What are the Best Vitamins for a Healthy Gut?

Vitamins are super important for keeping our bodies running smoothly by helping with lots of vital chemical reactions. They also have a big say in how healthy our gut and overall health are.

Some vitamins dissolve in water and our bodies can't keep them stored up, so we need to get them every day from foods. These include vitamin C and a group called the B complex, like B1, B2, B3, and others. They're found in different kinds of foods, like veggies, animal products, and milk.

Others, like vitamins A, D, E, and K, dissolve in fat and our bodies can store them up in the liver and fat tissue, except for vitamin K—it doesn't store well, so we need to keep eating it regularly. These vitamins are mostly in fruits and veggies, but our body can make vitamin D on its own.

Taking 250 micrograms of vitamin A everyday made the levels of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the colon go up the most. Specifically, it made the butyrate level—the kind of SCFA that powers the cells in your colon—go really high.

Butyrate does a lot of good things, like giving energy to your colon cells, fighting inflammation, helping insulin work better, and even improving sleep.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggest that grown-up guys should get about 900 micrograms of vitamin A each day, while grown-up gals should aim for around 700 micrograms.

But, having too much vitamin A might lead to more bone fractures in both men and women.

Taking 75 milligrams of vitamin B2 every day made the variety of different species in the gut go up by a lot.

In another study, giving people a 100 milligram vitamin B2 supplement for two weeks increased the good gut bacteria that make butyrate, like Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Roseburia, in healthy folks. It also lowered some not-so-good bacteria called Enterobacteriaceae in people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

In a study, taking 500 milligrams of vitamin C every day for about a month really boosted the variety of microorganisms in the gut and the good stuff they make, called short-chain fatty acids.

This vitamin also made a specific family of good bacteria, Lachnospiraceae, grow a lot. They're the ones that make butyrate, which is helpful for us.

But, it's not clear if having more or less of these bacteria causes any health issues. They're usually in the guts of healthy people, though.

When we take small amounts of vitamin C, like 30 to 180 milligrams a day, our body soaks up most of it, about 70 to 90%. But if we take a lot, more than 1000 milligrams a day, our body doesn't absorb as much—less than half of it gets used. The way our body takes in this vitamin changes depending on how much we take. This change in the gut helps get the vitamin to the good bacteria, which hang out mainly in the ileum and colon.

But, too much vitamin C can lead to kidney stones and troubles with our intestines.

Not having enough vitamin D might mess up how our immune system works in grown-ups,

making autoimmune diseases more likely to happen and get worse.

Taking 60 micrograms of vitamin D every day helped increase two types of good bacteria in the gut: Bifidobacterium longum and Coprococcus comes. Coprococcus is a group that was found to be lower in people dealing with depression.

Experts who decide on healthy vitamin levels suggest that healthy grown-ups should aim for about 600 micrograms of vitamin D each day to keep their bones strong and calcium levels normal.

The experts suggest getting about 15 milligrams of vitamin E each day to keep your body happy.

In our study, 100 milligrams of vitamin E per day made the acetate levels go really high after a 48-hour process. Acetate does good things like healing wounds, fixing tight junctions, and making changes in how cells are built.

When acetate builds up, it can stop some common bad bacteria like Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus spp., and Pseudomonas spp. from growing too much.

This blog post explains how vital vitamins are for our body's functions and overall health. It distinguishes between water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C and the B complex, which need daily intake, and fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K, which can be stored in the body.

It dives into the world of microorganisms in our bodies, especially those in our gut, and how they influence digestion, energy usage, and our immune system. Imbalances in these microorganisms can lead to health issues like obesity and gut problems.

Different vitamins, like vitamin A, B2, C, D, and E, were studied for their effects on these microorganisms. For instance, vitamin A increased good substances that help colon cells, while vitamin B2 boosted good gut bacteria and decreased harmful ones in people with gut issues. Vitamin C increased diverse microorganisms and a specific helpful bacteria family, and vitamin D helped increase beneficial gut bacteria.

The post also cautions about the importance of getting the right amount of each vitamin. For instance, too much vitamin A might cause bone fractures, while excess vitamin C can lead to kidney stones and gut problems. The post concludes by emphasizing the importance of balanced vitamin intake for a healthy body.