Food Sources For Complete B Vitamin Complex

When vitamin B was initially discovered in the early 1900s, scientists believed it to be one organic compound necessary to support normal growth and development. Later research found that what they called vitamin B was actually a group of similar yet chemically distinct compounds. The B vitamin complex refers to 8 different vitamins essential to humans. Few food sources provide the complete vitamin B complex, but eating a well-balanced diet full of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and dairy provides the daily recommended intake for each B vitamin.

Daily Intake

The National Institute of Medicine Food and Nutrition Board provides a summary listing of the daily recommended intakes for each B vitamin in the vitamin B complex, including vitamin B-1 or thiamine, vitamin B-2 or riboflavin, vitamin B-3 or niacin, vitamin B-5 or pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-7 or biotin, vitamin B-9 or folic acid, and vitamin B-12. The IOM recommends adult women consume 1.1 mg of both thiamin and riboflavin per day, while men need 1.2 mg of thiamine and 1.3 mg of riboflavin. Adult women should consume 14 mg of niacin and men need 16 mg per day. Adult men and women both need 30 micrograms of biotin, 5 mg of pantothenic acid, 1.3 mg of vitamin B-6, 400 micrograms of folate and 2.4 micrograms of vitamin B-12.

Liver

Beef liver is one of the best food sources of complete vitamin B complex, providing all of the eight B vitamins. In addition to 29 g of protein, a 100 g serving contains 0.194 mg of thiamine, 3.425 mg riboflavin, 17.525 mg niacin, 7.11 mg pantothenic acid, 1 mg vitamin B-6, 253 micrograms of folate and 70.58 micrograms of vitamin B-12. The American Cancer Society lists liver as a source for biotin. This one serving of liver provides the complete daily recommended intake of riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid. The high content of vitamin B-12 in liver not only meets the daily recommended intake, but also provides plenty of extra for the body to store.

Whole Grains

The term "whole grain" describes a cereal grain, such as wheat, rye or barley, in its natural form. Whole grains contain three distinct parts: the germ, the bran and the endosperm. When grains are processed into refined grains, used for common foods like white flour and white rice, the bran and the germ are removed. The bran and the germ naturally contain the majority of the vitamins and minerals in the grain. Whole grains serve as a good source of half of the vitamin B complex with thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and folate. The amount depends upon the type of the whole grain and the product containing the whole grain.

Eggs

Although eggs contain about 185 mg of cholesterol, they do provide many essential vitamins and minerals. Eggs serve as a good source of B vitamins, containing five of the eight. The average large egg contains 0.09 mg of vitamin B-6 and 0.45 micrograms of vitamin B-12, with most of these found in the egg yolk -- the portion of the egg that also contains the majority of the fat and all of the cholesterol. Each egg also contains 26 micrograms of folate, 0.02 mg of thiamine and 0.2 mg of riboflavin.