What Foods Give Us B Complex Vitamins?

Vitamin B-complex is composed of eight different vitamins. The eight vitamins are thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), pyridoxine (B6), biotin (B7), folic acid or folate (B9) and cobalamin (B12). B vitamins play a vital role in the body's metabolism, growth and development by forming into coenzymes that aid in chemical reactions. B vitamins are in a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, meats and legumes.

Foods Containing Entire Vitamin-B Complex

There is a short list of foods that contain all eight vitamins in the vitamin-B complex. Food sources that contain all eight B vitamins include whole grains, fortified grains, fortified breads, fortified cereals and meat.

Individual Vitamin B Food Sources

Some food sources contain large amounts of individual B vitamins. A diet consisting of a wider variety of foods ensures proper intake of all vitamins in the vitamin-B complex.

Thiamine is utilized for energy metabolism. Foods containing high amounts of thiamine include pork, soy milk, acorn squash, watermelon, flour tortillas and pinto beans.

Riboflavin is also part of energy metabolism and is contained in milk products, liver, flour tortillas, canned clams, mushrooms, broccoli and eggs.

Niacin is part of a coenzyme utilized during energy metabolism. Niacin-rich foods include milk, eggs, meat (especially liver and ground beef), canned tuna, poultry (especially chicken breast), fish, nuts, flour tortillas, tofu, potatoes, cottage cheese, mushrooms and all other foods containing protein.

Pantothenic acid is part of coenzyme A which has a role in energy metabolism. Pantothenic acid is concentrated in foods such as organ meats, mushrooms, avocados and broccoli.

Pyrodoxine aids amino acid and fatty acid metabolism as well as red blood cell formation. Foods that are rich sources of pyrodoxine include meats, fish, poultry, potatoes, legumes, non-citrus fruits, liver, soy products, bananas and prune juice.

Biotin is utilized as part of a coenzyme in energy metabolism, fat synthesis, glycogen formation and amino acid metabolism. Biotin is found in food sources including organ meats, egg yolks, soy products and fish.

Folate which has an important role in new cell formation can be found in leafy green vegetables, legumes, seeds, tofu, organge juice, liver, pinto beans, lentils, asparagus, broccoli and tomato juice.

Cobalamin, which plays a role in new cell formation, nerve cell maintenance and helps to break down amino acids and fatty acids is found in animal sources such as meat, fish, poultry, shellfish, milk, cheese and eggs.

Recommended Daily Intake

Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of vitamin-b complex vitamins for adults are: thiamine (B1) (RDA for men is 1.2 mg per day, for women it is 1.1 mg per day), riboflavin (B2) (RDA for men is 1.3 mg per day, for women it is 1.1 mg per day), niacin (B3) (RDA for men is 16 mg per day, for women it is 14 mg per day), pantothenic acid (B5) (the RDA for adults is 5 mg per day), pyrodoxine (B6) (the RDA for adults is 1.3 mg per day), biotin (B7) (the RDA for adults is 30 micrograms per day), folate or folic acid (B9) (the RDA for adults is 400 micrograms per day), and cobalamin (B12) the RDA for adults is 2.4 micrograms per day). The RDA was determined by the National Academies of Sciences as the average daily amount of a nutrient considered adequate to meet the needs of most healthy people.