Vitamins Found In Vegetables

A wide variety of vitamins can be found right in your refrigerator drawer, it's just a matter of knowing where to look. Vegetables contain an abundance of vitamins that can provide you with the essential nutrients your body needs to stay healthy. The choices of vegetables are wide, so knowing which foods provide which vitamins can help you determine how to combine them to fit your tastes and needs.

Vitamin A

Just a half cup of mashed baked sweet potato has 961 micrograms of vitamin A. That's more than enough vitamin A for most adults, whose recommended dietary allowance of vitamin A is from 700 to 900 micrograms per day. Other yellow and orange vegetables, including carrots, butternut squash and pumpkin are excellent sources of this essential nutrient. Vitamin A also occurs in some green vegetables like kale and collards. According to the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, vitamin A is regarded as the "anti-infective vitamin" because of its role in immune system functioning. It also is crucial to good vision. Deficiencies in vitamin A can lead to night blindness, a condition in which the eye cannot adjust to dim light. Other functions of vitamin A include facilitating red blood cell production and regulating gene expression.

B Vitamins

The B vitamins were once thought to be a single vitamin, but according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, they are now known to include eight separate substances. B vitamins support healthy metabolism and promote the growth and division of red blood cells. Leafy green vegetables, potatoes, lentils and beans are good sources of many B vitamins. True B vitamin deficiencies are uncommon, but according to research done at Oxford University, large quantities of B vitamins may combat memory problems in the elderly and slow the development of dementia.

Vitamin E

Leafy green vegetables, pumpkin, asparagus and broccoli are vegetables abundant in vitamin E, although the best food sources of vitamin E are oils like safflower and olive oil. According to the Linus Pauling Institute, many people do not get enough vitamin E. Its main role is as an antioxidant. Like other antioxidants, vitamin E helps protect cells from the harmful effects of free radicals. It also helps maintain the health of the immune system.

Vitamin K

According to "Essentials of Nutrition and Diet Therapy," the majority of vegetables contain some vitamin K, but green vegetables contain the most. Swiss chard, broccoli and parsley are all high in this vital nutrient. Named for the German word "koagulation," or "coagulation" in English, vitamin K plays a major role in blood clotting. It is also important to bone health.

Vitamin C

A powerful antioxidant, vitamin C is responsible for building and maintaining healthy tissue. According to "Essentials of Nutrition and Diet Therapy," deficiency in vitamin C results in fragile capillaries that readily rupture, poor bone health, and bleeding gums. Vitamin C is readily available in strawberries and citrus fruit, but some vegetables are also good sources. In fact, a half cup of raw, chopped red pepper has more vitamin C than 6 oz. of orange juice. Potatoes and broccoli also contain vitamin C.