Vitamins are an essential part of a healthy diet. However, as more foods become processed, the nutritional content in our meals decreases. Some people try to remedy this by taking supplements. While some supplements do fill in the gaps between what your diet provides and what your body needs, you still need to get most of your vitamins from healthy food choices. There's no way to get away from eating plenty of fruits and vegetables.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is part of the retinyl group. It is essential for healthy bodily function and can be found in a variety of foods. Vitamin A is often supplemented in the form of retinol and used to treat conditions like acne and wrinkles. Common foods containing Vitamin A include carrot, kale, liver, pork, chicken, sweet potato, butter, broccoli, pumpkin, collard greens and turkey.
Vitamin B
Vitamin B is actually a collection of eight different vitamins. You'll find this collection of vitamins under the name vitamin B complex. The individual vitamins that make up vitamin B, or vitamin B complex, include B1 or thiamine, B2 or riboflavin, B3 or niacin, B5 or pantothenic acid, B6 or pyridoxine, B7 or biotin, B9 or folic acid and B12 or cyanocobalamin.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C, also known as L-ascorbic acid, helps keep the immune system in healthy shape. People often use supplements of this vitamin to stave off a cold or flu. It's present in all citrus fruits and is an essential component to a healthy diet. When someone is vitamin C-deficient, he can develop scurvy, which he can also treat with supplements.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble vitamins called D2 and D3, to be specific. Most people get the majority of their vitamin D intake from sun exposure. In fact, 15 minutes of unprotected UV sun exposure is recommended to get the amount of vitamin D you need, according to MedlinePlus, a National Institutes of Health website. This vitamin is also present in some foods and is added to milk to allow for proper calcium metabolism.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is actually a group of vitamins that are required to process the proteins responsible for blood coagulation. Eating plenty of green leafy vegetables will provide plenty of vitamin K for your system. Swiss chard, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach, Brussels sprouts, kiwi and avocado also include Vitamin K.
Vitamin P
Vitamin P is the name for a group of bioflavonoids. It comes from the word polyphenol and is responsible for helping the body process vitamin C properly. It also prevents blood clots and keeps the capillaries healthy. You can most readily find vitamin P in the pulp from citrus fruits.
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