The 7 Best Vitamins for Energy, Explained

What nutrients can actually make a difference when you’re feeling flat-out tired and running on empty? Here’s a guide to seven key minerals and vitamins for energy, simply explained.

Why are you low on energy?

Feeling low on energy despite your best efforts to eat well? You’re not alone. While a balanced diet is the foundation of good health, it doesn’t always deliver everything your body needs. Stress, age, lifestyle and even how your food is grown can all affect your nutrient status.

In this blog, I’ll walk you through seven energy-supporting nutrients — what they do, why you might be missing them, and how the right supplement could help you feel more energised day to day.

1. Zinc – The Unsung Energy Hero

Zinc is better known for immune support and wound healing, but it’s also crucial for breaking down your food into usable energy. It helps activate enzymes that digest carbs, fats and protein – and even plays a part in regulating appetite and stomach acid production.

Feeling meh about meals? Low zinc can dull your sense of taste and reduce appetite. Replenishing it can help bring both your spark and your appetite back.

2. Malic Acid – Nature’s Performance Booster

Found naturally in apples, pears and veg, malic acid also plays a role in your body’s energy production from carbohydrates. It’s commonly used in sports supplements to support stamina and performance.

Did you know? A malic-acid-rich formula has been shown to improve anaerobic performance in both sprinters and endurance athletes. [1]

3. N-acetyl Carnitine - Energy for Body & Brain

This highly absorbable form of carnitine plays a starring role in your body’s fat-burning process. It helps shuttle fatty acids into the mitochondria – your cells’ energy factories – where they’re turned into ATP (aka cellular fuel). It also supports brain health by helping make acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter important for memory and focus.

Great if: You’re feeling mentally drained or noticing a dip in energy as you get older.

Bonus: N-acetyl carnitine s especially helpful for vegetarians or vegans, since dietary carnitine mainly comes from meat.

4. Magnesium – the Metabolic Multitasker

Magnesium is involved in hundreds of energy-liberating processes in the body, yet most people aren’t getting enough. On average, women get just 229mg a day through food and men 308mg. This falls short of the recommended 375mg, and well below the optimal daily intake of around 500mg.

Top Tip: When supplementing magnesium for energy, opt for well-absorbed forms like magnesium bisglycinate, citrate or malate. They’re easier on digestion and more effective.

Want to know more? Check out this earlier post on 5 types of magnesium.

5. Iodine – The Thyroid’s Right Hand

Iodine is a key ingredient in thyroid hormones, which control your metabolic rate. Iodine is the backbone of the hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3).

If your intake is low, you may feel sluggish, chilly, moody or fatigued – and may struggle with weight, digestion or regularity.

Tip: Iodine is particularly important for women’s health. Look for it in sea vegetables or as part of a multinutrient supplement.

6. Selenium – Iodine’s Perfect Partner

Think of selenium and iodine as the thyroid’s power couple. Selenium not only helps produce thyroid hormones, but also protects the thyroid gland with its antioxidant powers. Studies show that low selenium is linked to a higher risk of hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid). [2]

Top food sources: Brazil nuts (just 1-2 a day!), seafood, eggs.

Supplement smart: Look for selenium methionine or selenium yeast for better absorption.

7. B-Complex – The All-Rounders

Each of the eight B vitamins plays a unique and important role in energy metabolism. From converting food into fuel (B1, B2, B5) to building red blood cells (B12) and supporting protein, carbohydrate and fat metabolism (B6, B7, B9) – they’ve got you covered when you want an energy boost.

Tip: A B-vitamin complex can be a game-changer if you’re:

Constantly tired
Under stress
Vegan or vegetarian

The Bottom Line

Supplements might help for energy, even if you eat well.

In an ideal world, your daily meals would meet all your nutritional needs. But the reality is more complex. Our food is grown in nutrient-depleted soils, processed more heavily, and often prepared in ways that strip away essential nutrients. Add in the demands of modern life – and your individual needs – and it’s easy to see why so many of us fall short.

That’s why, if you’re regularly dealing with energy dips, it may be worth looking beyond the myth of the “perfectly balanced diet.”

Keep reading: Energy-Boosting Benefits of B-vitamins for Midlife Women

Over To You

Targeted supplements for improving your energy.

This quick review covered 7 key nutrients that support your body’s natural energy-production engines.

Have you tried any of these supplements – or are you thinking about it?

Leave a comment below and let me know what’s worked for you, or what you’re curious to try!

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