The Vitamin & Mineral Cheat-Sheet

You made it through the whole track. Here it is on one page — every nutrient, its main job, where it lives, and who runs short.

The vitamins

• Vitamin A — vision, skin, immune defense. In carrots, sweet potato, eggs, liver. Rarely low on a varied diet.
• Vitamin D — bones and immunity. From sunlight, fatty fish, fortified milk. Low in lots of people through a dark winter.
• Vitamin E — antioxidant cell protection. In nuts, seeds, plant oils. Deficiency is uncommon.
• Vitamin K — blood clotting and bone health. In leafy greens. Rarely short.
• B1 Thiamine — turns carbs into energy. In whole grains, pork, legumes. Heavy drinkers run low.
• B2 Riboflavin — energy metabolism (and bright yellow pee). In dairy, eggs, greens. Rarely short.
• B3 Niacin — energy and skin. In meat, fish, peanuts. Uncommon to lack.
• B5 Pantothenic acid — energy, found in nearly everything. Deficiency is almost unheard of.
• B6 Pyridoxine — protein metabolism and mood. In poultry, fish, potatoes, bananas.
• B7 Biotin — the hair-and-nail hype vitamin; already covered by food. In eggs, nuts, seeds.
• B9 Folate — cell building; vital in pregnancy. In leafy greens, legumes. Important for those who could become pregnant.
• B12 — nerves and red blood cells. In animal foods only — so vegans and many older adults run low.
• Vitamin C — collagen, immunity, iron absorption. In citrus, peppers, berries. Megadosing just makes expensive urine.

The minerals

• Magnesium — sleep, muscles, 300+ reactions. In nuts, greens, dark chocolate. Many people sit a little low.
• Iron — carries oxygen in blood. In red meat (heme) and beans/greens (non-heme). Women and endurance athletes run low — test, don’t guess.
• Zinc — immunity, healing, hormones. In shellfish, meat, seeds. Take with food, don’t megadose without copper.
• Calcium — bones and muscle contraction. In dairy, greens, tofu. Best paired with lifting weights.
• Selenium — thyroid bodyguard. In seafood, eggs, Brazil nuts. One or two nuts a day, never a handful.
• Chromium — minor insulin helper, oversold. In broccoli, whole grains. Deficiency is rare.
• Electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride) — hydration, nerves, blood pressure. In salt, fruit, vegetables. Real food covers you unless you’re sweating hard or sick.

The one rule that ties it all together

Notice the pattern? Almost every line ends with “in real food” and “rarely short.” That’s the whole secret. A varied, colorful plate plus a little sunlight covers nearly all of this without a single capsule.

Supplements earn their place for genuine gaps: vitamin D in winter, B12 if you’re vegan, iron if a blood test says so. The rest is mostly the aisle selling you insurance you already own.

The takeaway: eat varied and colorful, supplement only the real gaps, and your vitamins and minerals largely take care of themselves.

Next up, a brand-new track: Sleep — the free, nightly performance enhancer most people quietly waste.