12 Best Supplements for Vitality
Like anything in nutrition, the best supplements for vitality will be different from one person to another. Your friend, co-worker, aunt, or neighbor might swear by a vitality supplement that you can’t even feel the effects of. Or, the opposite could be true!
A wide range of complex factors can influence our energy levels and mood. Your environment, age, exercise, and sleeping habits all play a role, but diet is a big part of it.
Without the necessary nutrients, your body can’t run any of its functions correctly. Supplements can help you make adjustments when one of those factors isn’t performing the way it used to.
You might find that you need to try a few different combinations to find one that works for you. And following up with your healthcare team will help, too! They can test for and treat deficiencies in many different vitality-related nutrients. Once your nutrition is in order, you may find that your energy levels rise without any daily supplements!
Is there a pill that will give you energy?
The best supplements for vitality will give you energy by nourishing your body. It’s similar to the way nutrition is the answer to how to slow aging. Over time, your body slows or stops producing and processing nutrients that are key to your overall health and vitality. If we don’t take steps to get these nutrients through our diet, we can definitely feel the effects.
You’ll feel the boost in mood and energy from a supplement for vitality slowly, probably over a few days or weeks. What’s happening in your body depends on the vitamin or supplement. Sometimes, your body is using it for healing. Sometimes, it needs to replenish a store of the vitamin in the body before you can start feeling better.
Supplements aren’t magic potions. You won’t be taking a vitality supplement and suddenly feeling 20 years younger, and changing your diet isn’t a fountain of youth. But both can help keep you feeling at your best for as long as possible!
So, while there are technically pills to give you energy, these are usually caffeine or other substances. These can be dangerous and often come with a “crash” that leaves you feeling worse than when you started.
Natural, sustainable energy will come more slowly, and the effects will be less pronounced. The best supplements for vitality will never have a “crash”, though. They’re reinforcing processes your body already uses and work with its natural rhythms to restore your energy.
12 Best Supplements for Vitality
Your body uses a few specific vitamins and minerals to produce energy and regulate mood. Without these, even the healthiest food can’t be put to good use. The problem is, that being low or deficient in these nutrients is often just chalked up to “being tired” or “aging”.
This is something we see with collagen deficiency, too. The wrinkles, arthritis, and slow healing are put down to “just aging”, even though you can treat the issue. Giving your body the nutrients it needs doesn’t prevent these problems forever, but it does stop them from taking over before their time.
Collagen is one of the best supplements for vitality, but it isn’t the only one. Let’s look at some of the others and how your body uses them to regulate your energy and mood!
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is an important player in your vitality. It helps form red blood cells, which transport oxygen through your body, as well as being important for brain function. Vitamin B12 has strong links to mood, memory, and energy.
It’s one of the best supplements for vitality, but only if you’re already low or deficient in vitamin B12. Older people, those with GI problems, and people who are strict vegans are at a higher risk for a deficiency, so get tested if you’re at risk! If you aren’t, this vitamin may not help boost your energy or mood as much as other suggestions on the list.
Vitamin B9
Vitamin B9, like all the B vitamins, helps your body break down food and turn it into energy. B9 – or folate – is especially important for brain health. Vitamin B9 has a very strong influence on mental functioning and mood. This influence is so pronounced that folate is being researched as a treatment for depression.
Research on vitamin B9 is still underway, but the early results are promising. And many people who have taken this vitamin find it’s among the best supplements for vitality. Instead of taking it as a supplement, you can also increase vitamin B9 in your diet through foods like leafy greens, broccoli, asparagus, and peanuts.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is often called “the sunshine vitamin” because being in the sun triggers the body’s production of it. Very little of your vitamin D comes from your diet, and ideally, you shouldn’t need to supplement. However, it is crucial to your energy and mood.
Your body uses vitamin D to absorb calcium and keep your immune system running properly. Vitamin D is also an antioxidant, and this is where it comes onto our list as one of the best supplements for vitality.
Oxidative stress has been linked to depression and other mood disorders, as well as chronic fatigue. As an antioxidant, vitamin D reduces oxidative stress, bringing back your vitality.
Iron
Iron is absolutely essential to vitality. Your body uses iron to make red blood cells, which transport oxygen. Low iron can lead to anemia, a condition where your body cannot make enough red blood cells. One of the key symptoms of anemia is fatigue, and as many as one in three people have some form of anemia, often undiagnosed.
Iron is one of the best supplements for vitality because of its role in transporting oxygen. Iron supplementation has also been linked to mood improvements. In one study, athletes who took an iron supplement experienced less fatigue and a better mood compared to athletes who did not take the supplement.
Zinc
Zinc is a micronutrient. This means your body only needs tiny amounts of it, but that doesn’t make it any less critical. Your body can’t produce or store zinc, which means you have to consume it to make sure you have enough.
Zinc is present in every cell of your body, and plays a role in how your body synthesizes DNA, produces protein, and runs your immune system. While we don’t know exactly why, there’s also strong evidence that zinc can have antidepressant effects. Altogether, this means zinc is one of the best supplements for vitality.
Magnesium
As a vitality supplement, magnesium goes hand in hand with zinc. Like zinc and iron, magnesium is a mineral found throughout your body. Magnesium is especially important for heart health since it helps to regulate the muscle contractions that make your heart beat.
And, alongside zinc, magnesium is one of the best supplements for vitality in people who are struggling with depressive disorders.
Curcumin
Curcumin is the most active compound in turmeric, a yellow spice in the ginger family that can be found in southeast Asia. Turmeric has been used in Indian, Chinese, Thai, and many other Asian cuisines and medicine practices for hundreds of years. And for good reason!
The curcumin in turmeric is a powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and brain-boosting compound. Research is currently exploring its effects as an anti-aging supplement, since it seems to be one of the best supplements for vitality, especially in people with age-related chronic illnesses.
Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha comes from a small, evergreen shrub that can be found in India, the Middle East, and Africa. Cultures in areas where ashwagandha grows natively have used it in medicine for thousands of years, much like turmeric.
Research on ashwagandha is still being developed, but early studies are very promising. In a few years, we may have information supporting ashwagandha as one of the best supplements for vitality! For now, though, what we can say for sure? Ashwagandha seems to improve the quality and duration of sleep and may reduce stress and anxiety symptoms.
Ginseng
Along with ashwagandha and turmeric, ginseng is an Aisan herb with strong historical roots in medicine. Ginseng is commonly recognized as one of the best supplements for longevity, and it’s one of the best supplements for vitality, too.
Ginseng is rich in antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties. Certain types of ginseng may help reduce fatigue, as well. Ginseng has also been shown to reduce stress and support people who are struggling with anxiety and depression because of how it interacts with the brain.
Taurine
Taurine is an amino acid, one of the molecules that can combine to form proteins. Taurine is usually not used in forming proteins, and your body can produce it on its own. This means it’s one of the “non-essential” amino acids. However, Taurine is one of the few “conditionally essential” amino acids.
Conditionally essential amino acids are molecules your body can make on its own, but that you sometimes need to consume more of. When you’re sick or stressed, your body can’t make enough conditionally essential amino acids to keep up.
Taurine is one of the best supplements for vitality because your body already uses it for energy metabolism! It’s a major player in transporting oxygen and regulating fatigue, which means having enough in your body is crucial to feeling your best.
L-arginine
L-arginine is another conditionally essential amino acid. Typically, your body makes all it needs, and you’ll consume some, too, since protein-rich foods often contain L-arginine. Where L-arginine shines as one of the best supplements for vitality is in your brain.
Your body naturally uses L-arginine for cell communication, to build proteins, and to increase blood flow through the body. This makes L-arginine one of the best supplements for reducing the effects of stress, including depression and cognitive decline.
Hydrolyzed collagen
When it comes to vitality supplements, collagen has to be number one. Collagen anti-aging benefits are well-documented, supporting you from the inside out. Your bones, muscles, joints, skin, and hair are all rich in collagen, but your body’s production naturally slows down as soon as your twenties.
Collagen is one of the best supplements for vitality since it provides structural support for every cell in your body. Collagen is also rich in nearly every essential and non-essential amino acid, although it naturally lacks tryptophan. When shopping, make sure to look for a supplement that has been fortified to include this amino acid.
Collagen peptides – smaller chains of collagen that have been broken down for easier digestion – can boost energy and improve sleep. Collagen has also been linked to reduced anxiety and improved brain development in early studies.
Boosting your energy and mood with vitality supplements
The best supplements for vitality won’t give you an energy boost followed by a crash. They’ll support your body’s overall nutrition needs and help your energy and mood rise steadily, even if you don’t notice right away. Many of the vitality supplements on the market are vitamins and minerals you can focus on incorporating into your diet, but some are most helpful in supplement form.
Hydrolyzed collagen protein is much easier for your body to absorb than natural collagen, and can be fortified to be a complete protein. This means that high-quality, medical-grade hydrolyzed collagen protein supplements are the best supplements for vitality, even when compared with foods rich in collagen.
Meeting your body’s nutritional needs is the best way to start boosting your energy and mood, so you can feel your best.
