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What Are the Best Vitamins for Women In Their 30s?
If you are a woman in your 30s, you may be wondering what the best vitamins for women in their 30s are. Despite eating a balanced diet and exercising, its easy to be missing some essential nutrients, especially if pregnancy is on the radar or improved wellness is a goal.
Here are the best supplements and vitamins for women in their 30s to prioritize.
- Iron
- Antioxidants like Vitamin C
- Vitamin D
- Turmeric
- B Vitamins
- Zinc
Folic Acid
According to the CDC, serious birth defects of a baby’s brain and spine can happen around three to four weeks after conception. That is before most women are even aware that they are pregnant. Therefore the CDC recommends all women of reproductive age should get 400 mcg of folic acid daily to help prevent birth defects. The easiest way to do this is to take a women’s multi or prenatal with folic acid.
Folate has various important functions within the body and is considered to play a vital role in the healthy creation of red blood cells, as well as the growth and function of cells. Additionally, it is “beneficial for immune function, neurotransmitter health, detoxification, and hormone balance,” explains Julie Olson, CN, BCHN, CGP, a functional nutritionist at Fortitude Functional Nutrition.
Iron
Iron is one of the most important nutrients that women in their 30s need in order to support optimal health. Iron is necessary to make the protein hemoglobin (which carries oxygen from the lungs to other body parts) and myoglobin (which brings oxygen to muscles). In addition, the National Institute of Health reports iron is involved in the production of certain hormones.
As important as iron is, women in their 30s are at risk for iron deficiency, namely due to blood loss during menstruation as well as higher iron requirements during pregnancy. As a 2021 review in the medical journal Anesthesia explains, these events “put women at risk of developing iron deficiency which can result in severe fatigue, reduced exercise capacity and poor work performance.”
Due to these risks, women in their 30s should prioritize taking an iron supplement or making sure it’s included in their daily multivitamin of choice. Tip: Opt to absorb as much iron as you can for a multivitamin with vitamin C to help increase iron absorption.
Antioxidants like Vitamin C
Vitamin C is an all-star antioxidant nutrient that is vital for the health of women in their 30s. In addition to being an essential vitamin to support the immune system, the benefits of taking vitamin C include support for the production of collagen which plays a role in wound healing and improved iron absorption.
It’s worth noting that vitamin C is also an antioxidant. Why is this important? Because antioxidants scavenge free radicals from the body's cells and reduce the damage they cause.
Vitamin D
Also known as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is one of the most important vitamins for women in their 30s — as well as people at any age, for that matter.
This fat-soluble vitamin is involved in countless functions and processes in the body. Research confirms that vitamin D supports many aspects of health and well-being, which include but aren’t limited to bone health (and calcium absorption), immune health, hormonal health and mood regulation.*
However, vitamin D deficiency is one of the most common nutrient deficiencies across the globe, with as many as a billion people worldwide lacking optimal levels. Inadequate intake may be attributed to several factors, such as a lack of sun exposure based on geographic location or weather (note: sunshine helps the body produce its own vitamin D) and a lack of foods that naturally contain rich sources of this important nutrient.
B Vitamins
When “what vitamins should I take in my 30s” is searched on Google, it’s the B vitamins that dominate the results page. As a 2016 review in the medical journal Nutrients explains, that’s because their “collective effects are particularly prevalent to numerous aspects of brain function, including energy production, DNA/RNA synthesis/repair, genomic and non-genomic methylation, and the synthesis of numerous neurochemicals and signaling molecules.”
Translation: These water-soluble vitamins are integral to optimal health due to their involvement in things such as energy, focus and mood. The best multivitamins for women in their 30s should contain a range of the eight B vitamins:
- vitamin B1 (aka thiamine)
- vitamin B2 (aka riboflavin)
- vitamin B3 (aka niacin)
- vitamin B5 (aka pantothenic acid)
- vitamin B6
- vitamin B7 (aka biotin, which is particularly beneficial for healthy hair and nails)
- vitamin B9 (aka folate, which is especially important when pregnant or planning to get pregnant)
- vitamin B12
Zinc
Finally, women in their 30s should look for a high-quality multivitamin that contains zinc. As the NIH shares, zinc helps support the immune system, helps produce proteins, plays a role in wound healing and supports the senses of smell and taste.
The NIH also explains that zinc is an important mineral during pregnancy — as well as infancy and childhood — to support healthy growth and development, which makes it one of the most important vitamins for women in their 30s to take..* Fortunately, many multivitamins contain zinc as well as the important nutrients listed above, including MegaFood’s Women’s One Daily.
What is the Best Way to Increase Vitamin Intake?
Taking a women’s multivitamin (or prenatal vitamin if you are expecting) is one of the best ways to help ensure that you are getting the essential vitamins and nutrients that you need to support optimum health. Pairing a supplement with a healthy, varied diet of certified organic foods is always recommended.