We’re told that vitamin intake is an important part of maintaining our health. But when there’s a vitamin for every letter in the alphabet, how are we supposed to know which ones we need and if they even work? Here’s a breakdown of (most of) the vitamins our body needs and how they affect our bodies.
According to Pharmacy Times, there are 13 essential vitamins. Normally, we should get a sufficient amount of these vitamins through the foods we eat, but due to dietary restrictions some people are deficient in certain vitamins.
- Vitamin A
-
Have you ever thought about the health of your eyes? Vitamin A is important for vision and produces a protein that helps your eyes absorb light in the retinal receptors! In addition to helping your eyesight, it also supports cell growth!
Found in: vegetables, salmon, eggs, whole milk, animal liver, some cereals!
*Information from National Institutes of Health
- Vitamin B
-
Things get a little complicated here. Vitamin B itself is split up into 8 different parts, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B8 and B12.
B1 & B2: helps the body produce energy from food!
B3: creates energy and keeps skin, nervous system and digestive system healthy.
B5 & B12: aids natural development.
B6 & B7: helps breakdown proteins and carbs.
B8: helps cells make and maintain DNA.
Found in: almost all foods!
*Information from Pharmacy Times
- Vitamin C
-
Vitamin C plays a part in creating collagen in your body, which helps your connective tissue, skin and hair! It is unclear if Vitamin C helps prevent colds, but it could help shorten the cold’s duration.
Found in: citrus fruits, tomatoes, spinach, broccoli!
*Information from Health Professional
- Vitamin D
-
Go outside! Vitamin D can be found through ultraviolet rays. It promotes calcium absorption which improves our bone health, and helps prevent long term problems like heart disease. Vitamin D deficiency could cause rashes in individuals with skin conditions like eczema, so Vitamin D supplements could help reduce these skin sensitivities.
Found in: fatty fish, cereals, sunlight!
*Information from Health Professional
- Vitamin E
-
Vitamin E strengthens the immune system and helps red blood cells! Research is being done to see if Vitamin E could decrease the risk of conditions like cancer and Alzheimers.
Found in: Nuts, seeds, vegetable oil, cereals, soybeans, corn
*Information from Health Professional
- Vitamin K
-
Vitamin K helps your blood clot and prevents excessive bleeding! It’s uncommon to take Vitamin K supplements.
Found in: spinach, beans, eggs, strawberries
*Information from WebMD
Now that you have a basic guide to vitamins, hopefully you’ll expand your palate to include more of these nutritious goodies!