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The Importance of Vitamins and Minerals in the Diet

By Rosanne Borg BSc (Hons) MSc, NPD assistant

Vitamins and Minerals in Food

The market for vitamins and minerals has been developing over the years and advances in food is driving the demand for fortified products. Consumers are looking for convenient ways to boost their vitamin and mineral intake through new supplement formats and foods such as cereal, bread, bakery products and beverages. In 2016, Euromonitor valued the fortified and functional food market at €38 billion. Furthermore, the 2015 Global Health and Wellness Survey by Nielson revealed that 79% of Europeans are willing to pay more for natural foods such as GMO free, organic or fortified foods.

Vitamins and Minerals in the Diet Today

Vitamins and minerals are vital micronutrients that take part in most of the biochemical processes going on in our bodies at a cellular level. They are essential to counteract the risk of a large number of deficiencies which when prolonged can lead to diseases and disorders. For example, a lack of iron in the diet can lead to iron deficiency anaemia, severe vitamin C deficiency causes scurvy, and vitamin D deficiency has traditionally been associated with rickets.

It is possible (even ideal,) to achieve optimum levels of vitamins and minerals by eating a varied and balanced diet. The NHS states that there is good evidence that vitamin and mineral supplementation is beneficial for the health of people at the following stages of life: the elderly, women and young children. In fact, they recommend that pregnant women take vitamin D, women planning to conceive should take folic acid supplements and children aged between six months to 5 years should be given supplements containing vitamins A, C and D. Supplementation with specific vitamins and minerals may also be required for people following certain diets and lifestyles. Increased intake of vitamin D is recommended during winter in the United Kingdom due to lack of sun exposure.

Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation

The most straight forward approach to ensure adequate vitamin and mineral intake is to supplement the diet through either multivitamin/multimineral supplements or through food fortification. BLENDEV® multivitamin and multimineral blends can be used in these instances as they have been formulated to contain 100% of the recommended intake of essential micronutrients. For very active people, B vitamin supplementation may be desirable as this helps to optimise the way cells in our body use energy. Collectively the eight B vitamins are called a B complex, they are water soluble and they are all essential for normal energy-yielding metabolism. This is because they act as co-enzymes in the molecular pathway of the ATP production process. Individually each B vitamin plays a role in additional processes, including skin and vision maintenance and fatigue reduction.

An alternative way to increase vitamin and mineral intake is through food and drink fortification. Historically the fortification of bread products has helped prevent some vitamin and mineral deficiency in the general population. Extending this principle to other forms of ready-to-bake goods provides a convenient and easily accessible form of supplementation. The BLENDEV® ready-to-bake fortification blend has been formulated so 21% NRV is still present after baking (per 100g of baking mix) of specific vitamins and minerals are still present after baking making it heat stable. The blend contains: Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, D and E. Folic acid, iron and calcium are also added.

BLENDEV® Vitamin and Mineral Blends

BLENDEV.® is an off-the-shelf range of vegan-suitable vitamin and mineral blends that can be used to fortify and enrich a variety of different products.

Products listed below are off-the-shelf formulations. The BLENDEV.® range of vitamin and mineral blends can also be customised to suit specific markets and product applications. 

BLENDEV.® multivitamin – P11433

Formulated to contain 100% of the daily nutrient reference values (NRV) as recommended by European Regulations, this multivitamin blend can be incorporated into capsules, food, drinks, and sports and health powder blends to support front of pack claims.  

BLENDEV.® multimineral – P11434

Formulated to contain 100% of the daily nutrient reference values (NRV) as recommended by European Regulations, this multimineral blend can be incorporated into food, drinks, sports and health powder blends to support front of pack claims.  

BLENDEV.® B vitamin booster – P11430

The B vitamin booster contains all eight B vitamins and is designed to meet 100% NRV per serving. Individually, each B vitamin plays a role in additional processes including skin health, vision maintenance and energy promotion. This blend is suitable for everyday wellbeing powder blend formulations.

BLENDEV.® ready-to-bake fortification blend – P11431

The BLENDEV.® ready-to-bake fortification blend has been formulated so that 21% of the NRV (per 100g of baking mix) of vitamins and minerals are still present after baking. The blend contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, D and E; folic acid; iron, and calcium. 

For more information about our BLENDEV.® vitamin and mineral blends, please contact us.

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