Heather Fiore, M.S.Ed., RD, LD, CDCES<\/a>, 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.
\nHow Much You Need: 700 to 900 mcg daily
\nWhat Deficiencies Cause: Weakened immune system, dry eyes and poor night vision
\nFood Sources: Sweet potatoes, carrots, cantaloupe, leafy greens and eggs. Because vitamin A is fat-soluble, it\u2019s best to combine it with healthy fats. An ideal pairing would be saut\u00e9ing kale in olive oil.<\/p>\n Vitamin B1
\n 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 dailyWhat Deficiencies Cause: Confusion, muscle weakness, enlarged heart and short-term memory issuesFood Sources: Pork, beans, and grains (like bread and pasta) that are fortified with the vitamin<\/p>\n
Vitamin B2
\n 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.How Much You Need: 1.1 to 1.3 mcg dailyWhat Deficiencies Cause: Anemia, migraines, cataracts and skin problemsFood Sources: Milk, yogurt, eggs and almonds<\/p>\n
Vitamin B3
\n What It Does: Alternatively known as niacin, when vitamin B3 is absorbed, it\u2019s 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.\u00a0How Much You Need: 14 to 16 mg dailyWhat 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 fatigueFood Sources: Poultry, fish, peanuts and whole grains<\/p>\n
Vitamin B5
\n What It Does: Pantothenic acid, as vitamin B5 is also known, is a standout among B vitamins. \u201cThis 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,\u201d says Rancourt.How Much You Need: 5 mg dailyWhat Deficiencies Cause: Gastrointestinal issues, sleeplessness, numbness or burning in the extremitiesFood Sources: Organ meats, fortified cereals, mushrooms, sunflower seeds<\/p>\n
Vitamin B6
\n 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.\u00a0How Much You Need: 1.3 to 1.7 mg dailyWhat Deficiencies Cause: Low immunity, depression and anemiaFood Sources: Chickpeas, bananas, potatoes and fortified cereals<\/p>\n
Vitamin B7
\n 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 dailyWhat Deficiencies Cause: Hair loss, brittle nails, seizures, depression and fatigueFood Sources: Eggs (especially the yolk), nuts and seeds<\/p>\n
Vitamin B9
\n What It Does: Anyone who\u2019s been pregnant knows B9, also called folate. \u201cThis one\u2019s especially important during pregnancy in particular, because it does help with cell growth and DNA production,\u201d says Rancourt.How Much You Need: 400 mcg (600 mcg during pregnancy) dailyWhat Deficiencies Cause: It can cause neural tube defects in fetuses. For adults, anemia and fatigue are the main potential issuesFood Sources: Leafy greens, beans and lentils<\/p>\n
Vitamin B12
\n 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.\u00a0How Much You Need: 2.4 mcg dailyWhat Deficiencies Cause: Anemia and fatigueFood Sources: Meat, fortified cereals, blackstrap molasses and nutritional yeast<\/p>\n
Vitamin C
\n What It Does: There\u2019s more to vitamin C than staving off colds. It also helps our bodies absorb iron and plays a role in producing collagen.\u00a0How Much You Need: 75 to 90 mg dailyWhat Deficiencies Cause: Yes, scurvy is a possibility, but it\u2019s more likely that you\u2019ll notice your gums bleeding when you brush your teeth or that you bruise more easily.\u00a0Food 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vitamin D
\n What It Does: Vitamin D helps absorb calcium, which keeps our bones and teeth strong. It also helps reduce inflammation.How Much You Need: 15 to 20 mcg (600 to 800 IUs) dailyWhat Deficiencies Cause: Low energy, higher risk of depression and osteoporosisFood Sources: Fatty fish (like salmon), egg yolks and fortified dairy<\/p>\n
Vitamin E
\n What It Does: Vitamin E is an antioxidant. \u201cThese little things are these tiny warriors, if you will, that help protect our cells from damage. So it\u2019s helpful for a number of reasons at the cellular level,\u201d says Rancourt. This includes helping with both immunity and blood flow.How Much You Need: 15 mg dailyWhat Deficiencies Cause: Low immunity and nerve damageFood Sources: Nuts, seeds, olive oil, leafy greens and avocado. Like vitamin A, it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Vitamin K
\n 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 dailyWhat Deficiencies Cause: Uncontrolled bleeding and osteoporosisFood 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Our Expert Take <\/p>\n
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\u2014planning 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.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eating a colorful range of foods helps ensure your body gets the vitamins it needs.\u00a0From vitamin A to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":143704,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[102,6636,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-143703","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-nutrition","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}