Vitamins are organic nutrients that your body needs to stay healthy. All vitamins are considered essential, but even though your body needs them, it cannot produce enough on its own. This means you must get them from food, drink or supplements. There are 13 essential vitamins in total.
Kira Fenton and Christina Savu, MDs at Prestige Physicians in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, strive to provide the best holistic care for their patients. This includes IV therapy to give you the vitamins and minerals you’re missing.
To help you understand the importance of vitamins to your health, our team has put together this guide to the 13 vitamins your body needs.
Microelements
Vitamins and minerals (inorganic nutrients) are called micronutrients because the body requires small amounts of each. Failure to take a small amount almost guarantees disease. Some examples include:
Scurvy: Vitamin C deficiency can cause bleeding gums and lethargy.
Blindness: Not getting enough vitamin A can cause your vision to deteriorate.
Rickets: Vitamin D deficiency causes soft and weak bones, which can lead to skeletal deformities.
Although vitamins and minerals are both micronutrients, they differ in their basic properties. Organic vitamins break down in heat, air, and acids, making them difficult to store and absorb. Inorganic minerals retain their chemical structure and easily enter the body through plants, fish, animals, and fluids.
9 water-soluble vitamins
Water-soluble vitamins move easily throughout the body, and excess is usually excreted by the kidneys. Water-soluble vitamins need to be taken in small doses, but niacin, vitamin B6, folate, choline, and vitamin C have a healthy upper limit—long-term high levels of vitamin B6 can cause irreversible nerve damage. A balanced diet provides adequate amounts of these vitamins.
Here are nine water-soluble vitamins, their uses and sources.
- Thiamine (Vitamin B1)
Uses: Part of enzymes important in energy metabolism; important for nerve function
Source: Pork; whole grain or enriched breads and cereals; legumes; nuts; and seeds
- Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
Uses: Part of enzymes important in energy metabolism; important for vision and skin health
Source: Milk and milk products; cereals, enriched breads and cereals; leafy green vegetables
- Niacin (Vitamin B3)
Uses: Part of enzymes important in energy metabolism; important for the health of the nervous system, skin and digestive system
Sources: Meat, poultry, fish, whole grain or enriched breads, cereals, asparagus, mushrooms, leafy green vegetables, peanut butter
- Pantothenic acid
Uses: Part of enzymes important in energy metabolism
Source: Widespread
- Biotin
Uses: Part of enzymes important in energy metabolism
Source: Widely distributed in foodstuffs; produced by intestinal bacteria
- Pyridoxine (vitamin B6)
Uses: Part of enzymes important in protein metabolism; helps make red blood cells
Sources: Meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, fruits
- Folic acid
Uses: Part of DNA and enzymes important for making new cells, especially red blood cells
Sources: Leafy green vegetables, legumes, seeds, liver, orange juice, now added to most refined grains.
- Cobalamin (vitamin B12)
Uses: Part of an enzyme important in the formation of new cells; important for normal nerve function
Sources: Meat, fish, seafood, poultry, eggs, milk, dairy products; not found in plant-based foods
- Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C)
Uses: Antioxidant; part of enzymes important in protein metabolism; helps absorb iron; important for the health of the immune system
Sources: Only fruits and vegetables, especially citrus fruits, cantaloupes, strawberries, kiwis, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, papayas, mangoes, and vegetables from the cabbage family.
