OBS: Do NOT use this as medical advice. The article is meant for own knowledge and awareness.

To feel good, we need vitamins and minerals. Your body cannot produce them alone so we need to get a source, often being food. I personally feel like I need them the most in the autumn-winter months when the weather is cold and the sun doesn't shine that often. And whether you share my thought and feelings or don't agree at all I think that we could all get some use of them. So I'll start by telling you about vitamins with the help of a mini guide that I created for you.

Vitamins- work the body's enzymes and break down glucose to give us energy. Lack of vitamins or larger amounts of certain vitamins can do you harm, causing negative effects instead of beneficial. So make sure to look after what you eat. Vitamins are organic components that we need to ingest in small amounts to keep functioning.

They're the body's defenders, builders and maintenance workers. While bacteria, plants and fungi produce their own vitamins we can't, so we need to get it from somewhere else. Vitamins come in two types: lipid-soluble and water-soluble. The difference between them determines how the body transports, store and get rid of them. Water soluble includes C and the B vitamin complex that is made up of 8 different types. These are dissolved in the water parts of greens and fruits, meaning that the passage through the body is relatively straightforward and the food is easily digested and taken by the blood stream. Because blood plasma is waterbased water soluble vitamins are transported without any interference and can move freely in the body. Lipid soluble vitamins (A, D, E & K) can on the other hand be found in oils, dairy and butter. Going through the body is much harder for them as they need to go through the stomach and intestine were a substance called bile flows from the liver breaking up the fat, preparing it for absorption. Because lipid soluble can't take use of the blood watery nature, they use proteins that are naturally attached to be able to go into our blood and around the body. Shortly stated: water soluble vitamins are therefore easily passed out from the body and we need to frquently renew them while lipid soluble can be deposited by the liver and other fat cells so we shouldn't overload with them. A great tip for both vitamins and minerals is to look after the plate model and read about it. This way you will be sure to get everything that your body needs at it actual state.

A (Retinol) - helps vision, skin and mucous membranes. You can find it in milk, sour milk, cheese, eggs, and shortening. One of the best sources is in organ meats, especially liver. You can also find it in meat in the form of so called retinoids.

B1 (Thiamine) - helpful for the metabolism carbohydrates and protein. Good sources are organ meats, beans, peas, pork, asparagus and cereals.

B2 (Riboflavin) - required for degradation of carbohydrates, protein and fat. Can be found in organ meats, eggs, poultry, meat and milk products.

B3 (Niacin) - needed for the metabolism of carbohydrates, protein and fat. High levels can be found in peanuts, fish, chicken, meat, hard bread and there are also some cereals.

B5 (Pantothenic acid) - used for the metabolism of fat and carbohydrates. The vitamin can be found in the most foods. But to give you some tips: legumes, whole grain and meat are great.

B6 (Pyridoxine) - important for the nerve function and the metabolism of protein. Higher levels can be found in animal food like meat, eggs and dairy products. You can also find it in fruit, potatoes, sesame seeds and almonds.

B7 (Biotin) - found in almost all food B7 is part of important enzymes and the degradation of fatty acids. Biotin is also formed by our intestinal bacteria, but how much it takes part of the daily requirement is unclear. But you can also get if from egg yolk, oatmeal and liver.

B9 (Folate) - we need it to form new cells and red blood cells. Folate and folic acid are different forms of this vitamin. The difference is that folic is artificially produced while fault can be found in foods such as: dark green leafy vegetables, beans, liver, chickpeas, fruits and berries.

B12 (Cobalamin) - necessary for the nervous system to function properly, för the metabolism of cells and the formation of blood cells. B12 is in seafood, eggs, liver, cheese, fish, meat and milk.

C (Asorcorbic acid) - helps bone tissue, body's cartilage and acts as an antioxidant. It also helps taking up iron in blood. C vitamin is found in most vegetables and berries, but especially citrus fruits

D (Cholecalciferol) - is one of the few vitamins that we risk having for little off. It regulates calcium in bones, teeth and can be taken in two ways, from the food or sun. So it can be found in eggs, meat, several types of fish (salmon, tilapia, herring etc.) and even mini, light and semi-skimmed milk or margarine.

E (Tocopherol) - is an antioxidant that protects polyunsaturated fatty acids from breaking. The vitamin is mainly found in vegetable oils, green leafy plants, avocados whole grains and margarine.

K (Phylloquinone) - important for the bone density and the bloods clotting. You can get it by eating green leafy vegetables, some oils and cabbage.

If you have some questions or want to share your knowledge with us don't hesitate to write in the comments below!

Sources: livsmedelverket -"vitaminer och antioxidanter" ("vitamins and antioxidants"by a swedish source) & this video right here