Modern lifestyle and unending demands of our day-to-day life are making our days more and more hectic. Our stress levels are going up, making us feel physically and mentally tired.
When you're feeling tired, you generally reach for a coffee or energy drink. But while these drinks may give you a quick boost at the moment, they're not actually giving your body the vitamins and minerals it needs to function optimally. In fact, many energy drinks contain high levels of caffeine and other stimulants that can actually make you feel more tired in the long run. Instead, taking multivitamin supplements having some key ingredients can get you the needed results. Let’s learn more about how these vitamin supplements can help boost your energy.
Role of Vitamins in our Body:
Vitamins and minerals play a major role in your body. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get all the required vitamins from the food that you eat. Our food is severely lacking nutrients because of factors like soil depletion, environmental toxins, too many chemical fertilizers, and pollution.
Our bodies require vitamins and minerals to stay healthy. They also support mental activities like learning and thinking (1). Hence, vitamin supplementation is the only way to optimize health and longevity.
5 vitamins to Boost Your Energy:
Consistent fatigue can be frustrating. If your food does not provide the amount of vitamins your body needs and you are feeling fatigued and low on energy, you may have to take supplements. In this article, we will round up 5 major vitamins that help to boost your energy levels and keep your body and mind active:
1. Vitamin B12:
Vitamin B12, also known as Cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin. It is an essential vitamin and is not synthesized in our body (2). Vitamin B12 has many roles, such as:
- Helps in the normal functioning of your nervous system
- Helps in making the blood and DNA of your body
- Prevents anemia
- Helpful in macular degeneration (loss of central vision)
- Enhances brain health by preventing the loss of neurons
- Boosts energy and supports a healthy immune system
- Helps promote psychological function
- Supports healthy hair, skin, and nails
A lack of vitamin B12 can affect your nervous system and lead to pernicious anemia, a condition that causes fatigue, weakness, and rapid heartbeat (3). You may also experience pale skin, palpitations, loss of weight and appetite, infertility, nerve damage, depression, and memory loss. Vitamin B12 is naturally found in animal-based foods only. So, if you are a vegan or vegetarian, you may not be getting enough B12. In this case, you need to have an oral supplement or an injection.
The average requirement of vitamin B12 for an adult is 2.4 mcg per day. Good dietary sources of vitamin B12 include – poultry, lamb, beef, pork, tuna, milk, cheese, yogurt, and eggs.
2. Vitamin C:
Vitamin C is an important vitamin that your body cannot synthesize. According to studies, vitamin C is an essential micronutrient and a potent antioxidant for the human body (4). It contributes to your immunity system or defense mechanism by supporting various cellular functions. It also helps in protecting against environmental oxidative stress.
Vitamin C is also one of the best supplements to boost energy, including various functions such as:
- Helping in the production of collagen to support healthy bones, teeth, and skin
- Helps in the healthy function of the nervous system
- Being a powerful antioxidant, it boosts your immunity and helps reduce the risk of chronic diseases
- Helps prevent iron deficiency
- Helps protect your memory and thinking as you age
- Helps heal the wound faster
Vitamin C deficiency may lead to serious ailments like scurvy. You may also experience symptoms like dry and damaged skin, easy bruising, slow healing of wounds, painful and swollen joints, weak bone, bleeding gums and tooth loss, poor immunity, persistent iron deficiency anemia, fatigue, etc.
The recommended daily intake (RDI) of vitamin C is 90 mg for men and 75 mg for women (5). An additional 35 mg per day is advisable for smokers as tobacco reduces the absorption of vitamin C.
Some of the best food sources of vitamin C are – cherry, guava, blackcurrants, lemon, oranges, Indian gooseberry, strawberry, papaya, kiwifruit, etc.
3. Iron:
Iron is one of the vital minerals for boosting energy in the human body. It is an essential nutrient that helps in the formation of red blood cells and hemoglobin. Iron is an important element that supports a wide variety of metabolic processes like- oxygen transport to all parts of your body, DNA synthesis, and electron transport.
Iron is very essential for women who get heavy menstrual cycles. It is also important for pregnant women because iron plays a vital role in fetal development.
Iron deficiency can lead to anemia, a condition where you may lack enough red blood cells to transport oxygen all over your body. If you are found to be anemic then you may experience symptoms like:
- Excessive tiredness and fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Impaired cognitive abilities
- Decreased immunity
According to NCBI, the dietary intake of iron is approximately 16 to 18 mg per day for men and 12 mg per day for women (6). Many people take common iron supplements and land up having an upset stomach. If you decide to try an iron supplement, you should look for one that contains Iron Bisglycinate which is a well-absorbed form of iron. This is gentle on the stomach and does not cause any digestive issues.
Iron supplements which include vitamin C, generally get well absorbed by your body. Hence, you should look for iron supplements that contain vitamin C as well. Iron supplements with vitamin B12 and folic acid can provide you with complete support in the formation of red blood cells and reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
The best dietary sources of iron are meat, seafood, lentil, nuts, beans, spinach, fortified grains, etc.
4. Magnesium:
One of the most abundant minerals present in the body, magnesium performs many vital roles for your body such as (7):
- It helps healthy functioning of the nervous system
- Supports healthy muscle function
- Contributes healthy bones and teeth
- Controls blood glucose level
- Helps regulate blood pressure
- Helps produce energy
- Required for DNA and RNA synthesis
- Helps transport calcium and potassium ions across the cell membrane that are important to nerve impulse conduction, muscle contraction, and normal heart rhythm.
- Promotes better sleep.
According to NIH (National Institute of Health), magnesium deficiency can cause hypocalcemia (deficiency of calcium in the bloodstream), and hypokalemia (deficiency of potassium in the bloodstream) (8). Prolonged low magnesium levels can cause diseases like diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, and osteoporosis.
The recommended daily allowance of magnesium is 320mg per day for females and 420 mg per day for males (9). Rich sources of magnesium include foods like - nuts, seeds, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, and dairy products. High doses of magnesium in supplement form can cause side effects like diarrhea and nausea. So before taking a magnesium supplement, always seek your doctor’s advice.
5. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10):
CoQ10 is a fat-soluble vitamin that is produced by cells of your body. It stimulates the cell’s powerhouse, the mitochondria, to produce more energy in the form of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). It speeds up the electron transport chain so that your body can use food more efficiently to get energy. Further, CoQ10 is an antioxidant that prevents the degradation of the cells of your body.
CoQ10 can be useful to manage the following clinical conditions:
- Post myocardial infarction health
- Fibromyalgia
- Heart failure
- Managing symptoms of diabetes
- Parkinson’s disease
- Improving male fertility
- Improving immune system function in people with HIV/AIDS
- Helps good brain function
- Lowers cholesterol
- Helps ease symptoms of cancer and heart disease
According to NIH, CoQ10 deficiency can lead to brain disorder, seizures, intellectual disability, poor muscle tone (hypotonia), involuntary muscle contractions (dystonia), progressive muscle stiffness (spasticity), and abnormal eye movements (nystagmus), vision loss, and sensorineural hearing loss. The neurological problems gradually get worse unless treated with CoQ10 supplementation.
The recommended dietary allowance (PubMed Central) of CoQ10 is 90 to 200 mg per day. CoQ10 is readily found in foods like beef, pork, chicken, organ meat (heart, liver, and kidney), trout, herring, mackerel, sardines, pistachios, extra virgin oil, canola oil, soybean oil, and sesame seeds. Supplements of CoQ10 can also be taken orally with the advice of a medical professional.
Conclusion:
When amidst so much busyness, you hardly get any time for yourself and are unable to follow a healthy lifestyle; life can anytime take a toll on your energy levels. Fortunately, these are the vitamins and mineral supplements to boost your energy levels when you feel down and require them the most.
These supplements can set you up for long-term wellness. Moreover, each of them offers unique benefits other than boosting your energy.