B-complex vitamins are a group of water-soluble vitamins that your body needs to support overall health. Your body uses water-soluble vitamins quickly, and excess amounts are usually excreted through your urine. You need B-complex vitamins to support a variety of vital bodily processes, including metabolism and cell production. If you're concerned about the amount of B-complex vitamins that you're getting from your diet, talk with your physician or a registered dietitian.
Description
The B-complex vitamins include vitamin B1 or thiamin, B2 or riboflavin, B3 or niacin, B6 or pyridoxine and B12 or cobalamin, according to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Biotin, folate or folic acid and pantothenic acid or vitamin B5 are also part of the B-vitamin group. You can get B-complex vitamins from the foods in your diet, but biotin is both derived from foods and manufactured by your body.
Foods
Vitamin B1 or thiamin is found in pork, sunflower seeds, corn, nuts, cauliflower and oatmeal. Whole grains, peas and beans also contain thiamin. Riboflavin or vitamin B2 is found in organ meats, wild rice, almonds, mushrooms, wheat germ, dairy products, fish and some dark-green vegetables. Vitamin B3 or niacin is found in mostly animal-derived foods like chicken, pork, beef liver, veal, salmon, swordfish and mackerel, but you can also get niacin from bran, seeds, peanuts, wild rice, brown rice, peas, almonds, barley, peanuts and whole wheat. Eggs, liver, whole grains, milk and beans provide sufficient amounts of vitamin B5 or pantothenic acid, along with soybeans, nuts, mushrooms, split peas, sunflower seeds, red chili peppers and avocados. You can get vitamin B6 or pyridoxine from wheat germ, soybeans, bananas, avocados, lima beans, lentils, sunflower seeds, walnuts, buckwheat, watermelon, peanuts, meats, fish, poultry, whole grains and potato skins. Only animal-derived foods like meats, fish, eggs and dairy products contain vitamin B12 or cobalamin. But folate or folic acid is more typically found in many plant-based foods like soybeans, soy flour, dark-green leafy vegetables, rice, kelp, asparagus and oranges. You can also get folate from beef liver. In addition to being produced in your intestines, biotin is also found in eggs, milk, whole grains, liver, mushrooms, nuts, tomatoes and bananas.
Other Sources
Other good sources for B-complex vitamins include fortified cereals and other types of food products that are fortified with B vitamins, says the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Many breakfast cereals have added B-complex vitamins that can help you to meet your daily requirements. Fortified cereals and other food products are especially important for vegans and vegetarians, which cannot get enough vitamin B12 from their diets otherwise, because B12 is found only in animal-derived foods, MayoClinic.com says. Also, many B vitamins are contained in nutritional and brewer's yeasts. Specifically, you can get vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5 and B6, as well as folate and biotin from nutritional and brewer's yeasts. This is all the B-complex vitamins except for vitamin B12.
Considerations
Choline is considered an unofficial B-complex vitamin that's most essential in young children for healthy brain development, learning and memory, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Choline is found in foods like meats, liver, peanuts, eggs and cauliflower. Additionally, if you're following a vegan or vegetarian diet, you might get plenty of folate but not enough vitamin B12. The problem is that high levels of folate can mask a vitamin B12 deficiency.
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