Did you know half of all Americans are believed to be deficient in Vitamin D? 

Vitamin D is essential for healthy bones and helps your body combat illnesses and depression. Found in fatty fish, beef liver, and some mushrooms, this “sunshine” vitamin may not be the only nutrient you’re lacking in your diet. Reports show many Americans tend to be deficient in Vitamin E, B Vitamins, and iron. 

These nutrients are responsible for thousands of metabolic processes and are essential for maintaining good health. Deficiencies show in a variety of ways, like muscle aches, fatigue, low energy levels, and dry skin. These symptoms eventually lead to deficiency-related diseases and neurological issues.

Low levels of iron, iodine and B Vitamins in particular leave you extremely fatigued, as they affect your thyroid function and metabolism. These deficiencies can lead to hyperthyroidism and weight gain. These nutrients are often found in fish, seaweed, and liver and are commonly deficient among women.

You may also be more prone to a vitamin deficiency if you tear your body down day in and day out in the gym. Strenuous exercise causes us to sweat and causes oxidative stress and tissue damage in the body. It’s also important to note that people in a caloric deficit may be more at risk of vitamin and mineral deficiencies, since their daily intake tends to contain less variety and lower macronutrient levels/lower calories.

So, how do we ensure we’re getting our daily recommended vitamins? 

We get vitamins and minerals through food and by eating a wide variety of nutrient rich fruits, vegetables, fatty fish, whole grains, nuts and free range meats. However, even when prioritizing whole foods, we still may not be consuming enough of our recommended amounts. 

This is due to a few reasons.

Despite an abundance of calorically dense diets in America, the foods we eat are not often nutritionally dense. We only need “trace” amounts of some minerals in our diets, but most foods tend to be lacking in these micronutrients. Throughout the years, overfarming of topsoil has depleted the ground of nutrients we should be getting in our foods. 

Add to this, our animal products are being raised and fed with corn. When cows or chickens are free range, they are able to intake a wide range of micronutrients. When these animals are eating corn, a less nutritionally dense food, we are in turn consuming less micronutrient dense meat from these animals.

Transport time also causes nutrient loss. While we can find almost any fruit or vegetable year-round in the grocery store, this also requires picking these foods prior to being ripe, which cuts off its source of nutrients. The time the produce spends in transport to get to your region causes it to not have the full amount of micronutrients it would if it had been picked at peak ripeness.

A simple solution is choosing frozen fruits and vegetables. Not only are they convenient and oftentimes more cost effective, frozen fruit and veggies actually contain more nutrients as they have been allowed the time to fully ripen before being flash frozen.

While it is possible to make more informed dietary decisions to ensure you’re intaking vitamin rich food, the easiest way to fill the nutritional gaps is supplementing with a quality trace mineral complex. Not only does it support basic metabolic function and wellbeing, mastering your micronutrients allows you to better absorb any other food and supplements you’re taking, improving the efficacy of your training stack. However, it’s important to look at the label when choosing a multivitamin. Labels should show close to 100% of daily values of essential vitamins and come from a third-party tested source.

Titan’s ESSENTIALS™ are packed with essential nutrients and tailored to optimize performance, support muscle growth and enhance overall well-being. Titan ESSENTIALS™ Athena and Ares blends have been specifically crafted for active men and women. Our Ares blend boosts male vitality and supports prostate health. Ingredients like pygeum extract, silica, and boron were added to promote healthy bones, metabolism, and testosterone production, along with bioperine and nettle powder for inflammation. Our Athena blend boosts female vitality and provides metabolic and mood support. Green tea extract and lemon balm were added to ensure stable mood and energy levels, along with bioperine and cranberry extract to regulate blood sugars and inflammation. 

Our immunity complex of Vitamins D3, K2, C, and zinc contains a whopping 2500 IUs of Vitamin D, compared to the usual 400-800 IUs in most box brands, and includes Vitamin K2 to enhance the absorption of Vitamin D3. 

Protect yourself against fatigue, illnesses, and vitamin deficiencies all year round with Titan’s ESSENTIALS™.

Blumberg, Jeffrey B et al. “Impact of Frequency of Multi-Vitamin/Multi-Mineral Supplement Intake on Nutritional Adequacy and Nutrient Deficiencies in U.S. Adults.” Nutrients vol. 9,8 849. 9 Aug. 2017, doi:10.3390/nu9080849

Luo, Juhua et al. “Association of Iodine and Iron with Thyroid Function.” Biological trace element research vol. 179,1 (2017): 38-44. doi:10.1007/s12011-017-0954-x

Davis, Donald R et al. “Changes in USDA food composition data for 43 garden crops, 1950 to 1999.” Journal of the American College of Nutrition vol. 23,6 (2004): 669-82. doi:10.1080/07315724.2004.10719409

Forrest, Kimberly Y Z, and Wendy L Stuhldreher. “Prevalence and correlates of vitamin D deficiency in US adults.” Nutrition research (New York, N.Y.) vol. 31,1 (2011): 48-54. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2010.12.001