Keeping balanced means making sure you have all the vitamins and minerals necessary for a healthy, happy lifetime. Getting all that in a pill is almost a reality, but until then we know that you can get all the vitamins and minerals you’ll need from the foods you eat.

Vitamin C is an antioxidant that also helps with iron absorption, wound healing, bone formation and overall good health. It can be found in fruits such as oranges, grapefruits, tangerines, lemons, limes, papaya, strawberries and cantaloupe. Bioflavonoid found in these fruits help to protect the capillaries, the smallest blood vessels. Many vegetables also pack in vitamin C including tomatoes, broccoli, green and red bell peppers, raw lettuce and other leafy greens. These great salad veggies are also a great source of fiber, foliate and potassium, which keeps our hearts healthy.

Vitamin E disarms those free radicals that play havoc with our immune system. Look for fortified cereals or snack on a handful of almonds in the afternoon. A ¼ cup of sunflower kernels on your salad at dinner will satisfy the daily requirement of 15 mg.

Calcium, the bone builder, can be obtained by serving cereal with milk for breakfast. Add an 8 ounce cup of milk with lunch and dinner and you’ve got the daily 1,000 mg. Many foods are fortified with extra calcium, like frozen waffles, cereals, and juice. Yogurt, pudding, and cheese make great high-calcium snacks. Make a quick snack with healthy finger-foods like broccoli or baby carrots and yogurt dip. Fruit smoothies made with milk, ice cream, or frozen yogurt is a good source of calcium. As an added bonus, you get vitamin D, which your body needs for optimal absorption for calcium. Both can be found in fortified orange juice too.

Potassium and magnesium along with calcium have been shown to protect us from diabetes, heart disease and osteoporosis. Got milk? The number one item on the list that has all three minerals, you just need one 8 ounce cup of milk a day to satisfy the daily potassium requirement of 4,700 mg. and 310 mg. of magnesium. Then comes all sorts of good things to eat: most fruits including apricots, avocado, bananas, cantaloupe, dates, honeydew, mango, oranges, papaya, prunes and raisins. The vegetables include celery, mushrooms, potatoes, tomatoes, kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, lentils, legumes, plus other foods like coconut, chocolate, granola, bran cereals and nuts.

B-12 is essential for the function of all the cells in the body including brain and nerve cells. This one can be found in egg yolks and seafood like crab, clams, sardines, salmon, oysters and herring plus beef and liver.

Chromium is necessary for energy and insulin metabolism plus fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis. This one is in beer!! And corn oil, red meat, yeast, grain and cheese.

Iodine helps regulate your metabolism and is important for the proper function of the thyroid gland. Milk again provides this mineral along with shellfish, cod liver oil, cheese and iodized salt.

Iron increases resistance to disease and stress. You can find it in red meat, eggs, nuts, dried fruit, grains and dark green vegetables.

Selenium is an antioxidant found in seafood, red meat, broccoli, onions, tomatoes, yeast products and corn oil.

Zinc, essential to healthy blood, can also be found in shellfish, nuts, eggs, and poultry.

A healthy lifestyle includes fresh air, exercise and a rounded diet of meats, fish, chicken, leafy greens and veggies plus milk. Add a handful of nuts and a favorite fruit and you have all you need to satisfy your body’s requirements. Remember to always check with your doctor or nutritionist for the most up-to-date information and personalized needs.