By: Renata Cauchon-Robles (intern) and Orli Rabin of ThrivingBiome
March 2024
Many people don’t know that vitamins and minerals (also called micronutrients) work in tandem. This means that the amount of one micronutrient in our body often has a ripple effect on another micronutrient. This blog will give you a deep dive into understanding how different vitamins and minerals work in synergy, and guide you towards finding a healthy balance.
You may have heard advice or recommendations to dive into adding different supplements to your daily routine. Before you do so, it’s important to consider how they might affect your body as a whole. Here are some of the 5 most common supplements people take, and the other micronutrients they are directly linked to:
Image Description: a dark green rectangle with white text that reads “vitamins and minerals work in synchronicity…find your balance”. Images in each corner of a sun and a woman in a red bathing suit swimming through a list of vitamin and mineral relationships. Vitamin D is linked with Vitamin A, potassium, magnesium, and copper. Iron is linked with insulin, Vitamin A, and copper. Zinc is linked with iron and copper. Calcium is linked with magnesium and Vitamin D. Vitamin C is linked with copper and iron.
How much vitamins and minerals do I need?
Many vitamins and minerals have a maximum amount that is recommended for us to consume across a day. Just like issues may arise when we lack certain minerals or vitamins, different health issues and imbalances can be triggered if we consume too much of a certain type. Unfortunately, it can be easy to reach toxic levels with supplements and vitamin injections. As an adult for example, you would have to eat more than 25 oranges to reach the upper limit recommended for Vitamin C.
Many vitamins and minerals already exist in our foods
While there can be multiple reasons why we don't get enough nutrients from our food – such as active stress, the state of our microbiome, nutrient imbalances or deficiencies, trauma, the quality of our diet, depleted soil, etc. – it’s important to remember that nature is a master at packaging nutrients in a balanced way that includes perfect ratios that improve absorption.
How do vitamins and minerals work in synchrony?
Vitamins and minerals are responsible for many functions in our body, including hormone balance and important cellular functions.
Some micronutrients travel the same path in the body. For example:
If you take too much zinc, you can deplete your iron, and run the risk of anemia. Excess zinc can also interrupt important copper absorption.
Extra calcium supplements can decrease how much iron you absorb from plant-sources in your diet. Too much calcium can also lower your magnesium, if you’re not getting enough.
Others have a mirroring effect, like synchronized swimmers! In these cases, too much of a good thing can actually be harmful. For example:
Getting too much calcium can hurt your heart and slow your metabolism.
Excess iron can lead to inflammation in different organs.
Too much B vitamins can lower your magnesium levels.
Are supplements healthy?
It’s okay to take supplements if you need them. We recommend you first try whole food sources or whole-food form supplements. Nature is great at offering a balanced package of the nutrients your body needs!
If you’re working with a practitioner or your insurance covers it, start with a qualified test to find out if you are low in something, what you are low in, and how severe it is.
Be careful with vitamin injections. They are a very high dose of one vitamin in isolation, and can potentially trigger an imbalance in your body.
What are whole-food form supplements?
Whole-food form supplements can support many people’s health journey. They are nutrients extracted or condensed from the food that they exist in naturally and are minimally processed. This helps avoid the synthetic form, and supports our body to use the nutrient well.
Vitamin D can come in the form of cholecalciferol which is extracted from sheep’s wool, and is the same type of Vitamin D that our body makes after exposure to sunlight.
Calcium supplements can be from calcium citrate, which naturally exists in citrus. It usually has less side effects and is more easily absorbed by the body than calcium carbonate.
Vitamin C supplements can come from fruits like camu camu extract or acerola cherry powder.
Things to remember when you’re thinking about taking supplements:
Image Description: a dark green rectangle with white text that reads “vitamins and minerals work in synchronicity…find your balance”. Images in each corner of a sun and a woman in a red bathing suit swimming through phrases that read: consider the root cause; choose whole food sources first; avoid excess supplements; plan a start and end date for supplements; measure success by your symptoms (or lab results).
Supplements are a bandaid, not the solution.
When necessary, supplements or vitamin injections can be a short-term treatment. It can be great to start with questions, such as:
What is the reason I need to take this supplement? What are my symptoms? Are my levels actually low?
Can I get what I need from whole food sources? To meet my needs, what ways can I change what or how I’m eating?
If a supplement is needed to meet my needs, when will I start and stop taking them?
How will I keep track of changes? Symptoms or pre/post lab tests can be helpful tools.
Some of these questions can be answered on your own, others can be helpful to explore with a Registered Dietitian to help guide your next steps.
