What vitamins are worth taking in spring?

The weeks before spring often bring with them endless anticipation of warmer days, longer hours of sunshine, and better availability of fresh fruit and vegetables. For many people, the beginning of spring means the end of the torment of frost and darkness, or root vegetables, canned, frozen or imported vegetables.

1. The most important vitamins in spring
2. Vitamin D in spring
3. Vitamin C in spring

The most important vitamins in spring

However, it will be several weeks before the sun's rays responsible for the production of vitamin D reach us and before the earth yields its crops. Throughout this period, it is necessary to ensure that nutritional needs are met, as was the case in winter, which can be greatly facilitated by supplementation. The choice of vitamin supplementation in spring is a highly individual matter, but vitamins D and C seem to be the most important.

Vitamin D in spring

There are few nutrients that deserve as much attention in spring as vitamin D. Due to the lack of regular exposure of the skin to UV rays in the autumn and winter months, spring is the period when we are most vulnerable to the effects of a deficiency of this compound.

The list of foods that are valuable sources of vitamin D3, the chemical form of greatest biological importance, is also not very extensive. It can be supplied to the body by eating fish such as salmon, mackerel or herring. Certain amounts are also found in eggs and, increasingly, in fortified foods. The recommended daily intake depends on the level of vitamin D metabolites in the blood, which can be easily checked with a laboratory diagnostic test. On average, however, you should consume about 15 µg of cholecalciferol every day. However, there is increasing talk that it is worth taking vitamin D all year round, especially if you avoid fish and eggs and regular sunbathing in the summer.

Vitamin C in spring

Taking into account aspects such as ecology and food quality in your daily diet, it is not difficult to notice that vitamin C is also one of the nutrients that are difficult to obtain at the end of winter and before summer. Fruit and vegetables can usually provide the body with their full vitamin content when eaten straight from the ‘bush’ (after washing, of course), or after undergoing the heat treatment necessary to make them fit for consumption.

The best local sources of vitamin C in summer are vegetables such as tomatoes, broccoli and peppers, and in late autumn you can still harvest cabbage and parsley. In addition, fruits such as strawberries and blueberries are valuable, as are blackcurrants in autumn.

Of course, you can protect yourself to some extent by preparing preserves and frozen foods, but it is important to remember that vitamin C is sensitive to cooking and storage, and long storage times further increase the risk of various types of microbial spoilage. The daily intake of vitamin C should be adjusted to the estimated requirement (usually around 100–200 mg of ascorbic acid per day), but when balancing your diet, you should bear in mind that potential losses of up to 50% and sometimes more are associated with cooking and storage. In addition, factors such as smoking, physical activity, numerous chronic diseases and mental distress increase the requirement.