Vitamins and minerals are crucial for healthy functioning bodies. And you’ve probably heard that you should be taking supplements, but how would you know which vitamins?

Even though, you’re eating your greens and servings of fruit. You still may be deficient of certain vitamins and suffering related symptoms. It can hold you back from performing your best everyday so it’s important to be aware and include ways to increase your vitamin intake.

Here are five essential vitamins and symptoms of their deficiency to look out for:

 

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is one of the key ingredients found in many antiaging skincare products. It can be found in the epidermis and dermis. It plays a vital role in producing collagen that helps your skin look healthy and youthful.

You’ve heard how bad sun is for your skin? Vitamin C can also enhance the effectiveness of your sunscreen. It decreases cell damage while helping your bodies healing process.

Sufficient vitamin C intake can help repair and prevent dry skin. It also reduces the appearance of wrinkles.

It’s rare to be deficient in vitamin C as the foods we eat, over-the-counter products, dietary supplements.

However, you can tell if you’re deficient in vitamin C if you have scaly, dry and rough skin. Furthermore, a condition where your body is not able to replace collagen can lead to “scurvy”, which can cause red dots on your skin, pain in your muscles and joints, and swelling and bleeding of your gums.

 

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is vital to keep your blood and nerve cells healthy. A pale complexion can be a clear sign of the deficiency of B12.

The skin really suffers and can also promote feelings of fatigue. Another way of noticing the deficiency is a completely smooth tongue.

Vegans and vegetarians may have risk of vitamin B12 deficiency because it is only found in animal food source.

Other common symptoms include fatigue, vision loss, loss of appetite and shortness of breath. People who lack vitamin B12 can develop anemia, a condition where the body can’t absorb B12 and is unable to produce healthy red blood cells.

 

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps in the formation or the maintenance of healthy skin and teeth. If you have dry skin and lips, you might have Vitamin A deficiency.

Vitamin A is necessary to produce collagen which keeps your skin stay wrinkle free and fights signs of aging. It can help with clearing the face by unclogging your pores and protecting your face from acne.

Furthermore, it also evens out your skin tone and improves sun damage.

Vitamin A is crucial for skin to increase smoothness and just brighten it. Also, to keep fine lines and wrinkles at a minimum.

You can easily include eggs, milk, greens, orange and yellow vegetable or fruits to help you get the sufficient amount of Vitamin A.

 

Vitamin E

Premature aging is a sign of insufficient Vitamin E intake. It is essential to the brains nervous system, it is the bodies main antioxidant so a deficiency in vitamin E can lead to stress and weak muscles.

Vitamin E is one of the most essential ones as it’s high antioxidant content helps it fight harmful free radicals. When food is converted to energy in our body, free radicals are naturally formed. Free radicals can be exposed to us by sunlight, pollution and smoking.

Vitamin E protects from the sun exposure helping the skin to look younger and minimize the signs of aging.

Vitamin E can be found in sunflower oils, safflower oil and wheatgerm oils. Also, nuts such as almonds, peanuts and hazelnuts are packed with vitamin E.

You can also apply it externally, our Amaki collection has oils packed with vitamin E. Check them out.

 

Vitamin D

Acne, eczema and wrinkles may be signs of inadequate vitamin D in your body.

Vitamin D helps reduce inflammation in your skin which helps clear acne. In addition, it is an antioxidant which helps your body fight off free radicals. Vitamin D deficiency can also cause your skin to sweat which will cause dryness and may lead to related skin problems.

The best source of vitamin D is the sun. But wait... aren’t the UV rays bad for you? Yes, yes.. they are! (so don’t forget your sunscreen). You can take vitamin D supplements or eat oily fish and vegetables. And, try to avoid getting a tan.

 

If you see any of the symptoms, it’s a good idea to dig a little deeper and do some research. Then take action because it’s always better to be cautious before your skin bears any further risk of damage.