There are 13 vitamins referred to as essential because your body cannot produce them and must obtain them through the food you eat. These vitamins fall into one of two groups: water-soluble vitamins and fat-soluble vitamins. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble vitamins, which mean they accumulate in your body. Vitamins C and the B vitamins -- thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, biotin, folic acid, pantothenic acid, B-6 and B-12 -- are the water-soluble vitamins, which means that you need to replenish them every day because your body flushes out any excess that it does not immediately use. The exception is vitamin B-12, which your body can store.
Dosages
The required daily allowance for vitamin A is 3000 IU for males and 2333 IU for females. You need from 800 to 1000 IU of vitamin D per day and 22 IU of vitamin E. The recommended daily allowance for vitamin K is 120 micrograms for males and 90 for females. Vitamin C daily requirements are around 90 mg for adult males and 75 mg for adult females. You need 1.2 mg of thiamine if you are male and 1.0 mg if you are female. For riboflavin, you need 1.3 mg if you are male, 1.0 mg if you are female. For niacin, you need 16 mg if you are male and 14 mg if you are female. Males and females need 5 mg of pantothenic acid daily, 1.3 mg of B-6, 2.4 mg of B-12, 30 mg of biotin and 400 mg of folate.
Sources
Eggs, liver, cheese, meat and cream contain vitamin A. Vitamin D is in cheese and cream as well as fish and oysters. Olives, seeds, nuts, spinach and other green leafy vegetables are good sources of vitamin E, while cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, soybeans and cereals are good sources for vitamin K. You can get folate from green, leafy vegetables; niacin from dairy products, poultry, fish, lean meats, nuts, eggs and legumes; and pantothenic acid and biotin from eggs, fish, dairy products, whole-grain cereals, legumes, yeast and broccoli and other vegetables in the cabbage family. Thiamine can be gained from eating whole grains, lean meats, fish, dried beans, peas, soybeans and dairy products, and vitamin B-12 comes from meat, eggs, poultry, shellfish, milk and milk products. Citrus fruits and juices, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, turnip and other greens, sweet and white potatoes and cantaloupe are good sources for vitamin C.
Vitamin Deficiency Anemia
When you don't consume the vitamins you need in sufficient amounts, you can develop a condition called vitamin-deficiency anemia. In this condition, your body is not able to produce enough red blood cells to bring an adequate supply of oxygen to the cells in your body, and the result is that you always feel tired. In addition, you have memory problems, feel a tingling in your hands and feet, become irritable, your movements become unsteady, and you have bouts of diarrhea. These symptoms are mild at first, but if your vitamin deficiency goes untreated, the symptoms worsen. Fortunately, all it takes to overcome this condition is to make changes in your food choices, take supplements or do both.
Toxicities of Fat Soluble Vitamins
Taking in more than the recommended daily dosage of vitamins is unwise, especially with fat-soluble vitamins, which accumulate in your body. These have a greater risk of causing toxic symptoms, especially over an extended period. Prolonged overdosing of vitamin A can cause blindness and be life threatening. With an excess of vitamin D, the physical growth and mental development in children can be retarded, and life-threatening kidney failure can result. High doses of vitamin E can cause bleeding problems, and high doses of vitamin K can cause bone loss, soft tissue calcification and other complications that can lead to death.
Toxicities of Water Soluble Vitamins
Since your body eliminates any unused water-soluble vitamins, overdosing on them is rare but possible. Thiamin, B-12 and biotin have not been found to have any evidence of toxicity. Although there has been no report of toxicity from pantothenic acid, there is some evidence that high dosages of this vitamin can cause liver damage in rats. Niacin can cause ulcers, gout, diabetes or liver damage; discontinuing high doses reverses these conditions. An excess of B-6 causes nerve damage, which may result in permanent numbness in the feet and hands. There may be a connection between large doses of folate and prostate cancer. High doses of vitamin C can cause headaches and diarrhea.
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