What Vitamins Do What?

For years, your mother, your doctor, and TV commercials have been telling you to take your vitamins, but how do you know which vitamins you need and what vitamins are best suited to do what in your body? How do you know what’s important and which ones your body is lacking? And furthermore, is a daily multivitamin really necessary, or are you getting all the vitamins you need from the foods you eat? This handy guide will walk you through each of the major vitamins you need, how you can get them, and what vitamins do what.

Each of the major vitamins serve a specific purpose in the maintenance and healthy growth of your body:

• Vitamin A aids in growth, appetite, taste and eyesight. If you don’t get enough vitamin A, you may find yourself experiencing night blindness. Some good sources of vitamin A are yellow fruits (lemons, bananas, plantains, pineapple, winter and summer squash, yellow peppers, corn, quince, star fruit), carrots, green leafy vegetables, milk, egg yolks, liver, and fish-liver oil.
• Vitamin B1 is good for your nervous system, heart, muscles, digestion, and nerve tissues damaged by alcohol use. A vitamin B1 deficiency displays itself through a variety of symptoms including lack of concentration, confusion, exhaustion, loss of appetite, a tingling in your extremities, or difficulty maintaining your balance. To be sure you get enough vitamin B1, be sure to include some of the following in your diet: rice, yeast, whole meal products, peanuts, milk, pork, or liver.
• Vitamin B2 helps you grow. It also helps you grow healthy nails and hair, it helps you maintain healthy skin, sensitive lips and tongue, and eyesight. Additionally, vitamin B1 aids in the breakdown of protein, fat, and carbohydrates. You can suspect a vitamin B1 deficiency if you experience itchiness around your face – itchy eyes, nose, mouth, throat, or lips. Vitamin B2 is found in green leafy vegetables, fish, cheese, yeast, milk and liver.
• Vitamin B6 helps the body absorb carbohydrates and proteins. It also helps prevent nerve problems and skin conditions. If your skin is inflamed, it may be due to a lack of vitamin B6 in your body. If you are taking a contraceptive pill, you may require more vitamin B6 than other people. Get the vitamin B6 you need by eating whole grains, dried beans, bananas, fish, chicken, and pork.
• Vitamin B12 is partially responsible for making red blood and forming your nerves. A vitamin B12 deficiency would result in dizziness, difficulty breathing, or fatigue. If you are a strict vegetarian or vegan, you are likely to be B12 deficient because it is found in milk, cheese, fish, liver, beef, and pork. If you don’t eat these foods, you may want to consider taking a supplement of 1 microgram of vitamin B12 a day.
• Vitamin C, apart from being a natural laxative, is on the front lines of defense for your immune system. It protects you from viruses and bacteria, reduces cholesterol, increases the lifespan of your cells, prevents scurvy, and helps heal wounds. If you don’t get enough vitamin C, you may experience tiredness and bleeding gums, and you will notice that wounds take longer to heal. Get your daily dose of vitamin C by eating citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits, kiwi), berries, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, cauliflower, and green leafy vegetables.
• Vitamin D, as you may know, is good for building strong teeth and bones. If your teeth are unhealthy or your bones are weak, it may be because you aren’t getting enough vitamin D. Vitamin D is found in dairy products, tuna, sardines, herring, salmon, and cod-liver oil, but getting vitamin D is the easiest thing in the world: With direct exposure to sunlight on the skin, your body naturally manufactures vitamin D. Just 10 minutes of exposure to the sun every day will get you all the vitamin D you need, and you won’t have to eat cod-liver oil.
• Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that fights off toxins. Without it, your muscles weaken, and you may experience fertility problems. Get plenty of vitamin E by eating nuts, soy beans, vegetable oil, spinach, sprouts, broccoli, whole meal products, and eggs.
• Vitamin K helps the body transport calcium, so it is necessary for healthy bones and blood clotting. Excessive or uncontrollable bleeding may be signs of a vitamin K deficiency. The best source of vitamin K is, once again, those leafy greens.
• Folic Acid is especially important in the first trimester of pregnancy. During that time, it can help to prevent birth defects like cleft palate, cleft lip and spina bifida. It also aids in the production of red blood cells. If you notice that your tongue is particularly red, or that you are very tired, it may be due to a folic acid deficiency. Get it in whole wheat, rye, beans, green leafy vegetables, pumpkin, avocado, apricots, melon, carrots, yeast, eggs, and liver.

Now that you know what vitamins do what and where to get them, you can see that a daily multivitamin may not be necessary if you eat a properly balanced diet. Even vegetarians can get all the vitamins they need without resorting to supplements (although vegans may need to add a B12 supplement). Bon appetit!