Your body needs various vitamins and minerals to perform its necessary functions. Vitamins can be divided into those that are soluble in water and those that dissolve in fat. The body stores fat-soluble vitamins in the liver and fat deposits, whereas water-soluble vitamins are not stored. Excess water-soluble vitamins get eliminated through the urine, so you must replenish them daily in your diet.
Vitamin B Complex
There are eight B vitamins your body needs known as the B complex group. The B vitamins act as co-enzymes in the process of obtaining energy from the food you eat. They also promote healthy skin, good appetite, good vision and a healthy nervous system. Folic acid is a B vitamin that is especially important during pregnancy. Your body needs adequate amounts of folate each day for normal spinal development of the fetus. Find B vitamins in a variety of foods. You will obtain most of the B vitamins by eating a varied diet with lean protein, green vegetables and grains. Vitamin B12, however, is only found in animal products such as meat, milk, fish and liver.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus fruits and leafy green vegetables. It plays a role in the body's formation of the collagen that keeps your skin and blood vessels strong and healthy. It helps your body heal from wounds and keeps your bones and teeth strong. Since your body rids itself of extra vitamin C daily, excess consumption is usually not dangerous. However, a vitamin C deficiency leads to bleeding gums, increased risk of infection, easy bruising and scurvy. Vitamin C does not last long in fresh foods. Cooking with high heat can destroy vitamin C, and boiling vegetables causes vitamin C to leach into the cooking water.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is also known as retinol. It plays a role in developing strong bones and teeth. You need an adequate amount of vitamin A to see in dim light, and it also keeps the linings of the mouth, nose and throat moist. You can find vitamin A in animal products, but plant products contain beta-carotene, which the body uses to make vitamin A. Although vitamin A deficiency is rare, it leads to night blindness and dry skin.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is necessary for your body to absorb calcium properly. It also helps your body to use phosphorus and keeps the bones and teeth strong. Your body can make its own vitamin D when you are in the sun, but you can find it in dairy products and oily fish such as herring and sardines. Deficiency of vitamin D causes rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. Both of these conditions result in soft, weak bones.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is an antioxidant that protects vitamins A and C from destruction. It is also protective of red blood cells and fatty acids. Get adequate vitamin E from vegetable oil, margarine, nuts, grains and seeds. University of Colorado indicates that vitamin E deficiency is very rare, usually only occurring in premature babies and individuals who cannot absorb fats from foods.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is essential for your blood to clot properly. The natural bacteria in your intestines produce some vitamin K, but you can also get it from leafy greens and vegetable oil. Deficiencies result in excessive bleeding due to your blood's inability to clot.
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