The Free Fitness Tips Newsletter - January 2009

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Hello everyone.  Welcome to the first Free Fitness Tips Newsletter of 2009.  I hope you have had a good new year so far and that you are back on track with your fitness training after the holiday period.  This month's newsletter includes:

• Featured Article!

• Free Fitness Tips Blog Updates!

• Final Words!

1) Featured Article

This month I started off with a couple of posts on how you can motivate yourself to exercise this year.  I then finished the month with a number of posts on vitamins.  Like always I had quite a tough time choosing my favourite but I decided to go with...

From Vitamin A to Vitamin E: 40+ Vitamin Rich Foods

In my last few posts I have been discussing vitamins in greater detail.  I outlined how they were vital to your health and that without them you would suffer from a number of adverse effects.  I also discussed the dangers of overdosing on vitamins and said that it was very difficult to overdose on them from food alone.  Although I am not completely against the use of vitamin supplements I believe that you should try and get your vitamins from food sources where possible.  Today I am going to try and help you do just that by listing over 40 vitamin rich foods.

1) VITAMIN A:- Vitamin A can be sourced from both animals (in the form of retinol) and plants (in the form of carotenoids).  Below are the five of the richest vitamin A food sources:
- Eggs.
- Liver.
- Milk.
- Raw Carrots.
- Spinach.

2) VITAMIN B1 (THIAMINE):- Vitamin B1 (also known as thiamine) can be found in a number of foods.  Five of the richest food sources include:
- Cashew nuts.
- Enriched wholemeal products.
- Green beans and peas.
- Pork.
- Watermelon.

Since vitamin B1 is a water soluble vitamin you need to be careful when preparing these foods.  Vitamin B1 is easily destroyed by high cooking heats and can also leach out into cooking water.  Therefore, cooking the above foods at lower heats and steaming instead of boiling can help preserve their vitamin B1 content.

3) VITAMIN B2 (RIBOFLAVIN):- Vitamin B2 (also known as riboflavin) can be found in various foods with dairy products being the best source.  Below are five of the best foods for getting your vitamin B2:
- Cheese.
- Kidney meat.
- Milk.
- Sweet potatoes.
- Yoghurt.

Vitamin B2 is very sensitive to light and can be destroyed by prolonged exposure.  Therefore, it is advisable to store foods that contain vitamin B2 in dark places.

4) VITAMIN B3 (NIACIN):- Vitamin B3 (also known as niacin) can be found in foods in two forms; preformed niacin and the amino acid tryptophan (which the body can convert into niacin).  The following five foods are rich sources of vitamin B3:
- Beef.
- Chicken.
- Mushrooms.
- Peanuts.
- Tuna.

5) VITAMIN B5 (PANTOTHENIC ACID):- Vitamin B5 (also known as pantothenic acid) can be found in a variety of foods with fresh fruits and vegetables being particularly rich in this vitamin.  The list below contains five of the best foods for getting your vitamin B5:
- Almonds.
- Cauliflower.
- Mushrooms.
- Strawberries.
- Tomatoes.

6) VITAMIN B6 (PYRIDOXINE):- Vitamin B6 (also known as pyridoxine) is generally found in protein rich foods.  Below are five of the top vitamin B6 food sources:
- Bananas.
- Broccoli.
- Brussel sprouts.
- Cabbage.
- Cottage Cheese.

7) VITAMIN B7 (BIOTIN):- Vitamin B7 (also known as biotin) can be found in most foods.  Five of the richest vitamin B7 sources are listed below:
- Broccoli.
- Egg yolk.
- Liver.
- Milk.
- Spinach.

8) VITAMIN B9 (FOLIC ACID):- Vitamin B9 (also known as folic acid) is found in a variety of foods, particularly fresh vegetables.  Five of the richest food sources for vitamin B9 include:
- Asparagus.
- Avocados.
- Beets.
- Cabbage.
- Oranges.

9) VITAMIN B12 (COBALAMIN):- Vitamin B12 (also known as cobalamin) is found in multiple foods, with animal products being a particularly good source.  The list below contains five of the best foods for getting your vitamin B12:
- Lamb.
- Oysters.
- Sardines.
- Tuna.
- Yoghurt.

10) VITAMIN C (ASCORBIC ACID):- Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid) is found mainly in fruits and vegetables with citrus fruits being a very good source.  Below are five of the best vitamin C food sources:
- Kiwifruit.
- Grapefruit.
- Lemons
- Mango.
- Oranges.

When consuming foods that are rich in vitamin C you need to be aware that it can be quite easily destroyed.  Bruising, cutting and high heats can all lead to vitamin C being destroyed.  Therefore, you need to take care when storing and preparing the above foods and steam instead of boiling where possible.

11) VITAMIN D:- Vitamin D is produced by your body when exposed to sunlight.  However, it can also be found in certain foods, five of which are listed below:
- Butter.
- Cod liver oil.
- Eggs.
- Milk.
- Tuna.

12) VITAMIN E:- Vitamin E is one of the more difficult vitamins to source from diet alone.  However, it is still possible with certain foods including nuts and oils being rich in vitamin E.  The list below contains five of the best vitamin E food sources:
- Almonds.
- Brazil nuts.
- Corn oil.
- Hazelnuts.
- Peanuts.

13) VITAMIN K:- Vitamin K is mainly found in green, leafy vegetables.  Some of the richest food sources of vitamin K are listed below:
- Broccoli.
- Cabbage.
- Green tea.
- Liver.
- Spinach.

I hope this article has shown you that you do not need to rely on daily multi vitamins to get your recommended daily allowance (RDA) for the various vitamins.  By eating a variety of natural foods you can easily get the vitamins you require.  If you feel that you are not currently getting enough of a certain vitamin then take a look at the lists in this article, pick one of the foods and incorporate them into your diet.  There’s plenty of nutritious, tasty foods to choose from and a lot of them are highly versatile.  Eggs can be boiled, poached, fried, scrambled or even mixed up with some meat and vegetables to make an omelette which is both tasty and healthy.  Spinach can be eaten alone, added to a sandwich or used to bulk up a vitamin rich casserole or stew.  These are just a couple of the possible options.  Have a look at the above lists and see what tasty, nutritious, vitamin rich meals you can put together for yourself.

2) Free Fitness Tips Blog Updates

The majority of this month's articles were on the topic of vitamins but there were a few other topics covered too including my very first guest post from Parth Shah of Shahtraining.com.

- My Fitness Resolutions for 2009 - January 1st 2009

- 4 Ways to Motivate Yourself in 2009 - January 4th 2009

- Bodyweight Soccer Sprints - January 8th 2009

- Are Multi Vitamin Supplements Necessary? - January 11th 2009

- 12 Top Reasons to Get Your Vitamins - January 14th 2009

- 3 Reasons to Avoid Overdosing on Vitamins - January 17th 2009

- 8 Adverse Effects of Vitamin Deficiency - January 20th 2009

- 4 Factors that may make Vitamin Supplements Necessary - January 23rd 2009

- From Vitamin A to Vitamin E: 40+ Vitamin Rich Foods - January 26th 2009 (This month's featured article)

- Look Forward and Be The Change - January 29th 2009 (Guest post from Parth Shah)

3) Final Words 

January is usually a tough time when it comes to fitness.  It's a time when most of us are adjusting to the normality of working life after taking a break over the holiday period.  It may seem difficult to return to your pre-Christmas fitness routine during this time but the longer you leave it the harder it gets.  I hope you have managed to return to your normal eating and exercising habits this month and I hope the articles on the Free Fitness Tips blog have helped you do this.

Next month I plan to do a few housekeeping posts and write some follow up articles on topics that I feel I need to cover in a bit more detail.  I'm also going back to the gym after getting my exercise via running and bodyweight soccer sprints this month.

Thanks once again for reading.  Here's to a happy, healthy, fit 2009.

Tom Parker (Owner and Creator of Free Fitness Tips)

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