A Consultation for Everyday Wellbeing: Understanding Your Nutrient Needs

Most of us know vitamins and minerals matter — but few of us know why, or how little it actually takes to get them right. Here's a short, practical guide.

They're needed in tiny amounts — but you can't make most of them yourself

Vitamins and minerals are called “micronutrients” because your body needs them in relatively small quantities compared to things like protein or carbohydrates. But here's the catch: with a couple of exceptions (like vitamin D, which your skin produces from sunlight), your body can't manufacture them on its own. They have to come from what you eat.

Not all vitamins behave the same way

Vitamins fall into two broad categories, and understanding the difference explains a lot about how nutrition actually works:

• Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) — these get stored in your body's fat tissue, so you don't need to eat them every single day.
• Water-soluble vitamins (vitamin C, the B vitamins, folate) — these aren't stored. Your body uses what it needs and clears out the rest, which is why they need to be replenished more regularly through diet.

The nutrients most people don't get quite enough of

Three nutrients come up again and again in nutrition guidance as the ones people commonly under-consume: calcium, iron, and vitamin D.

• Calcium isn't just about bones — it also plays a role in regulating your heartbeat and helping blood clot properly.
• Iron is essential for making red blood cells that carry oxygen through your body — which is why low iron is so closely tied to fatigue.
• Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium and supports muscle strength, but very few foods naturally contain much of it — sunlight is the main source, which makes it a common gap for people who spend most of their time indoors.

A note on Vitamin B12

B12 is a water-soluble vitamin the body needs for red blood cell formation, nerve function, and DNA production. Unlike most water-soluble vitamins, it can be stored to some extent — mainly in the liver — which is why a genuine deficiency tends to develop gradually rather than suddenly.

Food sources of B12 include:

• Meat, poultry, and fish
• Eggs and dairy products
• Fortified cereals and plant milks (particularly relevant for those following a vegan or vegetarian diet, since B12 occurs naturally almost exclusively in animal products)

Who may be more likely to have lower B12 levels:

• People following a vegan or strict vegetarian diet
• Older adults, as absorption can decline with age
• People with certain digestive conditions affecting nutrient absorption
• Those on specific long-term medications that can interfere with absorption

As with other nutrients, a blood test — not symptoms alone — is the reliable way to confirm whether a genuine deficiency is present, since early signs like fatigue or low mood can overlap with many other, unrelated causes.

If a deficiency is suspected

The appropriate first step is a conversation with a healthcare professional, not self-diagnosis or self-directed treatment. A consultation typically starts with a discussion of your health history and symptoms, followed by testing where appropriate. From there, a range of possibilities may be discussed depending on what's found — dietary changes, monitoring, or, in some cases, medical treatment options.

Any medical treatment option is only ever considered after a clinician has reviewed the individual's specific case and confirmed they are a suitable candidate. Being found eligible is never automatic or assumed simply by attending a consultation, and nothing is provided or administered unless that eligibility has been clinically confirmed first.

Food first, supplements second

Nutrition guidance consistently points to the same principle: getting nutrients from food is generally preferable to getting them from supplements, because food contains other beneficial compounds that a pill or capsule doesn't replicate. Supplements have their place — particularly for people with specific dietary restrictions, increased needs, or diagnosed gaps — but they work best as a complement to a varied diet, not a replacement for one.

More isn't automatically better

It's a common assumption that if a little of something is good, more must be better. With vitamins and minerals, that's not how it works — some, taken in excess, can actually cause harm. Too much vitamin A, for example, has been linked to issues ranging from dry skin to increased pressure inside the skull in rare cases. This is part of why guidance around supplementation is usually built around meeting a requirement, not maximizing intake.

The takeaway

For most people, a varied, balanced diet covers the majority of vitamin and mineral needs without much extra thought. Where gaps do show up — often around iron, calcium, vitamin D, or B12 — they're usually best identified through a proper conversation with a healthcare professional, rather than guesswork or self-directed supplementation.