Getting enough calcium is key to keeping your bones healthy and preventing osteoporosis. "As we age our bone mass decreases," explains Zuckerbrot, so you should be at the upper end of your daily calcium requirements (somewhere between 1000 mg and 1500 mg) to lower your risk of osteoporosis," she says. Get your calcium from the usual suspects: milk, low-fat cheese, yogurt and soy-based products. "One cup of plain, low-fat yogurt supplies about 450 mg of calcium -- that's close to half of your daily calcium needs," says Drayer. Cooked greens, like collards, are also high in the vitamin and super tasty.
Bonus tip: If you suffer from PMS, calcium is shown to reduce symptoms by half. Nice.
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Vitamin D (600 IU daily): To boost calcium absorption
Just as important as calcium, vitamin D should be top of mind. "Without vitamin D, your body can't use calcium," says Zuckerbrot -- it's essential to activating it in your bloodstream. The best news about vitamin D? It's so easy to get your fill. It can be obtained through sun exposure, which we're sure you've heard plenty about in the news. Aim to get 10 to 15 minutes of exposure three times a week. If you, like us, would rather get it elsewhere in order to prevent more sunspots and wrinkles from rearing their ugly old heads, eat fortified eggs, milk, orange juice and fish. A cup of fortified milk or OJ has about a sixth of what you need in a day and you can get it all in just 3� ounces of cooked salmon.
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B Vitamins (1.3 mg of B6; 2.4 mcg of B12; 400 mcg of folate): For your brain
B vitamins (including B6, B12 and folate) are essential to brain function, red blood cell formation and building DNA. If vanity is your reason for reading this, note that B vitamins are also a key for building strong nails that grow faster.
So where can you get these lovely Bs? B6 can be found in potatoes (one medium baked potato gives you 35 percent of your daily value, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements at the National Institutes of Health), bananas, beans, cereals, meats, oatmeal and poultry. And, B12 can be found in trout (3 ounces of trout gives you almost all you need for the day, also according to the Office of Dietary Supplements at the National Institutes of Health) as well as oysters, fish, milk, meat and yogurt. Rich sources of folate can be found in leafy greens, dried legumes, as well as whole grains, says Drayer.
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Omega-3 Fatty Acids: For your heart and skin
Omega-3s are hot right now, and for good reason. These fatty acids have been shown to act as an anti-inflammatory in the body and they keep your heart healthy, too, says Zuckerbrot. Even more reason to pack your diet full of omega-3 fatty acid-rich foods like salmon (have a 3-ounce serving), tuna, flaxseed and walnuts: They help lubricate your skin and play a key role in keeping it extra soft, smooth and more youthful-looking. Drayer recommends consuming at least one serving of omega-3-rich food daily. If you're not a fan of fish, take a fish-oil supplement, which, on average, contains about 3000 mg per daily dose.
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Protein: For your hair
"Since hair is about 97 percent protein, strong, shiny hair and a healthy scalp require quality protein from your diet," says Drayer. She recommends that you get a quarter of your calories from protein (so about 94 g of protein a day). Foods like meat, poultry, fish, beans, nuts and seeds will ensure a healthy scalp and hair. And aim to eat foods rich in iron (18 mg a day), like lean meats and poultry, dried fruits and fortified cereals, which help carry red blood cells to the hair follicle; silicone (there is no recommended daily allowance, so what you eat is a bonus), found in whole wheat bread, brown rice and bananas to make hair stronger and thicker; and selenium (55 mcg daily) found in brazil nuts, tuna, whole grains and eggs, which has antioxidant properties that protect our scalp from free radical damage that can ultimately lead to dandruff.
As women we're obsessed with staying healthy (read: maintaining our weight and youthful appearance) and eating right; but figuring out which vitamins for women your body really needs can be more than a little confusing -- and, not surprisingly, as a result, a lot of women aren't getting the nutrients they need.
Want examples? Well, according to dietitian Lisa Drayer, MA, RD, author of "The Beauty Diet: Looking Great Has Never Been So Delicious" (McGraw-Hill, 2008), many women's diets are low in calcium and vitamin D, both of which are important to bone health. "Additionally, research has linked vitamin D to various other health benefits, such as providing protection against breast cancer," says Drayer. And, iron and vitamin B6 deficiencies are also widespread among women. So what does this all mean? Well, we suggest bucking the trend and making a few simple adjustments to get the vitamins for women that you actually need.
Here we'll share the most important nutrients and vitamins for women that should be on your radar, and we explain how you can easily incorporate them into your diet. Most dieticians and nutritionists agree that it's best to get these vitamins from your food -- since you can get various nutrients at once. But they also agree that it's "smart to take a multivitamin or multimineral to fill any nutrient gaps," explains dietician Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD. So if you can't squeeze these nutrients into your meal plan, supplements are the next best thing.
