5 Vitamins That Help Maintain Healthy Metabolism

You’ve probably thought about your metabolism in terms of how fast you can burn calories. If a person is naturally thin, we may say they have a “fast” metabolism and have successfully won the metabolic lottery. 

Metabolic function is so much more than caloric burn. It refers to the processes that keep us alive, like respiration and immunity, and homeostatic functions, like body temperature and hormone balance. Supporting your metabolism can help you thrive and reduce your risk of developing age-related metabolic function issues. 

Together, we’ll talk about which vitamins are metabolism-supportive and how to reduce your risk of metabolic issues. We’ll also talk about a new supplement that is making waves due to its link to increased metabolic health.

What Is Metabolism?

Your body uses the food you eat to support every function it has. Digestion causes the foods to be broken down into usable packets of energy that are carried through the body for different purposes. 

The rate at which food is broken down and converted into energy is referred to as metabolism. Metabolism includes chemical processes within the cells that are continuously happening; you don’t just engage your metabolic function after a meal. 

Metabolism requires the work of numerous organs in the body. The digestive tract, liver, pancreas, kidneys, thyroid, adrenal glands, heart, and placenta (in pregnant women) all play a role in keeping your metabolism functioning properly.

Understanding Metabolic Disease

Metabolic disease affects approximately one in three Americans. Metabolic diseases can include genetic disorders that impact the metabolic organs and syndromes caused by dysfunctional organs. 

Some metabolic diseases frequently occur together, causing metabolic syndrome. These diseases include:

• Unregulated blood sugar levels, including type II diabetes and prediabetes
• High cholesterol levels
• High blood pressure
• Excess weight in the midsection

Having metabolic syndrome causes a person to be at higher risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Taking care of metabolic health involves making wise dietary choices, keeping active, avoiding certain lifestyle habits (like smoking), and getting regular check-ups. In addition, you can try adding some metabolic-supportive vitamins to your daily diet.

5 Vitamins for Metabolism

The marketplace is packed with supplements that promise to increase your metabolism. In reality, the most research-backed methods for increasing metabolism include eating a healthy, balanced diet, physical activity, and making sure you get plenty of sleep. 

Of course, you can always add supportive vitamin supplements to your routine to boost your metabolism and support your health. Here are five vitamins you can take to support your metabolic health.

1. B Vitamins

The B vitamins are essential for many processes in the body, including the metabolism of fats and proteins. A deficiency in one B vitamin can affect the function of other B vitamins, so getting enough of each is essential. 

In particular, vitamin B1 (thiamin), vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 are crucial for the effective breakdown of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. You can find B vitamins in foods like eggs, dark leafy greens, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and some fruits like bananas and apples. 

Other important B vitamins include niacin, folate, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, cobalamin, and biotin. If you have a deficiency, you can supplement with a B complexmultivitamin to get all your B vitamins in one neat package. 

2. Vitamin D

The sunshine vitamin is another essential nutrient needed to fuel proper metabolism. Vitamin D is directly related to blood sugar regulation, and a deficiency in vitamin D could lead to glucose issues but can also cause a condition known as rickets. 

Vitamin D is found in animal products and fortified cereals but can also be synthesized by the body when exposed to sunlight. 

3. Calcium

Getting plenty of calcium is important for keeping bones strong, but new research suggests that it may even play a role in weight loss. Despite this finding, it’s important to make sure you get your calcium from food sources first. Calciumsupplements have been linked to a slight increase in risk for cardiovascular disease. 

4. Magnesium

This essential mineral is important for helping facilitate numerous chemical reactions in the body. These specific chemical reactions are directly related to energy production, which makes magnesium essential for supporting metabolism. 

If you aren’t getting enough magnesium, you can increase your intake of foods like nuts and seeds, legumes, spinach, and bananas. 

5. Iron

Iron is essential for helping support red blood cell health. This process helps oxygenate tissues like muscle. If iron levels are too low, energy metabolism may not function properly. Iron is important, but too much iron can be toxic. Make certain that you are indeed low in iron before attempting to take an iron supplement. 

In addition to these vitamins and minerals, you can support your metabolic health by ensuring you have enough pentadecanoic acid in your body. Never heard of it? You’ve come to the right place.

An Essential Fatty Acid for Metabolism

You read that correctly. New research has established pentadecanoic acid, aka C15:0, as an essential fatty acid. Essential means we need it to survive but can’t make it ourselves. That means we have to get it from our food or from supplements, just like the vitamins and minerals listed above. 

Other essential fatty acids include omega-3 fatty acid ALA and omega-6 fatty acid LA. C15:0 is essential to the body, and not getting enough is directly associated with detrimental health effects. 

What Does C15:0 Do?

C15:0 is an odd-chain, saturated fatty acid that was discovered by researchers studying longevity in bottlenose dolphins. They noticed that populations with higher levels of C15:0 had fewer occurrences of metabolic disease and age-related illness. They took their research further and discovered that these healthspan-protective benefits were available to humans, too.

As initially published in Nature Scientific Reports in 2020, C15:0 has been shown to reverse aging inside human cells. Since that initial publication, there are now over 100 peer-reviewed publications describing the health benefits of C15:0. 

As an essential fatty acid, C15:0 is critical for our bodies as it actively repairs, restores, and revitalizes our long-term health at the cellular level by:*

• Strengthening our cell membranes (and us) against age-related breakdown.
  
  
• Repairing mitochondrial function, which keeps our body’s energy-producers going.
  
  
• Naturally activating receptors (including PPARs and AMPK) that regulate our metabolism, mood, sleep, appetite, and immune system.
  
  
• Naturally inhibiting damaging pathways (including mTOR and JAK-STAT) as a means to support longevity.

This may seem super-sciency (and it is), but the takeaway is that C15:0 successfully addresses many of the causes of biological aging within our cells, giving us the ability to keep our biological age younger than our chronological age. 

A good example of how C15:0 reverses the aging process is found in residents of the Blue Zone located in Sardinia, Italy. The residents of Sardinia have circulating levels of C15:0 that are three times higher than the average person worldwide, and they’re consistently living to be healthy at 100 years of age. 

Cellular Fragility Syndrome: A C15:0 Deficiency

Along with the discovery of C15:0 as an essential fatty acid, the accompanying deficiency known as Cellular Fragility Syndrome was also discovered. Cellular Fragility Syndrome is thought to affect nearly one in three people worldwide. 

When levels of C15:0 are lower than 0.2% of the total fatty acids in a person’s cell membranes, their cells enter a weakened state where function is compromised. Cellular Fragility Syndrome is directly linked with a particular type of cell death known as ferroptosis, which underlies metabolic illnesses like NAFLD, accelerated aging, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

Healthy C15:0 levels should measure greater than 0.2%, although optimal levels are significantly higher. People living in Blue Zones have levels that measure around 0.68%. 

You may not know if you are deficient. Obtaining a C15:0 blood test can provide the answer. You can have your healthcare provider order one or grab an easy-to-use at-home testing kit here.

This test requires a finger-prick blood sample, which can be mailed to our partnering lab for testing. You’ll get your results quickly and privately. If you find out you are deficient, you can take a giant step to correct it. 

Fixing the Deficiency 

Thankfully, there’s a way to fix Cellular Fragility Syndrome and support your metabolic health and longevity. Increasing your C15:0 levels is easily done with a C15:0 supplement. 

Increasing your C15:0 levels with diet alone may not be the ideal method as C15:0 is found only in trace amounts in whole-fat dairy products, like whole milk and full-fat butter. Increasing the intake of these foods can lead to undesirable effects.

Calories and Unhealthy Fats

It’s no secret that whole dairy packs a wallop of calories. If you’re working on weight management or attempting to avoid weight gain, adding additional calories to your diet isn’t a side effect you need. 

Whole-fat dairy also contains excess sugars from lactose, which may not be appropriate for people with unregulated sugar levels. In addition, whole-fat dairy contains more unhealthy “even” chain fats than it does C15:0, and consuming more of these fats doesn’t support positive health outcomes. 

Absorption 

In whole-fat dairy products, C15:0 is attached to branches of triglycerides that must be broken down. This extra step to free the beneficial C15:0 makes absorption more difficult. This is extra work on the gut without a positive rate of return. 

Cows

If you’re avoiding animal products, consuming whole milk or butter is off the table. Plant-based milk and butter products do not contain C15:0. Sustainability can make some people avoid consuming animal products. 

A solution? Fatty15.

Fatty15 is the first and only supplement that contains the pure, vegan-friendly version of C15:0 known as FA15™. This sustainable supplement contains just one calorie, no bad fats, and is already in free fatty acid form, making it easy for you to absorb. 

Get Metabolic Healthy

Whether you’re on a mission to lose body fat, maintain a healthy body weight, or just support your health with science-backed dietary supplements that are proven to reduce your risk of developing metabolic disease, fatty15 is the solution. 

Just one capsule per day can help support your cells and support your health span. It’s one of the easiest and smartest ways you can support your body and your future self. 

Sources:

Metabolism: What It Is, How It Works & Disorders | Cleveland Clinic

What Is Metabolic Syndrome? | NIH.gov

Can you increase your metabolism? | Harvard Health

Calciumsupplementation for people with overweight or obesity - Cormick, G - 2024 | Cochrane Library

Dietary pentadecanoic acid supplementation at weaning in essential fatty acid-deficient rats shed light on the new family of odd-chain n-8 PUFAs | ScienceDirect

Efficacy of dietary odd-chain saturated fatty acid pentadecanoic acid parallels broad associated health benefits in humans: could it be essential? | Scientific Reports

Circulating fatty acids and endocannabinoidome-related mediator profiles associated to human longevity | GeroScience

Iron metabolism and ferroptosis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: what is our next step?

Ferroptosis and Senescence: A Systematic Review

Iron metabolism and ferroptosis in type 2 diabetes mellitus and complications: mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities | Cell Death & Disease

Ferroptosis mechanisms and regulations in cardiovascular diseases in the past, present, and future | Cell Biology and Toxicology