Taking daily vitamins is a great way to maintain your health and prevent sickness. Women should be taking specific vitamins that will improve their well-being. Here is your ultimate guide on the best vitamins for women.

Feeling tired? Do you find yourself getting sick more often than usual? You might be deficient in certain essential vitamins, and you’re not alone.

Around 30 percent of women are deficient in one or more essential vitamins and minerals, and this only increases with age. Taking daily vitamins is a great way to make sure your body gets what it needs to maintain health, energy and prevent sickness.

But which vitamins and minerals should you take? Here’s a guide on the best vitamins for women. From Vitamin A to Zinc.

Best Vitamins for Women

There’s a lot of debate about which multivitamins or brand of vitamins is best for women.

Sometimes vitamin deficiencies can vary from woman to woman based on age, genetics and other factors.

Instead of telling you which are the best brand of multivitamins for women, we’re going to break down the vitamins women tend to be lacking in. Vitamins women really need, so you can decide which vitamins are right for you.

1. Antioxidant Vitamins (Vitamins A, C, and E)

Vitamins A, C, and E are antioxidant fat-soluble vitamins that fight free radical damage. This means they help prevent aging and diseases that affect the heart, eyes, skin, and brain.

We all know to load up on vitamin C when we’re sick. That’s because vitamin C boosts your immune system which prevents you from getting infections and sickness. Vitamin C also protects your skin and vision from damage caused by UV radiation and even environmental pollution.

Vitamin A and E also protect healthy cells in your body that can prevent mutations. Which is why you may be advised to take or apply vitamin E when you’re trying to heal a cut or burn.

It was even found that if your diet is low in these antioxidant vitamins, you’re at a greater risk sign of aging and even skin cancer. These are just one of many essential health tips for women.

2. Vitamin D

Vitamin D can be found in eggs, some dairy, and even certain mushrooms. However, most of our vitamin D intake comes from sun exposure.

Men and women are equally likely to be deficient in vitamin D since most people spend a majority of their day indoors.

We need vitamin D for our bones, brain and even to help prevent mood disorders and hormonal balance. So if you’re vegan and or don’t spend a lot of time outside, make sure you’re taking vitamin D supplement.

3. Vitamin K

We need vitamin K to help build and keep strong bones and to prevent blood clotting and heart disease. Heart disease is currently the number one cause of death for American women, which is why it’s essential to make sure you’re getting enough vitamin K.

You’re more likely to be low in vitamin K if you’ve taken antibiotics for a long period of time, if you suffer from intestinal problems like IBS or if you take medication to lower your cholesterol.

We get vitamin K from vegetables, dairy, eggs, and fish. If your diet is low in any of those foods, make sure your daily vitamins have vitamin K in them.

4. B Vitamins including Folate

Women need B vitamins like B12 and folate for their metabolism. B vitamins help prevent fatigue and help boost your brain function. They also help your cells grow as they make red blood cells and turn the calories you consume into fuel for your body.

If you’re pregnant you need folate as it helps develop the fetus and prevents birth defects as it helps build the baby’s brain and spinal cord.

Animal products like cage-free eggs, fish, meat, milk, and yogurt tend to be rich in B vitamins. If you’re an older woman, have anemia, are vegan or vegetarian, you should check with your doctor to make sure you’re getting enough B vitamins, as you’re more likely to be deficient.

Spinach, leafy greens, asparagus, citrus fruits, melon, and beans are high in folate. Make sure you daily vitamins have B vitamins and folate.

5. Iron

Iron deficiency and anemia are the world’s most common nutritional deficiencies and are even more common with women and the young.

Our bodies need iron to produce hemoglobin, which transports oxygen through the blood from the lungs to other tissues in the body. There are two types of iron, heme and non-heme. The kind that is mostly absorbed and used by the body is found in animal proteins like eggs, meat, fish, and poultry.

Adolescent girls have the highest risk for iron deficiency. Menstruating women need to also be careful, as their body’s demand for iron increases during their cycle due to blood loss.

Pregnant women also need to be careful with their iron intake, it was found that about half of pregnant women had such low iron in their bodies, that they were at the point of being considered anemic. Make sure you’re taking enough iron.

6. Iodine

Women between the ages of 20-39 tend to have the lowest iodine levels compared to all other age groups. Iodine is super important for women trying to become pregnant and women who are pregnant because it helps with the brain development of a growing fetus.

You also need iodine for thyroid hormones, the thyroid gland requires iodine to produce T3 and T4 hormones which control your metabolism.

The best way to absorb iodine is to eat iodine rich foods like sea vegetables and seafood or to take vitamins with iodine in them. Iodine helps protect you from hypothyroidism, goiters, fatigue, hormonal imbalances and trouble during pregnancy.

7. Magnesium

One of the most important minerals our body needs is magnesium, and it’s also one of the most common deficiencies. Magnesium is an electrolyte that helps regulate calcium, potassium and sodium in the body. Our bodies need it for over 300 biochemical functions.

If you are low in magnesium, you might experience certain side effects like leg cramps, insomnia, muscle spasms, anxiety, headaches and digestive issues like constipation.

Older women are at a greater risk of magnesium deficiencies. Make sure you get magnesium from supplements and a diet rich in leafy greens, sea vegetables, algae, beans, nuts, and seeds.

8. Omega-3 Fish Oils

If you avoid seafood like salmon, mackerel, sardines, halibut or tuna, you should take an omega-3 fish oil supplement so you don’t become deficient. You also need omega-6 fatty acids which can be found in packaged foods like vegetable oils.

Most people get enough omega-6, but not enough omega-3, when we actually need both.

Omega-6 are pro-inflammatory and omega-3 is anti-inflammatory. You need both to balance each other out for the health of your heart, brain and immune system.

It’s advised to keep a 2:1 ratio of omega 6 and omega 3 to prevent conditions like arthritis, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and depression.

A diet of wild-caught fish several times a week and taking supplements is the best way to make sure you have enough omega 3 and 6 in your diet.

9. Calcium

Calcium is essential for bone strength and also regulating heart rhythms, helping muscle functions, controlling blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

When calcium is taken with vitamin D and magnesium it’s shown to protect against heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, and cancer. Calcium deficiency is very common among both men and women, however.

Take Your Vitamins!

Now that you know the best vitamins for women, take those vitamins! Make sure to take antioxidant Vitamins like Vitamins A, C, and E, Vitamin D, Vitamin K, B Vitamins, Iron, Iodine, Magnesium, Omega 3 and 6 and calcium, either on their own or in one multivitamin.

Also, make sure that your diet is rich in those vitamins, and you shouldn’t be deficient in the vitamins most women are lacking. For more articles on women’s health and wellness, check out our blog.