B vitamins play a variety of roles in many bodily functions, but they are most commonly known for their ability to help metabolize, or break down, food. You need to consume foods rich in B vitamins throughout the day, since they are water soluble and are not stored in your body. Consuming certain foods ensures that you ingest adequate amounts of each of the B vitamins so you don't have to take a supplement.
Types of B Vitamins
There are eight B vitamins that you need in your daily diet. Thiamine is known as vitamin B-1 since it was the first of the B vitamins to be discovered. The remaining B vitamins include riboflavin or B-2, niacin or B-3, pantothenic acid or B-5, pyridoxine or B-6, biotin or B-7, B-12 and folic acid. Vitamin B-12 is unique in that it is the only vitamin that is attached to a mineral, cobalt, and it is stored in small amounts in your liver, reports the Office of Dietary Supplements.
Functions of B Vitamins
While the B vitamins are essential for the breakdown of food, each individual vitamin plays a certain role in metabolism and other functions. Thiamine is responsible for breaking carbs down into glucose, giving your cells the energy they need to work. Riboflavin is necessary for growth as well as the production of red blood cells. You need niacin to keep skin and nerves healthy. In addition to this, niacin has been shown to have beneficial effects on lowering high cholesterol, explains the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Pantothenic acid and biotin play a role in hormone production, as well as making some cholesterol that you need for the structure of cell walls and blood vessels. Pyridoxine helps form red blood cells and maintain brain function and regulates several chemical reactions. Vitamin B-12 also aids in red blood cell formation, in addition to maintaining your central nervous system. Folic acid helps produce DNA and is necessary for fetal growth in the womb. This nutrient is essential for women of childbearing age.
Animal Food Sources
Whole eggs are rich in several B vitamins, including thiamine, biotin, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and B-12. Since the majority of the nutrients are in the yolk, it is important to consume the entire egg, not just the egg white. Getting a few servings of dairy foods, like milk, each day provides all of the biotin, pantothenic acid, thiamine, riboflavin and B-12 you need. Poultry meat provides an array of B vitamins, including niacin, pantothenic acid, pyroxidine and B-12.
Vegetarian Food Sources
B vitamins are not as prevalent in grain and plant foods, but many foods are fortified with most or all of the B vitamins. Breakfast cereal, oatmeal and bread are common fortified foods that can provide most of the B vitamins you need per serving. Leafy greens, such as spinach, kale and romaine lettuce contain pantothenic acid and riboflavin. Yeast in foods offers biotin and folic acid; wheat germ, a food you can add to salads or cereal, is full of folic acid. Adding beans and legumes to your diet provides riboflavin, biotin, folic acid, niacin, pantothenic acid, thiamine and pyroxidine.
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