamin & mineral rich food is not the answer, also supplements may not be the best solution either. Researching & Understanding what are the right consumption mediums and the optimum food & drink combinations to enhance the gut absorption of the nutrient minerals & vitamins is critical to ensuring you get the most of the foods you eat.
In all cases, whatever you decide to do, please make sure to consume your vitamins & minerals necessary for your body! I don’t want to leave an impression that eating well & balanced meals is not good for you, at anytime your body will absorb some of the vitamin & minerals passing through it, however bioavailability is about optimizing your absorption to make sure you squeeze every last drop of goodness in what you are eating.
