This guide is an introduction to how vitamins and minerals can be taken or incorporated into the diet to achieve and maintain all round good health. It explains how vitamins and minerals work in our bodies and highlights what the most common deficiencies are and how they lead to disease. Food is far more than just fuel. It has always been clear that food has a medicinal effect and that a varied diet, rich in natural ingredients, is a prerequisite for good health. The basic nutrients essential for life are available in a whole range of different foods, enabling meat-eaters, vegetarians, and vegans to choose from a variety of high-vitality foods to maximize the intake of these essential substances. This book comprises five main sections. Part one details the importance of eating well and introduces vitamins and minerals together with their recommended daily amounts. Parts two and three list all the known vitamins and the main minerals respectively, covering their functions, the foods they occur significantly in, recommended daily amounts, and deficiency and overdose symptoms. Part four shows you how to improve your health and well-being by making changes in what you eat, and part five explains specific nutritional problems, showing how certain supplements can help keep you healthy and in the best possible condition.