The Role of Vitamins in Weight Loss

Sometimes Food Isn't Enough

Weight control functions in your body operate more efficiently when you have an optimum intake of vitamins and minerals. Ideally, adequate intake would happen every day through the foods we eat. However, the reality is that some foods are more nutrient rich than others, meaning that we'd have to spend a good deal of time educating ourselves to which vitamins and minerals are found in which foods, and how much of these foods we'd need to consume daily in order to optimize our intake. That's a lot of work!

Vitamins are organic substances that are made by plants or animals, and minerals are inorganic, available through soil and water that is absorbed by plants or consumed by animals. In order to maintain health, it is important to have a balanced intake of both vitamins and minerals. Also, in order to maintain a healthy weight, or to lose weight, vitamins and minerals play a significant role.

Getting the Right Mix

Certain vitamins and minerals affect the way our bodies convert calories into energy as opposed to converting them into fat. When we consume the right mix of recommended daily levels of vitamins and minerals, our bodies do what they need to in order to be in their healthiest state.

While it is not really accurate to point to certain vitamins as best for weight loss, there are some that are important to the dieting and weight loss process. One such group of vitamins is the Vitamin B complex. Various B vitamins are important for metabolizing food which leads to more physical energy as well as contributing to the rate of caloric burn. When Vitamin B6 mixes with the mineral zinc, the net effect is seen in the way food is digested in the body. Needless to say, if food is not digested properly, then the value of it is lost and the body suffers. Properly digested food can be used efficiently as fuel and is less likely to be stored as fat.

Vitamin B and Your Thyroid Gland

Thyroid function is directly affected by three B vitamins. Vitamin B2, B3 and B6, if deficient in the body, affect the way the thyroid gland works, causing a disruption of the body's metabolism. This means the rate at which calories are burned is slowed through lack of sufficient B vitamins.

Food is often used as a form of self-medicating when life is stressful - something many people with weight issues engage in. If there is a deficiency in vitamins and minerals when the diet is not balanced or healthy, mood disorders or depression compromises any weight loss efforts.

Good nutrition is essential to any weight loss program. Taking dietary supplements in proper doses can be a good way to keep nutrition high when calories are reduced.