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Vitamin A
- What It Does: When your parents told you to eat
your carrots for your vision, they were right. That’s because the root
vegetable is among the orange-hued foods rich in vitamin A. According to
Heather Fiore, M.S.Ed., RD, LD, CDCES,
vitamin A also supports your immune system and skin health. You may
recognize the names beta carotene and retinol. Both are converted in the
body to vitamin A.
- How Much You Need: 700 to 900 mcg daily
- What Deficiencies Cause: Weakened immune system, dry eyes and poor night vision
- Food Sources: Sweet potatoes, carrots, cantaloupe, leafy greens and eggs. Because vitamin A is fat-soluble, it’s best to combine it with healthy fats. An ideal pairing would be sautéing kale in olive oil.
Vitamin B1
- What It Does:
Also known as thiamin, vitamin B1 helps convert the food we eat into
energy. Like all B vitamins, B1 is found mostly in animal products, but
there are vegan sources, too.
- How Much You Need: 1 to 1.2 mcg daily
- What Deficiencies Cause: Confusion, muscle weakness, enlarged heart and short-term memory issues2
- Food Sources: Pork, beans, and grains (like bread and pasta) that are fortified with the vitamin
Vitamin B2
- What It Does:
You may already know B2 by its other name, riboflavin. Like B1, it
helps turn food into fuel for our bodies, and it keeps our skin and eyes
healthy, among the many other cells in the body that it helps to grow
and restore.3
- How Much You Need: 1.1 to 1.3 mcg daily
- What Deficiencies Cause: Anemia, migraines, cataracts and skin problems
- Food Sources: Milk, yogurt, eggs and almonds
Vitamin B3
- What It Does:
Alternatively known as niacin, when vitamin B3 is absorbed, it’s
converted into a form that is used by more than 400 enzymes to spur
reactions. And like other B vitamins, B3 helps metabolize food into
fuel.
- How Much You Need: 14 to 16 mg daily
- What Deficiencies Cause:
Extreme deficiency can lead to pellagra, which causes skin to become
rough (like a sunburn) and brown when exposed to the sun. It can also
cause depression, headaches and fatigue
- Food Sources: Poultry, fish, peanuts and whole grains
Vitamin B5
- What It Does:
Pantothenic acid, as vitamin B5 is also known, is a standout among B
vitamins. “This one actually plays a bigger role in our hormones, and
then again, with turning food into energy, it helps break down and
metabolize our food like fats and carbohydrates,” says Rancourt.
- How Much You Need: 5 mg daily
- What Deficiencies Cause: Gastrointestinal issues, sleeplessness, numbness or burning in the extremities
- Food Sources: Organ meats, fortified cereals, mushrooms, sunflower seeds
Vitamin B6
- What It Does:
Also called pyridoxine, the role of B6 is to convert food into fuel to
help grow and regenerate our brain cells. It also supports immune
function.
- How Much You Need: 1.3 to 1.7 mg daily
- What Deficiencies Cause: Low immunity, depression and anemia
- Food Sources: Chickpeas, bananas, potatoes and fortified cereals
Vitamin B7
- What It Does:
Also known as biotin, B7 supports brain health and, like other B
vitamins, helps create fuel from the carbs, protein and fat that we eat.
- How Much You Need: 30 mcg daily
- What Deficiencies Cause: Hair loss, brittle nails, seizures, depression and fatigue
- Food Sources: Eggs (especially the yolk), nuts and seeds
Vitamin B9
- What It Does:
Anyone who’s been pregnant knows B9, also called folate. “This one’s
especially important during pregnancy in particular, because it does
help with cell growth and DNA production,” says Rancourt.
- How Much You Need: 400 mcg (600 mcg during pregnancy) daily
- What Deficiencies Cause: It can cause neural tube defects in fetuses. For adults, anemia and fatigue are the main potential issues
- Food Sources: Leafy greens, beans and lentils
Vitamin B12
- What It Does:
Perhaps the most famous of the B vitamins, B12 is a powerhouse for
creating energy, but it also supports nerve health and the formation of
red blood cells.
- How Much You Need: 2.4 mcg daily
- What Deficiencies Cause: Anemia and fatigue
- Food Sources: Meat, fortified cereals, blackstrap molasses and nutritional yeast
Vitamin C
- What It Does:
There’s more to vitamin C than staving off colds. It also helps our
bodies absorb iron and plays a role in producing collagen.
- How Much You Need: 75 to 90 mg daily
- What Deficiencies Cause:
Yes, scurvy is a possibility, but it’s more likely that you’ll notice
your gums bleeding when you brush your teeth or that you bruise more
easily.
- Food Sources: Kiwi, citrus, strawberries, bell peppers, tomatoes and broccoli. Pairing iron-rich foods with a food rich in vitamin C can help with iron absorption.
Vitamin D
- What It Does: Vitamin D helps absorb calcium, which keeps our bones and teeth strong. It also helps reduce inflammation.
National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Vitamin D.
- How Much You Need: 15 to 20 mcg (600 to 800 IUs) daily
- What Deficiencies Cause: Low energy, higher risk of depression and osteoporosis
- Food Sources: Fatty fish (like salmon), egg yolks and fortified dairy
Vitamin E
- What It Does:
Vitamin E is an antioxidant. “These little things are these tiny
warriors, if you will, that help protect our cells from damage. So it’s
helpful for a number of reasons at the cellular level,” says Rancourt.
This includes helping with both immunity and blood flow.
- How Much You Need: 15 mg daily
- What Deficiencies Cause: Low immunity and nerve damage
- Food Sources: Nuts, seeds, olive oil, leafy greens and avocado.15 Like vitamin A, it’s best to pair vitamin E with healthy fats for optimal absorption. Making a healthy vinaigrette with olive oil for your salad will do, says Fiore.
Vitamin K
- What It Does:
Instrumental in our bone health and blood clotting, vitamin K might not
be as much of a household name as many of the other vitamins, but we
still need to include dark-green vegetables in our diets to make sure we
get enough of it each day.
- How Much You Need: 90 to 120 mcg daily
- What Deficiencies Cause: Uncontrolled bleeding and osteoporosis
- Food Sources: Kale, spinach, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Vitamin K is also fat-soluble, so Rancourt recommends side dishes like roasted broccoli drizzled with olive oil.
Our Expert Take
The takeaway here is that you can get what you need to power your body on a daily basis through everyday foods. Each trip to the grocery store is an exercise in both art and science—planning your meals with vitamin intake in mind should be a color-filled palette for your creativity. As long as you keep your diet varied, you will likely get the vitamins you need.
Dietitians encourage mixing and matching whole, minimally processed foods to create a rainbow of flavors and nutrition that covers the entire spectrum of our vitamin needs.
