Most drugstores offer a wide selection of micronutrients including daily vitamins, mega vitamins, hair vitamins and even nervous system vitamins. A list of vitamins and their beneficial effects will help make choosing vitamins easier when standing in front of an overwhelming vitamin section. The Harvard Public School of Health recommends a simple daily vitamin paired with a healthy diet to obtain all the bodies' nutritional needs.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is naturally occurring in orange vegetables in the form of beta carotene. This vitamin promotes healthy eyesight, blood component formation and cell growth and division.
B Vitamins
There are eight vitamins in the B complex family. These eight include thiamine, riboflavin, biotin, folic acid, cobalamin, niacin, pantothenic acid and pyridoxine, according to the American Cancer Society. Vitamin B complex is responsible for creating and using energy sources in food and healthy cell development with protein metabolism. The B vitamin folic acid is an important part of the pregnant mother's diet as this vitamin helps form the healthy, growing tissues of the fetus.
Vitamin C
Also known as ascorbic acid, vitamin C is prescribed to treat a wasting condition called scurvy. It is an antioxidant that removes waste byproducts from metabolism called free radicals. Free radicals play a role in cancer development and aging, according to the National Institutes of Health. Abundant in citrus fruits such as oranges, vitamin C assists the immune system which is responsible for keeping the body healthy.
Vitamin D
Without vitamin D, bones become brittle and can break very easily. Vitamin D is found in fortified cereals and milk; it is also synthesized by the body after sunlight exposure, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements. A fat soluble vitamin, the body can store tiny amounts of vitamin D for future use. Vitamin D allows the body to use the calcium that is ingested to strengthen bones and prevent diseases such as osteoporosis.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is an antioxidant and vital to skin and cellular health. Vitamin E, also known as tocopherol, can prevent heart disease, according to the Harvard Public School of Health. Vitamin E is available naturally in foods such as fortified cereals, grains, legumes and nuts or in capsules or multivitamins. The Harvard Public School of Health promotes that a daily multiple vitamin will contain all the vitamin E that is needed by the body.
Vitamin K
According to the Linus Pauling Institute of Oregon State University, the primary function of vitamin K is to stop bleeding. Vitamin K initiates the clotting process the body uses to stop blood from flowing freely out of cuts. Without sufficient vitamin K, even a paper cut could be deadly. People taking the prescription drug warfarin should not take vitamin K supplements as they may counteract the effects of this important blood thinner. Vitamin K is found in a variety of foods including oils and dark green vegetables.
