Even though bottled vitamins might seem like an easy way to get all the nutrients you need, the best way is still to eat healthy food.
Kristin Kirkpatrick, a registered dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, said, “There are a lot of studies that show that food is one of the best ways to get vitamins and minerals that are bioavailable.”
For example, you can take a capsule of fish oil, but it’s easier to keep track of what you’re getting when you eat wild fatty fish. There aren’t as many rules about supplements as there are about food.
Kirkpatrick said that eating more colorful foods is the best way to get a variety of vitamins and minerals. Try to eat at least six different colored foods every day.
One color can be made with a bowl of oatmeal. The second is to add blueberries. Coffee even counts. The drink has a lot of antioxidants.
Kirkpatrick said to ask your doctor if you might not be getting enough of certain vitamins.
To get enough vitamin D, for example, you may need to take a supplement.
Kirkpatrick said in a clinic news release that food doesn’t help people absorb vitamin D very well. “A D3 supplement is more like UV rays from the sun, which is where the best vitamin D comes from.”
Nutrition.gov has more information on how to eat well.
SOURCE: A news release from the Cleveland Clinic on November 11, 2022
