Your guide to essential nutrients
Type of Nutrient
From A to Z
- Biotin — Vitamin B7 | B8 | H
- Calcium
- Chromium
- Copper
- Iodine
- Iron
- Magnesium
- Manganese
- Phosphorus
- Potassium
- Selenium
- Silicon
- Sodium
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin B1 — Thiamin
- Vitamin B12 — Cobalamin
- Vitamin B2 — Riboflavin
- Vitamin B3 — Niacin
- Vitamin B5 — Pantothenic Acid
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin B9 — Folate
- Vitamin C — Ascorbic Acid
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin K
- Zinc
Vitamins and minerals are the micronutrients your body needs every day. They power your energy, build and repair your body, support your immune system and help protect your cells from damage — and the best place to get them is real, varied food.
This is a plain-English guide to the essential vitamins and minerals, from vitamin A to zinc: what each one does, why it matters, and the foods richest in it. Use it to understand your body a little better and to build meals that genuinely nourish you.
How to get more vitamins and minerals from your food
Eat more nutrient-dense foods: vegetables and fruit, whole grains, nuts and seeds, legumes, fish and seafood.
Aim for variety and colour across the week — different foods supply different nutrients.
Go easy on ultra-processed, sugary and refined foods, which tend to be low in the micronutrients your body actually needs.
What about supplements?
For most people, a varied, mostly whole-food diet provides what the body needs. At certain times — pregnancy, later life, a specific health condition or a diagnosed deficiency — a supplement can be genuinely helpful. But more isn't always better, some nutrients affect how others are absorbed, and needs are very individual. If you think you might be low in something, the best step is to talk to your doctor, who can test for it and advise what's right for you.
I'm a coach, not a doctor or dietitian, so everything here is general information to help you eat well — not medical advice, and never a substitute for the care of your own healthcare professional.
Common questions
Is it better to get nutrients from food or supplements? For most people, food first — a varied whole-food diet provides what the body needs. Supplements can help in specific situations, best guided by your doctor.
Which foods are richest in vitamins and minerals? Vegetables and fruit, whole grains, nuts and seeds, legumes, fish and seafood — variety across the week matters most.
Want help putting this into practice?
Understanding nutrients is one thing; building meals and habits that fit your real life is another. That's what coaching is for.
All the vitamins and minerals
from vitamin A to Zinc
Vitamin A
What is vitamin A?
Vitamin A, or retinol, is one of the fat-soluble vitamins essential to the body. It is a fat-soluble vitamin (i.e. soluble in fats), stored in large quantities by the body.
Vitamin A plays an important role in the quality of vision, which is its best known action. It also contributes to a healthy immune system and plays an important role in the development and growth of bones and skin.
Vitamin B1 — Thiamin
What is vitamin B1, or thiamin?
Vitamin B1, or thiamin, is a water-soluble vitamin. Vitamin B1 is necessary for the metabolism of carbohydrates and their transformation into energy. It thus plays a crucial role in energy production.
It also contributes to the transmission of nerve impulses, and therefore promotes the proper functioning of the nervous system. It also helps to support mood and memory.
Vitamin B2 — Riboflavin
What is vitamin B2, or riboflavin?
Vitamin B2, or riboflavin, is another of the water-soluble vitamins essential to the body. Vitamin B2 plays an important role in the release of energy, participating in the metabolism of nutrients, but more particularly that of lipids.
It also plays an indirect role of antioxidant, and participates in the cycle of folates, essential to the process of methylation.
Vitamin B3 — Niacin
What is vitamin B3, or niacin?
Vitamin B3, also called niacin or nicotinic acid, is another of the water-soluble vitamins essential to the body.
Vitamin B3 plays a role in the regulation of cholesterol, as well as in the formation of red blood cells and the functioning of the nervous system. It is necessary for the metabolism of carbohydrates (during glycolysis), lipids and proteins.
Vitamin B5 — Pantothenic Acid
What is vitamin B5, or pantothenic acid?
Vitamin B5, or pantothenic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin that is sometimes called the "anti-stress vitamin" because of its action in the response to stress.
Vitamin B5 is also essential in energy production, in the formation of hemoglobin, and the functioning and regeneration of cells.
Vitamin B6
What is vitamin B6?
Vitamin B6 is one of the essential water-soluble vitamins best known due to its association with magnesium, enhancing its action in the fight against fatigue and stress.
The body needs vitamin B6 for more than 100 enzyme reactions involved in metabolism, in energy production and immune function.
Biotin — Vitamin B7 | B8 | H
What is Biotin?
Biotin, also known as Vitamin B7, vitamin B8 or vitamin H, is a water-soluble vitamin.
Biotin plays a key role in the metabolism of fats, carbohydrates and amino acids, and is therefore actively involved in energy production. It also promotes the synthesis and use of vitamins B9 and B12, plays a role in energy production and maintains blood sugar levels.
Vitamin B9 — Folate
What is vitamin B9 or folate?
Vitamin B9, or folate, is a water-soluble vitamin whose name comes from the Latin folium, which means leaves in Latin, as it is mainly found in the leaves of plants.
It is important in red blood cell formation and for healthy cell growth and function. The nutrient is crucial during early pregnancy.
Vitamin B12 — Cobalamin
What is vitamin B12 or cobalamin?
Vitamin B12, or cobalamin, is one of the only water-soluble vitamins that is stored by the body, but is not synthesized by the body, so it must imperatively be provided by the diet.
It plays an essential role in the production of your red blood cells and DNA, as well as the proper functioning of your nervous system.
Vitamin C — Ascorbic Acid
What is vitamin C or ascorbic acid?
Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is probably the best-known and most widely used vitamin as a dietary supplement.
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant: it intervenes by protecting the cells against the free radicals responsible for cellular aging and by participating in the regeneration of vitamin E, another antioxidant.
Vitamin D
What is vitamin D?
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin also known as “sunshine vitamin”. It is synthesized by the body, under the action of the sun's UVB rays.
It helps your body absorb calcium. Your muscles need it to move, your nerves need it to carry messages between your brain and your body and your immune system needs vitamin D to fight off invading bacteria and viruses.
Vitamin E
What is vitamin E?
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin, stored in muscle and adipose tissue. Vitamin E plays an essential role in protecting the membrane of all the cells in the body.
Vitamin E is an antioxidant. It neutralizes the free radicals in the body. It has a particular role in the beauty of the skin.
Vitamin K
What is vitamin E?
Vitamin K is the blood clotting vitamin par excellence. Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin, which gets its letter from its essential role in coagulation (K for Koagulation in German).
It also plays an important role in bone mineralization and in cell growth.
Calcium
What is calcium?
Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body and is contained mainly in the bones and teeth, where it contributes to the constitution of the body, with phosphorus and magnesium in particular.
It is important to note that a good assimilation of calcium by the body requires a sufficient supply of vitamin D.
Magnesium
What is magnesium?
Magnesium is one of the best known minerals, especially for its action against stress. Its assimilation by the body is generally not good, but it can be improved with vitamin B6.
Its many functions include helping with muscle and nerve function, regulating blood pressure, and supporting the immune system.
Phosphorus
What is phosphorus?
Phosphorus is a mineral of which the major part (about 80%) is found in the bones and teeth. Phosphorus is mainly known for its role in bone constitution and rigidity, in association with calcium.
It also plays an important role in energy production, filtering waste and repairing tissue and cells.
Potassium
What is potassium?
Potassium is an essential mineral and electrolyte that plays multiple functions in the body. It plays an important role in the acid-base balance of the body, by helping to neutralize the acids metabolized after meals.
Potassium is commonly associated with sodium, via the sodium-potassium ratio.
Sodium
What is sodium?
Sodium is a mineral that plays an important role in the body's hydration status. It is an essential element for the body.
The main function of sodium is to facilitate digestion and absorption of nutrients. On the other hand, it can contribute to an increase in blood pressure, which is problematic for some people.
Chromium
What is chromium?
Chromium is a trace element that is essential to the body. It t may help reduce hunger, cravings and binge eating.
The main role of chromium is to help regulate blood sugar and insulin levels. It also plays a role in lipid metabolism and facilitates a number of enzymatic reactions in the body.
Copper
What is copper?
Copper is an essential trace element. Copper is found in all body tissues and plays a role in making red blood cells and maintaining nerve cells and the immune system.
Your body uses copper to carry out many important functions, like energy production, iron metabolism and neurotransmitter synthesis.
