Vitamins & supplements are essential for students to maintain good health, support growth and development, and to normalize metabolism. They are essential to supplement your nutritional intake as our bodies do not gain all the nutrients we need from food alone - and maintaining a diet of cuppa noodles and MacDonald's will not do you any favours!
Remember when your Mum gave you gummy bears in the morning before school? She was not rewarding you with sweeties, she was forcing vitamins down you in a child-friendly way.
If you are a picky eater, vegan, or vegetarian, maintaining an ongoing daily routine of supplements is essential.
As Holland & Barrett (a leading store for supplements and wellness) states: “You need to give your body the fuel it requires and opt for foods and supplements than can boost your memory, concentration, and alertness. When it comes to your nutrition, it is a marathon not a sprint so changing your diet or starting to take a supplement is not going to work if you do it the day before your exams start”.
Vitamin Group | Benefits | Included in foods |
Vitamin A | Healthy skin, night and colour vision, normalizes growth | Dairy products (milk, yoghurts, cheese, etc) Carrots Sweet potatoes Pumpkin or Squash |
B Vitamins B6, B12, Riboflavin, Thiamin, Niacin, Folic Acid | Boost energy in the form of glucose which cannot be produced by the body. Their purpose is to aid new cell production and metabolism B9 (Folic acid) is especially important during growth spurts - that last growth development you will put on entering adulthood B12 is especially recommended for vegans and vegetarians, as this can only be obtained from fish, meat, eggs and dairy products. | Meat Poultry (chicken, turkey, duck) Milk Eggs Peas Dried fruit Bread Fortified breakfast cereals B12: Eggs Citrus fruit Asparagus Green vegetables |
Calcium | Essential for healthy bones and teeth, keeps the heart health and nerves and muscles working efficiently | Dairy products Tofu Beans Green vegetables |
Vitamin C | Essential to boost your immune system, bones and teeth, helps synthesize collagen - so if you want to stay looking young longer, ingest in supplement form, and apply Vitamin C serum on your face | Citrus fruit (oranges, grapefruit, kiwi, lemon) Strawberries Red peppers Tomatoes Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower Spinach Potatoes |
Vitamin D | Vital hormone-like vitamin to keep bones strong and muscles functioning properly, helps cells divide and helps maintain calcium levels. Exposure to direct sunlight is your best source of vitamin D - but always wear sunscreen! It is particularly recommended to take a vitamin D3 supplement during the winter months to compensate for the lack of exposure to sunshine. | Egg yolks Oily fish (tuna, mackerel, herrings, anchovies) Fortified dairy products (with different nutrients added like iron, zinc, and Vitamin D) |
Iron | Crucial to reproduce red blood cells and increase muscle mass. Particularly good for menstruation. If feeling chronic fatigue on a general basis, it may be due to iron deficiency, so a supplement that can be easily digested is Ferratone, which should be taken together with Vitamin C (so ingest with a glass of fruit juice and/or during a meal) for maximal absorption. | Red meat Seafood Spinach Beans and peas Broccoli Apricots Raisins |
Omega 3 | Arguably THE most important supplement for students: Omega-3 fatty acids improve the heart, brain function, memory and concentration as well as reduce inflammation. Inflammation is a side effect of stress that prevents the hormone cortisol properly regulate inflammation. | Oily fish at least twice a week (salmon, sardines, mackerel, herrings, tuna) Turmeric (include in powder form in everything, but beware, it stains surfaces!) Nuts and seeds (walnuts, pumpkin seeds) Tofu Rapeseed oil Soya (not soya sauce!) |
Zinc | Great booster to ward off colds, illnesses and infections, Zinc also heals cuts and aids cell regrowth. Particularly recommended to take during the winter months to fight and prevent colds. | Red meat Poultry Dairy products Nuts (almonds, unsalted peanuts, cashews, pine nuts) Lentils, beans, split peas |
Where to buy them
It is important to buy vitamins and supplements from a reputable source. Check the ingredients! If the first ingredient in the list is not the main product, then move on to another source. Similarly, if there are ‘E’ numbers or it isn’t specifically recommended for vegans (i.e. contains beef gelatin), then keep researching. Supplements do contain bulking agents, which act as binders for the ingredients within, however, if they are not natural, such as rice flour, which is used to prevent clumps for effective encapsulation, then, again, keep researching for all-natural ingredients .
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Check out the following websites to unlock student discounts on vitamins and supplements
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