Vitamin F, essential for a healthier you

When you think vitamins, it’s often always vitamin A, B, C and D, that come to the mind. A vitamin, which is rarely known and yet is of utmost importance is vitamin F, which must be include in the daily diet.

Vitamin F: A celebrity favourite

Ever wondered how your favourite actor and starlet has the glass-like, flawless complexion? The answer lies in vitamin F that’s an essential nutrient for perfect skin, which reduces inflammation, improves heart health, and even helps manage diabetes.

What is vitamin F?

Here’s the kicker, vitamin F is not really a part of the vitamin group! It is an all-natural and essential nutrient. Vitamin F is nothing but Omega-6 fatty acids that are good and essential fats needed by your body. It comprises linoleic acid (LA) from the Omega-6 family, and is not a ‘new’ nutrient. It is much needed for the body’s smooth functioning.

Pecan nuts

Benefits of vitamin F

Since vitamin F is referred to good fats, it helps lubricate your bones and muscles to work, lessen wear and tear, as well as locks-in and increases the moistness in your skin.

Here are a few benefits:

Structuring cells: Body’s cells, specially, the external layer needs flexibility as well as structure. Vitamin F offers this to the cells and keep them healthy for a long period.

Healthy source of fats: Your body needs fats to survive, no matter how much you try to avoid it. Nevertheless, saturated fats are disadvantageous, therefore, opting for food with vitamin F helps sustain the fat levels in our body, with maximum benefits and nominal rise in calories.

Fights diabetes and heart diseases: With condensed calories and a reduction in blood pressure, vitamin F aids decrease of risk of heart diseases. Furthermore, it also benefits by managing insulin sensitivity and lower blood sugar, thus forestalling type-2 diabetes.

Sunflower seeds

Promotes healthy skin: Vitamin F helps retain moisture and hydrates the skin, battling dry skin. It also lessens inflammation which aids fight allergies, skin acne and infections.

Important for vital body functions: It produces compounds that controls blood clotting, boost immune system responses and helps maintain blood pressure.

Sources of vitamin F that you can consume

The vitamin has several benefits and is frequently consumed by diabetics, those who suffer from dry or dull skin and skin diseases, people with risk of heart diseases, and to boost immunity. Dull hair and skin, and slow healing of injuries is a sign that your body needs this vitamin.

You can get your daily dose of the vitamin from olive oil, sunflower seeds, pecans, and almonds, and all of these sound easy to incorporate in your diet. However, too much of anything is bad and the same goes for vitamin F. A ratio of 4:1 for omega-6 to omega-3 is recommended, which means you must balance LA with other goods fats like Omega 3.

Consult your healthcare professional to get a customised plan for your body. If you consume vegetable oils and nuts daily, you can balance it out by having oily fish, such as salmon or mackerel, once a week.

(The author is founder of Purenutrition.me)