Although vitamins do not supply your body with the calories it uses as fuel for energy, vitamins play a vital role in the reactions that metabolize energy from food. According to the Nemours Foundation, the B vitamin family plays the largest role in your metabolism, so increasing your intake of B vitamins if they are deficient may help boost your energy.
Pantothenic Acid
Pantothenic acid, or vitamin B-5, is essential to the process of generating energy from food because it helps form some of the enzymes that work in various metabolic reactions. When you consume foods with pantothenic acid, your body uses the vitamin to form coenzyme A, which is used in the biochemical reactions that turn carbohydrates, fats and protein into energy. You should aim for around 5 mg of the vitamin daily so that you do not suffer from fatigue caused by a pantothenic acid deficiency.
Thiamin
Thiamin, also known as thiamine or vitamin B-1, is another B vitamin that helps form some of the enzymes that help make energy from food during the metabolic process. Thiamin is used primarily as a component in the enzymes that work in your cells' mitochondria. Mitochondria are structures found within your cells that take your digested food that has been reduced to simple glucose molecules and then transforms the molecules into energy, using enzymes like those formed from thiamin. According to the Linus Pauling Institute, you should aim for between 1.1 and 1.2 mg daily.
Riboflavin
Once in your body, riboflavin, also called vitamin B-2, forms coenzymes called flavocoenzymes. These flavocoenzymes participate in the oxidation-reduction biochemical reactions that are part of the metabolic process as links in a chain that transports electrons during these reactions. Without flavocoenzymes, your body could not break down carbohydrates, fats and proteins into energy. Men should aim for 1.3 mg daily of riboflavin, and women need around 1.1 mg every day.
Vitamin B-12
Although some energy drinks include B-12, saying that this vitamin will give you more energy is a misconception. B-12 does not necessarily increase your energy, but a B-12 deficiency can result in feelings of lightheadedness and fatigue. Because B-12 is used to make both hemoglobin and red blood cells, which work together to carry oxygen throughout your body, a deficiency in B-12 can result in a low count of red blood cells. This can prevent your body from getting the oxygen it needs, causing tiredness and a feeling of reduced energy.
References
- KidsHealth.org; Vitamins; January 2011
- Linus Pauling Institute; Macronutrient Information Center: Pantothenic Acid; Victoria J. Drake; April 2008
- Linus Pauling Institute; Macronutrient Information Center: Thiamin; Victoria J. Drake; June 2007
- Linus Pauling Institute; Macronutrient Information Center: Riboflavin; Victoria J. Drake; June 2007
- Office of Dietary Supplements; Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin B12; June 2011
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