Table of Contents
What is vitamin?
The meaning of word vitamine’ is a ‘vital amine’. Vitamins are the powerful organic compounds that are very essential for functions, growth, and development of the cell in our body. It is found in foods in small concentrations.
Vitamins have specific and vital functions in the body chemistry. They are like electric sparks which help to run the human motor.
Except for a few exceptions, vitamins cannot be synthesized in our body and their absence or improper absorption develop specific deficiency disease.
Who found vitamins?
Vitamins are first invented by a Polish researcher Dr. Cacimir Funk in 1911, who designated new food substances in the successful treatment of beriberi. Beriberi is a deficiency disease caused by Vitamin B1 or thiamine.
How many types of vitamins are there?
Each vitamin is different in terms of their physiological function, chemical structure, and their distribution in food.
They are mainly classified into two categories. One is fat-soluble vitamins and the other is water-soluble vitamins.
Which vitamins are soluble in water?
Vitamin B complex and vitamin C are water-soluble vitamins.
Water-soluble means these vitamins easily dissolves in water. Some portion of these vitamins are also destroyed by heating or cooking.
These vitamins can’t be stored in the body and so we have to take it on a daily basis in our food. Extra quantity taken in any one day is eliminated as waste.
Their values are given in milligrams or micrograms.
Here is some detail of water-soluble vitamins with natural sources, it’s function, daily recommended allowance, and disorders caused by their deficiency.
Vitamin B complex
There is a large variety of vitamins in the B group. We will discuss these 8 water-soluble vitamins in this category.
Vitamin B1
Vitamin B1 is also known as thiamine and it is the first B vitamin to be discovered.
Function:
This vitamin plays an important role in the normal function of the nervous system, regulation of carbohydrates, and better digestion. It acts as a coenzyme.
Deficiency:
Deficiency of Vitamin B1 causes the disease name Beriberi and may also cause serious digestive system impairment, chronic constipation, diabetes, weight loss, mental depression, nervous exhaustion, muscle, and heart weakness.
Source:
Natural dietary sources are wheat germ, outer layer of whole grain, nuts, seeds, liver, peas, legumes, dark green leafy vegetables, milk, eggs, banana, apple, etc.
Recommended Daily Allowance:
1.2 milligram in adults and 0.5 – 0.9 milligram in children. The requirement for this vitamin increases during illness, stress, surgery, pregnancy, and lactation.
Vitamin B2
It is also known as Riboflavin and it also acts as a coenzyme in different chemical reactions.
Function:
It is essential for the growth and health of the body and beneficial for healthy eyes, skin, nails, and hair.
It is also helpful in the conversion of nutrients into energy, conversion of Vitamin B6 into the active form, and conversion of tryptophan into niacin that is vitamin B3.
Deficiency:
Deficiency of this vitamin causes burning sensation in legs, lips, and tongue, inflamed and sore tongue, sore throat, anemia, premature wrinkles of face and arm as well as other skin problems.
Source:
The main sources are green leafy vegetables, milk, cheese, wheat germ, egg, almond, sunflower and other seeds, citrus foods, tomatoes, etc.
Daily recommended allowance:
For adult is 1.3 milligram and for children is 0.5 – 0.9 milligram.
Vitamin B3
It is also known as niacin or nicotinic acid. It is the only vitamin in our body produced from another nutrient that is tryptophan which is one of the amino acids.
Function:
It plays an important role in the healthy functioning of the nervous system and proper protein and carbohydrate metabolism. It is also essential for the synthesis of sex hormone, thyroxine, and insulin.
Deficiency:
Deficiency causes pellagra. The main symptoms of pellagra are inflamed skin, soreness of the mouth, frequent stool, insomnia, and dementia.
Source:
The main sources are liver, fish, poultry, peanut, whole wheat, green leafy vegetables, prunes, dates, tomato, figs, etc.
Recommended daily allowance:
16-20 mg for adults and 6-12 mg for children.
Vitamin B5
It is also called pantothenic acid.
Function:
It is beneficial in cell building, maintaining normal growth and development of the central nervous system. It produces cortisone and other adrenal hormones by stimulating the adrenal gland. It has an important role in a wide range of metabolic functions and essential for the conversion of fat and sugar to energy.
Deficiency:
Its deficiency causes chronic fatigue, hypoglycemia, mental depression, digestive disorder, greying and loss of hair, blood, and skin disorder.
Source:
Almost every food contains vitamin B5. That’s why it is named pantothenic acid which is derived from the Greek word ‘pantothen’ means ‘from every side’.
The main sources are whole grain bread and cereals, green vegetables, peas, beans, peanuts, egg yolk, sunflower seeds, etc.
Recommended daily allowance:
The minimal daily requirement has not been established. But adequate intake for adults is 5-10 mg and for children 2-5 mg per day.
Vitamin B6
It is also known as pyridoxine.
Function:
It is helpful in the formation of red blood cells and white blood cells, metabolism of fat and protein, prevents nervous and skin disorders.
Deficiency:
Its deficiency can cause skin disorders, anemia, convulsions, mental disorders, nervousness, migraine headache, heart disease, and studies also show an increased risk of cancer.
Source:
The main sources are yeast, wheat bran, wheat germ, pulses, cereals, bananas, chickpeas, potatoes, walnuts, soybeans, milk, eggs, fresh vegetables, liver, etc.
Daily recommended allowance:
Daily recommended allowance is not established. But adequate daily intake should be 1.3 mg – 2 mg in adults and 0.5 mg – 1 mg per day in children.
Vitamin B7
It is also known as biotin.
Function:
It also acts as co-enzyme and helpful in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fat, and protein. It is helpful in the proper growth of hair, nails, and skin. Although strong evidence is not there for benefits on hair and nails.
Deficiency:
Its deficiency may cause nervous system dysfunction like seizures, loss of muscle coordination, hair loss, brittle nails, and skin rashes.
Source:
Good sources are green leafy vegetables, cauliflower, mushrooms, nuts, legumes, yeast, bread, egg yolk, liver, kidney, etc.
Daily recommended allowance:
Daily adequate intake for adults is 30 micrograms and for children is 8-20 micrograms per day.
Vitamin B9
It is also known as folate or folic acid.
Function:
Along with vitamin B12, it is essential for the formation of red blood cells. It is helpful during the growth and division of all body cells. It is also helpful in the metabolism of protein.
Deficiency:
Its deficiency causes anemia, skin disorders, impaired circulation, loss of hair, fatigue, and mental depression.
Its deficiency may also cause birth defects, the condition known as neural tube defect.
Source:
The main sources are green leafy vegetables like spinach, lettuce, nuts, sunflower seeds, brewers yeast, mushrooms, peanuts, liver, etc.
Daily recommended allowance:
For children is 150-400 micrograms and for adults is 400 micrograms per day.
Vitamin B12
It is also known as cobalamin due to its metallic element cobalt.
Function:
It is a very essential vitamin for the production of red blood cells, for the metabolism of protein and fat. It is helpful for brain development and neurological function, cell division, and DNA synthesis.
Deficiency:
Its deficiency causes anemia also known as pernicious anemia, poor appetite, generalized weakness, sore tongue, neurological disorder, mental disorder, etc.
Source:
The main sources are kidney, liver, meat, milk, eggs, banana, and peanut.
Daily recommended allowance:
Daily recommended allowance is not established. But adequate intake is 0.9 – 1.8 micrograms in children and 3 micrograms per day in adults.
Vitamin C
It is also known as ascorbic acid and the only water-soluble vitamin that doesn’t belong to the vitamin B complex category.
Function:
It has many vital functions in the body. It is a powerful antioxidant protecting against oxidative stress and harmful chemicals. It is very essential for the synthesis of collagen which is the main protein in connective tissue. It is helpful in normal growth and maintenance of all body tissues especially bone, joints, teeth, and gums. It promotes fast healing. Our immune cells contain a high amount of vitamin C. Thus acts as a natural antibiotic.
Deficiency:
Its deficiency causes Scurvy presented by symptoms like generalized weakness, fatigue, and breakdown of connective tissue. When Scurvy increases in severity it may appear with more severe symptoms like bleeding gums and skin, loss of teeth, joint problems, difficult wound healing, dryness, and swelling of eyes.
It’s deficiency also causes premature aging and frequent infections due to reduced immunity.
Source:
The main sources are citrus fruits, berries, guava, kale, kiwifruit, potatoes, sprouted Bengal and green grams, tomatoes, broccoli, etc.
Daily recommended allowance:
For children is 15-45 mg per day and for adults, it is 75-90 mg per day.
This is all about water-soluble vitamins.
For full details on Fat-soluble vitamins please read here.
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