How to Assimilate Vitamins

The human body requires nutrients to function and survive. More than 12 different vitamins are necessary for good health. These vitamins are naturally present in a variety of food sources, but cooking, canning and other processing methods destroy some of these. Many individuals take supplemental vitamins every day. You can enhance your body's ability to absorb and assimilate vitamins from foods and supplements by following a few basic procedures.

Things You'll Need

• Raw fruits and vegetables
• Vitamin supplements

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Instructions

• 1

  Eat a varied diet. Include foods high in vitamins and other nutrients. Limit your intake of empty calories. These are foods with little nutritional value and many contain high levels of sugars and fats. Fortify your diet with supplemental vitamins if you are unable to consume a wide range of foods or if you are a vegetarian. Choose a multiple vitamin to encourage assimilation of individual nutrients. Some vitamins rely on the presence of others for absorption.

• 2

  Reduce the cooking time for many types of food. Steam or stir-fry vegetables to avoid vitamin loss from excessive heat. Substitute raw fruits for cooked and canned varieties. The human body assimilates more vitamins from foods eaten in their natural state.

• 3

  Take supplemental vitamins specially formulated for easy absorption and assimilation. If you are over the age of 50, you may experience a diminished ability to absorb some forms of vitamins, especially vitamin B12. Consume foods fortified with this vitamin and choose the crystalline form of supplemental B12 for best absorption. Choose liquid vitamins if you have trouble digesting the ones in pill form.

• 4

  Take water-soluble vitamins regularly. The human body is incapable of storing these vitamins for long periods of times, so replenish them by consuming fresh foods, including fruits and darkly-colored vegetables and legumes. Take fat-soluble vitamins with food to ensure adequate amounts of fat necessary for vitamin assimilation.

• 5

  Drink alcohol in moderation, or not at all. Excessive alcohol consumption reduces the absorption of vitamins in some individuals and may lead to vitamin deficiency.