Vitamins are essential to maintain a good health. If you consume a healthy diet, you would be able to get most of the vitamins from food sources.
However, there are times when you may have trouble getting them from your regular diet.
In such cases, taking vitamin supplements is recommended.
Below I discuss some of the common vitamins and what they do for your body:
Niacin (Vitamin B3)
Niacin is a water-soluble vitamin.
Niacin helps the body metabolize fats, proteins, and carbohydrates by producing energy. It also helps to maintain healthy skin and muscles.
Vitamin B3 is also known as niacin or nicotinic acid. Nicotinic acid may be prescribed to treat high cholesterol levels, heart disease, and diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2).
Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)
Riboflavin is a vitamin that impacts every part of your body. It's also known as vitamin B2, and it helps the body convert food into energy, maintain healthy skin, nails, and hair—and even produce red blood cells.
Riboflavin is essential for proper growth and development in children.
It also helps the body use iron;
build antibodies; break down carbohydrates;
keep your nervous system working properly;
synthesize DNA (the genetic material inside each cell);
make energy from proteins through a process called oxidative phosphorylation;
prevent cataracts (clouding of the lens in the eye);
help form several neurotransmitters (chemical messengers between nerve cells);
support learning disorders such as ADHD or autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Folate (Vitamin B9)
Folate, also known as folic acid or Vitamin B9, is a water-soluble B vitamin.
This means that it's able to dissolve in water. Folate helps make and maintain new cells and aids in the production of an important compound called DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).
It's also essential for normal growth and development of an unborn baby.
If you're pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant, your doctor may recommend taking folic acid supplements to help prevent birth defects such as spina bifida (a disabling condition where part of the spinal cord doesn't form properly) or other neural tube defects.
Besides being found in leafy greens like spinach and broccoli (which are great sources), you can also get folate from beans, lentils, tomatoes, cauliflower, citrus fruits like oranges and strawberries—even some fortified cereals contain this essential nutrient!
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is an essential nutrient that plays a role in vision, bone growth and immune system function.
Vitamin A also helps form red blood cells, keeps skin healthy and helps fight off infection.
Vitamin A is found in many foods, including dairy products, eggs, fish and yellow vegetables.
Vegetarians can get vitamin A from the plant sources beta-carotene (found in sweet potatoes) or dark green leafy vegetables like spinach or kale.
Overconsumption of vitamin A can lead to toxicity symptoms such as headaches and nausea;
If you're worried about overindulging on this vitamin through dietary supplements or fortified cereals (which are often high in synthetic retinol), it's best to check with your doctor before taking any supplement containing vitamin A
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays a role in blood clotting. It's also important for bone health and to help maintain good vision.
Vitamin K deficiency can lead to bleeding disorders, such as hemophilia, or excessive bruising.
If you have low levels of vitamin K in your body, you may bleed excessively after an injury or surgery—even if the cut isn't deep or serious.
In order to get enough vitamin K each day, you need to eat foods that contain it. Leafy green vegetables like broccoli and kale are great sources of vitamin K; just one serving provides enough of this nutrient for one day!
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that helps the body form collagen, which is vital for healthy skin, tendons, ligaments and blood vessels. Vitamin C also aids in the absorption of iron from plant foods.
The recommended daily intake of vitamin C is 90 milligrams for men and 75 milligrams for women over age 51 (and 65 milligrams for all other ages).
Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5)
Pantothenic acid is one of the B vitamins. It is also known as vitamin B5. Pantothenic acid (or vitamin B5) is a water-soluble substance that acts as a coenzyme in cell metabolism, helping to turn carbohydrates into energy.
This nutrient also assists in the production of red blood cells, nerves, and lipids (fats).
Vitamin B5 can be found in whole grains, liver and other organ meats like beef kidney or heart; egg yolk; mushrooms; avocado; asparagus; brown rice flour; legumes including soybeans and peanuts/peanut butter.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that is important for healthy skin, hair and nails. It can also help reduce the risk of heart disease.
Vitamin E helps protect the body against some forms of cancer, such as prostate cancer and breast cancer. It's found in grains, nuts and seeds, vegetables oils like olive oil or sunflower oil (which are also used in cooking), fish such as tuna or salmon - but not meat products so don't rely on animal foods for this nutrient!
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin that is essential for normal growth and development.
It is important for red blood cell formation and the maintenance of the nervous system, as well as DNA synthesis.
Vitamin B12 deficiencies can lead to anemia, weakness and fatigue, loss of appetite or weight loss, neurological problems such as numbness in fingers or toes and depression or mood swings.
Vitamin B12 deficiency occurs most often in elderly people because their bodies don't absorb enough from food.
Other factors include stomach surgery, malnutrition (malabsorption from diseases like celiac disease), pregnancy or breastfeeding (as those who are pregnant or breastfeeding may not be able to absorb the nutrient), certain medications such as Metformin (used to treat diabetes) and acid reflux drugs known as proton pump inhibitors; alcohol abuse; chronic pancreatitis (inflammation of pancreas);
autoimmune conditions such as Crohn's disease; low levels of hydrochloric acid production which can affect how foods are digested; microorganisms that live in our intestines including H pylori - an infection common among people living in developing countries but rarer among those living in developed areas
Thiamin (Vitamin B1)
Thiamin, also known as vitamin B1, plays an important role in helping the body convert carbohydrates into glucose.
This process is crucial to staying properly nourished and maintaining energy levels. Thiamin is found in whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, organ meats like liver and fish products like fresh tuna steaks.
Thiamin deficiency can lead to beriberi—a condition that causes symptoms of fatigue (you know you're tired when you think about walking up the stairs), heart failure and depression.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is important for bone health, and it can be made by the body when skin is exposed to sunlight.
Vitamin D is also found in some foods, such as fish and eggs.
People who don't get enough vitamin D may develop a disease called rickets or osteoporosis.
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 is an essential vitamin that plays a role in many important functions of the body.
In addition to helping with the production of hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells), it also helps convert carbohydrates into glucose, which your body uses as fuel.
It's also essential for the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps control mood, appetite, sleep and sensory perception.
Biotin (vitamin B7) and biotin deficiency, as well as its benefits and side effects.
Biotin is a water-soluble vitamin that your body needs to produce energy. It's also important for healthy hair, skin, and nails. You can find biotin in foods such as eggs, milk, tuna fish and peanut butter.
Biotin deficiency is rare because it's found in many foods. If you don't get enough biotin through your diet or have an illness that causes diarrhea — which causes the body to lose more nutrients than usual — you may develop a biotin deficiency.
Biotin deficiencies have been linked to seizures in infants and children with congenital metabolic disorders (disorders caused by abnormal metabolism).
Biotin (vitamin B7) is a water-soluble vitamin that plays an important role in the body. As one of the B vitamins, it helps metabolize fats and proteins, maintain healthy skin cells, keep hair and nails strong and healthy, produce energy from carbs, regulate blood sugar levels (insulin), synthesize cholesterol and fatty acids needed for cell membranes or hormone production*. It can be found naturally in some foods like eggs, cheese or wheat germ oil but most people consume sufficient amounts through fortified foods such as cereals or breads.
No need to panic ;)
If you are thinking "How on earth will I make sure i get all this" take time to look at what you re eating.
You may need to tweak your diet a little but chances are if you have a balanced diet you will be getting everything you need. if for some reason you are experiencing a symptom listed above you may need to supplement your diet with a vitamin tablet.
My best advice here is to look at what you need and get the specific vitamin not a multi. if you are experiencing a symptom reach out to your doctor or health professional