Take These Vitamins And You Will Live 5 Years Longer

1. What Do Vitamin Supplements Do?

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If you're not having a varied and healthy diet, then vitamin supplements are there to give you a helping hand. They aren't a replacement for healthy physical food, but if something is lacking in your diet, then vitamin supplements can help for a top up (like fish oil supplements if you don't eat fish!).

2. Are Supplements Worth Taking?

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There are a lot of health benefits associated with taking supplements, as long as this is alongside a healthy diet where you're eating enough throughout the day. If you feel like you need a boost of something, if you've been feeling tired or lacking, then they can be worth giving a try.

3. A Healthy Diet Is The Most Important Thing You Can Do!

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It's important to note that vitamin supplements aren't there to replace a healthy diet, and you should always look to the food you're eating first, before thinking supplements are there to solve your problems! That being said, supplements of very important vitamins for the body can help you to get what you need.

4. The Vitamins You Should Be Taking: Vitamin A To Give Your Immune System A Boost!

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Vitamin A is a vitamin that's key for your immune system functioning healthily - so if you want to live longer without being prone to sickness, this vitamin will help you keep your strength. It's also helpful for healthy vision, and you can find it in carrots and spinach.

5. Vitamin B1 For Helping Your Body Process Food

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Vitamin B1 is a great vitamin for giving your body a helping hand in process all the good stuff it needs to process, specifically carbs and protein. Vitamin B1 is the reason that it's usually recommended to eat whole-grain, like brown bread and brown rice, instead of white.

6. Vitamin B2 For Energy

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Vitamin B2 is another important B vitamin, and this one helps your body to convert food into energy - which of course is important as you get older and want to feel perkier! It's also a vitamin that helps to make red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body. You can get it from cheese and dairy products!

7. Vitamin B3 For Healthy Digestion

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This can be a good one if you've been having digestive issues, or just want to make sure you're processing food intake properly. Vitamin B3 not only helps with digestion, but it also helps in producing cholesterol - the kind that's good for you body. B3 can be found in meat and fish.

8. Vitamin B5 Helps To Turn Fat Into Energy

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Vitamin B5 helps your body with the important process of turning carbs, protein and fat into energy for your body. You don't want fat to be sat without being converted, after all! It's a vitamin that can be found in potatoes, oats and cereals, as well as chicken and beef.

9. Vitamin B6 Supports Good Metabolism

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A healthy, hard-working metabolism is always important, especially when you get older and have more risks with weight control, and vitamin B6 supports your metabolism in converting food and drink into energy. It can be found in chickpeas and potatoes.

10. Vitamin B7 For All Your Cell Needs

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Vitamin B7 can be found in a variety of fruits and meat, and it's an important vitamin for supporting your cells in everything they need to do for a healthy body! It does so by making things like protein and fat that your cells need to function. It's also known as biotin.

11. Vitamin B12 For Healthy Red Blood Cells

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This is probably one of the most well known of the 'B' vitamins - if not the

most well known - and it can be found in a lot of fortified breakfast cereals as well as dairy products, fish and meat/poultry. In helping your body make red blood cells, it's ensuring oxygen is circulated around your body the way it should be!

12. Vitamin C For Your Immune System

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We all know about downing a pint of orange juice when we have a cold or flu, and that's because vitamin C is essential for good immune system function! You can find it in citrus fruits, as well as red and green peppers and broccoli. It also helps your body make collagen, which is always a bonus!

13. Vitamin D For Healthy Bones

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Vitamin D is not only essential for healthy bones, but for muscle, too - so it's a good vitamin for when you're growing! That doesn't mean it's not beneficial later in life, either - as staying strong and healthy with your bones and muscles is key. You can find this vitamin in fatty fish and milk products.

14. Vitamin E To Avoid Cell Damage

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Vitamin E can help to support your body's cells and prevent cell damage - which is always good news when you're trying to stay healthy for longer! This one is a key vitamin that's found in nuts and seeds, so you might want to top up your sunflower seed bag and switch to healthy snacking!

15. Vitamin K For Healthy Blood And Bones

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You probably thought we were going to go through the whole alphabet then, didn't you? Let's skip to the next important one: vitamin K! This vitamin is there to support healthy blood flow (by working against clotting) and healthy bones. You can find it in foods like spinach and cabbage.

16. Important Minerals You Need: Calcium For Strong Bones!

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It's not just vitamins which your body needs, of course - it needs essential vitamins, too, and they're always best when paired together! Calcium is a mineral that you need for good bone growth (if you remember being told when you were younger to drink all your milk!).

17. Iron For Red Blood Cells

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Iron is something your body really needs for healthy red blood cells and function. This is why an iron deficiency can cause problems like feeling weak, faint and having cold hands and feet! Iron is an essential mineral that can be found in spinach, lentils and fortified cereals.

18. Magnesium For A Good Heart

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Magnesium is an important mineral to help with healthy heart rhythm. Not only that, but it's key for strong muscle function, and also to help your nerves and bone strength. Magnesium can be found in leafy green vegetables, which are always important to have in your diet!

19. Zinc To Support Your Immune System

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A lot of the time if you're falling ill very often with colds and feeling rundown, zinc can be a good recommendation to get more of in your diet - and this is because it supports a healthy immune system. Zinc also helps for nerve function, and you can find it in meat, seafood and fortified cereals.

20. Choline For Cell Production

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Choline is a mineral which helps your body to make cells, so it can help your body to function as it should for longer if you have it in the right amounts. Choline can be found in foods like milk and eggs, and also peanuts if you enjoy snacking on those! So if you're already having eggs for breakfast, this is a good start.

21. Chromium For Healthy Blood Sugar Levels

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Chromium is an important mineral that can help your body to control blood sugar levels - because, as we know, too high or too low blood sugar is always a health problem. Chromium is a mineral that can be found in foods like broccoli and potatoes, but also meat and fish.

22. Folic Acid For Heart Health

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Folic acid is a great mineral for a healthy heart, but it's one you may have heard of in regard to pregnant women, or if you've been recommended it before when you were pregnant. That's because folic acid is important for cell development and to help work against birth defects.

23. Iodine For A Functional Thyroid

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The thyroid is there to support your body's production of hormones and to regulate the body's metabolism. Iodine is a mineral that can help to support your thyroid in what it needs to do. A healthy source of iodine can be found in foods like seafood and dairy products.

24. Manganese For Strong Bones And Enzymes

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Enzymes in the body are there to give the digestive system a hand and speed up metabolism. Manganese is an essential vitamin that can help with producing certain enzymes, and it also supports strong bones. It can be found in nuts, beans and whole grains.

25. Phosphorus To Have Everything Working Normally

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When you get older, one thing you want to be sure of is that everything in your body is working as it should - phosphorus can help with that! Cells rely on phosphorus for doing their job, but this mineral can also help with making energy. It can be found in milk and other dairy products.

26. Potassium For Better Blood Pressure Control

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A great source of potassium is bananas, so you may want to make sure you're having a banana a day! (As well as an apple, of course). Potassium can help to control blood pressure so it stays where it should be, as well as helping to prevent kidney stones, too.

27. Selenium To Help Protect Cells And Thyroid

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Selenium is a great essential mineral, because it not only works to prevent cell damage, but it also works hard to support your thyroid in what it needs to do. Selenium is a mineral that can be found in some meats, seafood and dairy products, but also specifically brazil nuts!

28. Sodium For Fluid Balance

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You might think that sodium doesn't sound like something too healthy, especially because it's related to salt, but your body still needs this - it's just important not to have too much of it. Sodium is important for fluid balance in the body, and it can be found in food with added salt.

29. Fluoride For Healthy Bones And Teeth

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You may have heard of fluoride in reference to good teeth health, and that's because a lot of toothpaste will have fluoride! This mineral is there to support healthy teeth - which of course is important when you get older! - as well as bone health. Outside of toothpaste, fluoride can be found in certain fish.

30. Bonus: Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Fish Oil) For Brain Function

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Omega-3 Fatty Acids are precisely that - fatty acids, and they're not a mineral, but they are important for a healthy diet and are often a popular supplement choice - for good reason! If you want to live longer, you of course want to do so with a healthy brain! But you won't need this supplement if you eat enough fatty fish, like salmon and mackerel.

31. Here Are Some Handy Tips For Living Longer: Sleep Makes All The Difference

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It's not all about the vitamins you're taking, so let's take a look at some lifestyle tips for living longer, too. And, unsurprisingly, one of the best things you can do is adjust your sleeping time! On average, most adults need between 7 to 9 hours sleep. Studies have shown people getting only a few hours sleep a night are less likely to live as long as those who get over 7 hours.

32. Laugh More!

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You might even laugh at the idea that laughing more could help you live longer - in which case, good, because it'll help our point here. There's actually some research into laughter being beneficial for health. We all know a positive mindset leads to a healthier lifestyle, so laughing more could boost blood flow and make you feel happier!

33. You Might Want To Stock Up On Garlic

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Garlic is a great cleanser for the body (as well as a tasty addition to any recipe!). If you've been skimping out on your garlic recently, you might want to change that. It's believed to lower blood pressure and cholesterol and help for healthy circulation - as well as a healthy heart.

34. Make Time For Sex

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Easier said than done for single people, we know, but boosting your sexual happiness in whatever way you can might help you to live a longer (and sexually happy) life! Sex can help to reduce stress, help for a better night sleep and increases heart rate for a circulation boost!

35. Add Green Tea To Your Grocery List

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You might have already heard people raving about the health benefits of green tea - and they have a point. If you're looking for a tea drink to switch to, then green tea is packed full of antioxidants and positively promote your health all-round. It's also fine to drink a cup every day!

36. Red Wine (In Moderation) Might Help

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Yes, you heard that right - alcohol could actually help you to live longer! But only if you're sensible with it - and if it's red wine. One glass of red wine a day has actually been studied to have a positive effect on cholesterol levels and prevent against heart disease. It may also help blood pressure.

37. Examine Yourself On A Regular Basis

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You know your body best, and you don't need to make a doctor's appointment for important exams. You should definitely always check your body for lumps and get to know what your body normally feels like so you more easily recognise any changes. Checking in the shower is the best way!

38. Don't Avoid Your Smear Or Prostate Exams

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A lot of people can feel worried or unsure about their smear or prostate tests - it's uncomfortable, and it's never appealing. People easily miss appointments because they don't want to go or don't think it's important, but it absolutely is for good health - make sure you're always going to get checked out!

39. Take A Peek In The Toilet When You're Done!

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It might not sound like the most exciting part of your day, but you're there anyway, so why not? Take a look to monitor any changes in bowel habits - see if anything looks worrying, if there's blood in your stool, or any other changes you should check with a doctor about.

40. Top Up That Water Bottle

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It's that age-old advice that's never going to go away: drink more water! Staying hydrated is one of the easiest things you can do if you want a longer and healthier life. Drinking enough water will help your body to do all the things it needs to do in order to keep you cared for and healthy.

41. Keep Your Friends Close

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Research has actually suggested that having your friends around you could result in a longer life - especially if you have close friends in older age. Keeping in touch with people can help to avoid issues like depression, and socializing can boost your mood and make it more likely to stay active. It's not always easy to make friends, though, so be sure to reach out to people or consider trying new hobbies or places to meet new people.

42. Ditch The Smoking

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This one is as well heard of as 'drink enough water', but that's also because it's an important one! If you want to give your long-term health the best chance, especially in older age, then quitting smoking might make it less likely to get lung cancer or have heart problems.

43. Learn Some Relaxation Techniques

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Knowing how to relax is going to help you combat stress and take better care for yourself. If you never make time to relax then you might be doing your health a disservice! People relax in different ways, so find what works for you. Switching off your phone, a certain playlist, a good book or a bubble bath!

44. Find An Exercise You Love

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It's not only important to exercise regularly but it's even more important to find an exercise you actually enjoy. This is because it'll make it more likely you'll actually follow through with it and want to work out! It's a bonus if it's an exercise that's good for a fully body workout, like swimming!

45. Consider Getting A Dog

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This obviously depends on your lifestyle, time and budget, but if you can get a dog - and want one - there are a whole host of health benefits that can help for a happy life. They'll make you more active with daily walks for starters, but the love and companionship is second to none.

46. Make A Wise Choice About Your Job

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We know it's not so easy as just saying 'leave a stressful job', but thinking long-term about something that would work better for you is key to good health. Think about a job that wouldn't leave you stressed, that would give you enough money to eat and live well and one that ideally would let you be a bit more active!

47. Make Your Plate Colorful!

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You need to get in all those healthy fruit and vegetables every day, so aim to make your plate as colorful as possible with veggies and fruit! Green is what you should mainly aim for, too, with leafy green vegetables being amongst the healthiest you can have on your plate.

48. Really Try For A Positive Outlook

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There has actually been research into life expectancy based on people who had a more positive outlook, and people who didn't - and it's in the favor of the people who did! We know it's hard sometimes, but trying to be more positive can help to reduce stress, anxiety and make it more likely to be motivated to eat and move right.

49. Work On Your Marriage/Relationships

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When relationships and marriage work, they can really help for life expectancy, because you're supported, happy, healthy and sharing life's responsibilities, as well as caring for each other's health (and reminding each other about doctor's appointments!). Take the time and care to work on your relationships!

50. Eat Dark Chocolate

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Hearing the words 'eat more chocolate' to be healthy is always good - but the key here is to eat the right

chocolate, and in moderation. Dark chocolate is one of the best you can eat for good health, because it's full of antioxidants and it also has less calories than milk chocolate.