Vitamins are essential nutrients you need in small quantities from foods and supplements. Your body uses vitamins to promote health and reduce risk of disease. Each vitamin plays a different role in your body in growth and development of cells, tissues and organs and biological processes. Ask your doctor or nutritionist about the importance of vitamins in your diet and prevention of disease.
What Are the Names of Vitamins?
There are two categories of vitamins that comprise a total of 13 organic compounds. All vitamins have a chemical name and most also have an associated letter character. The fat-soluble vitamins include A or retinol, retinoic acid and retinaldehyde, D or calciferol, E or tocopherol and tocotrienole and K or phylloquinone. These vitamins accumulate and are stored in your body. Taking high doses of fat-soluble vitamins can increase your risk of liver and kidney toxicity. Your body quickly uses water-soluble vitamins or excretes the unused portion. Water-soluble vitamins are not stored in your body, so you need to consume them daily. The water soluble vitamins include B complex and vitamin C. B complex includes B-1 or thiamin, B-2 or riboflavin, B-3 or niacin, B-5 or pantothenic acid, B-6 or pyridoxine, pyridoxal and pyridoxamine and B-12 or cobalamin. Biotin and folate are the remaining B vitamins.
Which Vitamins Are Antioxidants?
Antioxidants are nutrients that may protect your cells from chemicals such as free radicals, toxins and other harmful substances, as well as radiation. Free radicals are a type of chemical substance that can damage your cells, stimulate aging and increase your susceptibility to cancer, atherosclerosis and other chronic diseases. Vitamins A, C and E have antioxidant properties and may stimulate your immune system to protect against foreign invaders, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites.
What Foods Contain the Most Vitamins?
Most foods contain vitamins. Yet fruits and vegetables have the highest concentrations of most vitamins or chemicals, such as beta carotene, that are precursors to vitamins. Harvard School of Public Health recommends that you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables every day so you can not only obtain the daily requirements for good health, but also enable you to reduce the risk of chronic conditions that include high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, loss of vision, gastrointestinal illness and cancer.
What Are the Best Source of Vitamin B12?
Vitamin B-12 is needed in minute quantities. Yet a deficiency of vitamin B-12 is common, particularly among vegetarians and the elderly. Vitamin B-12 is found almost exclusively in animal products, particularly in high amounts in shell fish and moderate amounts in fish, meat and dairy. You can also obtain it from processed foods enriched with the vitamin. The elderly can become deficient in vitamin B as a result of reduced levels of stomach acidity and declining ability to absorb the substance through the intestine. Doctors often recommend vitamin B-12 supplements, either in pills or in some cases, injection, to vegetarians and the elderly.
References
- Centers For Disease Control and Prevention: Vitamins and Minerals
- Harvard School of Public Health: Vitamins
- MedlinePlus: Antioxidants
- Harvard School of Public Health: Vegetables and Fruits: Get Plenty Every Day
- Office of Dietary Supplements National Institutes of Health: Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin B12
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