For some people, just increasing the portion of food is not enough to gain weight. They also need the intake of vitamins and minerals to increase body weight to form energy, build body tissues, and maintain a stable weight.
What are some examples of these vitamins and minerals? Can you get it from your daily diet or just from weight gain supplements ?
Vitamin B complex
B complex vitamins have many roles in energy metabolism in the body.
Each type of B vitamin also has its function, such as converting fat and carbohydrates into energy or breaking down protein into amino acids.
A deficiency in one of the B complex vitamins can affect the function of the other B vitamins. Vitamin B12 functions to convert protein and fat into energy, but it needs vitamins B6 and B9 to work properly.
As a weight gain vitamin, the vitamin B complex maintains the balance of fat, protein, and carbohydrate metabolism.
So, the body can convert these nutrients into energy and not just store them as fat.
Foods that are a source of vitamin B complex include:
- grains such as rice and wheat,
- milk and its products,
- mutton or beef,
- seafood,
- egg,
- green leafy vegetables,
- nuts, as well
- fruits such as bananas, grapes, and watermelon.
Vitamin D
According to a study in the journal Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine, vitamin D deficiency is thought to play a role in obesity. The reason is, people who have more fat tend to be deficient in vitamin D.
Researchers are not completely sure of the relationship between vitamin D and obesity, but what is clear is that vitamin D has an important role as a weight gainer.
In addition to supporting the formation of energy, other studies have also shown that vitamin D helps control sugar and reduce insulin resistance.
Therefore, vitamin D is not only important for healthy people but also people with diabetes.
The main source of vitamin D is sunlight, but you can also get it from:
- high-fat fish such as salmon and mackerel,
- fish oil,
- beef liver,
- egg yolks, as well
- milk, dairy products, and cereals fortified with vitamin D.
Iron
Not only vitamins, but you also need weight gain minerals. One example is iron which plays a role in energy metabolism, growth, and body development.
The main function of iron is to bind oxygen in red blood cells. If you are deficient in iron, your red blood cells can’t deliver enough oxygen to your muscle tissue and the rest of your body.
Muscles that are deprived of oxygen are unable to burn fat into energy effectively. Plus, low iron levels also interfere with the smooth metabolic processes in the body.
So, in addition to supplementing your vitamin needs, you also need to meet this weight gain mineral intake from:
- Red meat,
- nuts,
- dried fruit,
- chicken liver, dan
- foods fortified with iron.
Magnesium
Magnesium is an important mineral that helps the function of more than 300 kinds of enzymes in the body. These enzymes have a variety of functions, from controlling blood sugar to helping the body make protein.
Without adequate intake of magnesium, chemical reactions that produce energy in the body cannot occur. In addition, the process of forming proteins and body tissues can also be disrupted by it.
Magnesium may even help other weight-gain vitamins function. You can get this mineral intake by consuming:
- green leafy vegetables such as spinach and katuk,
- nuts,
- grains,
- wheat flour, as well
- fortified cereals with magnesium.