There are a number of professions about which you could say that the work is never done, but when it comes to farmers, that's really true. That's even the case in this era of advanced agricultural technology, in which computers and high tech can now be found yards away from acres adorned with wheat or corn or a couple barns full of cattle, or all of that. There are many types of farmers in America, ranging from those who raise livestock and/or chickens and/or fish to those who grow and harvest crops or produce dairy products. There might even be some who do a combination of two or more of those specialties. But one thing for certain is that even with today's high-tech world of farming, most farmers still work excessively long hours and put their bodies through the mill – lifting, carrying, digging, operating heavy machinery (tractors, combines, harvesters, etc.) – whatever. Taking care of their bodies through proper nutrition (they already get plenty of exercise) can be every bit a chore as milking all those cows, with or without the modern-day milking machines.
Farming Is All about Hard Work
Early to bed, early to rise? Well, at least they got half of it right. Yes, farmers typically are early to rise – livestock rarely play by the rules of the traditional 40-hour work week, but early to bed? Not in this day and age, if ever. There's not only the matter of milking the cows; there's also feeding the chickens, cleaning horse stalls, and harvesting the crops, per theodysseyonline.com, and oftentimes much of that is done before the sun has reached its zenith. There are stretches where farmers might only work a 12-hour day, but those half-days are few and far between.Vitamins and Supplements for Farmers
Following are some vitamins and supplements well-suited for farmers, which they might consider taking to make those seemingly endless days of hard labor more manageable, at least for their bodies and perhaps even their minds:- Vitamin D. If you don't have enough of this in your body, your bones and muscles stand to suffer. Vitamin D supplementation can go a long way in helping to heal a muscle strain or pull, assisting the muscle in its repair.
- Vitamin E. Similar to what vitamin D can do, per livestrong.com, E can also help diminish muscle soreness as well as reduce the inflammation and pain that can come with all that physical work in the fields.
- CoQ10: Short for coenzyme Q10, this naturally occurring (within the body) substance, per healthline.com, which is found in all your body's cells, helps cells produce the energy they must have in order to grow and thrive. Otherwise, you're looking at getting worn down with fatigue.
- Vitamin B12. This popular vitamin supplement plays a central role in converting the food you consume into energy that your cells can put to good use, to include warding off any form of anemia that can make you feel tired and weak, per healthline.com. Put in simpler terms, B12 can be a strong energy boost for you, and farmers need that all the livelong day.
- L-Theanine. Found in tea leaves, this amino acid has been found to bolster levels of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which has a function within the brain to regulate mood and induce sleep and relaxation, per livenaturallymagazine.com. As we all know by now, farmers need all the high-quality sleep they can muster in the short time they have for sawing the proverbial logs.
- Magnesium. This essential mineral can perform double duty (if not more) by 1. aiding in the production of the sleep hormone melatonin, in the process helping to alleviate muscle tension, while 2. Also helping in the production of the amino acid GABA, which relaxes the nervous system, per livenaturallymagazine.com.
- Iron. An abundance of iron can be found in spinach, and, well, we know what that did for Popeye. Iron plays a key role in carrying oxygen through the body, without which you can be left feeling fatigued – not something to wish for when hard at work with more hours yet to go in the day.
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids. These essential nutrients, typically found in oily fish and flax seeds, as well as in nutritional supplements, are known for helping to enhance heart health, brain function, and in reducing the severity of muscle soreness from eccentric exercise, per sportsrec.com.
- Acetyl L-Carnitine. Per bodybuilding.com, this amino acid is a whiz at helping to regulate the body's production and maintenance of higher levels of cellular energy.