Vitamins 101

Vitamin Water & sugary Sports drinks claim they can rev up your weary energy with a jolt of vitamins or minerals (sorry, but even powerful vitamins and minerals can't act that fast!). And even worse, breakfast cereals loaded with an insane amount of sugar advertise that they're packed with vitamins and minerals. We all know that vitamins and minerals are an essential part of life - in fact, we wouldn’t be alive without them. They perform hundreds of different roles in the body including help shore up bones, heal wounds, and bolster your immune system. They also convert food into energy, and repair cellular damage. But which ones does your body really need? And is it possible to get too much of a good thing?

Vitamins and minerals are two of the main types of nutrients that your body needs to survive and stay healthy. Vitamins help your body grow and work the way it should. They are organic compounds that are needed in small quantities to sustain life. Most vitamins

need comes from food as the body cannot manufacture them. There are 13 vitamins—vitamins A, C, D, E, K, and the B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, B6, B12, and folate).

If you are like me it's all quite confusing. I've spent some time breaking it down into each Vitamin showing what it is, what it does, how to get it and why you need an adequate amount. I'm hoping that by the end it will again confirm that the best way to achieve the optimum amount comes from eating a balanced ancestral diet. Many foods have "fortified with or added vitamins & minerals", I've only including whole real foods in my list as it's the purest way of getting the essential nutrients.

This blog will focus on vitamins with an additional blog focusing all on minerals.

First up: Fat-Soluble Vitamins. Vitamin A, D, E, K

Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the fatty tissues of the body and the liver and they can stay in the body for days, and sometimes even months.

Vitamin A

What’s it good for?

Vitamin A plays many roles in our body including regulation of the immune system, a role in bone & tooth development, reproduction, vital for hair growth and essential for maintaining the light sensing cells in the eye.

Where do you get it?

It is abundantly available in animal products like milk and liver and in some fish.

Cod liver oil

Eggs

Orange and yellow vegetables and fruits

Other sources of beta-carotene such as broccoli, spinach, and most dark green, leafy vegetables

What happens if you don’t get enough/too much?

Vitamin A deficiency is rare, but it may result in diseases known as xerophthalmia.

Night blindness, very dry skin are other signs of Vitamin A deficiency.

Extra Notes

Pre-formed vitamin A is found in animal products.

Pro-vitamin is found in fruits and vegetables. Beta-carotene is one common example. Its called a pro-vitamin because its a precursor and the body converts it into its usable form.

Vitamin D

What’s it good for?

One of the most vital functions of Vitamin D is regulating the absorption of calcium and

phosphorous, which is important for normal growth and development of bones and teeth.

There is also strong evidence for a protective effect of Vitamin D, not only against several types of cancer but also against multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Where do you get it?

Fatty fish, like tuna, mackerel, and salmon

Beef liver

Cheese

Egg yolks

and naturally from Sunshine

The best way to get adequate Vitamin D is through moderate exposure to the sun during

appropriate times. If possible, expose at least your arms, legs, and back for 15 to 20 minutes two or three times a week. You can put sunscreen on after twenty minutes to prevent excessive sun exposure, which may cause premature aging and increase cancer risk.

If you work a night shift or live in Canada or Iceland where there is no sun most of the year, taking a supplement can help ensure that you get enough Vitamin D.

What happens if you don’t get enough/too much?

Remember that Vitamin D is fat soluble, so it is possible to overdose, as it can accumulate over time and potentially become toxic. This is extremely rare, however.

Extra Notes

When exposed to sunlight, your skin produces Vitamin D and sends it to your liver. From there, your liver changes it to a substance called 25(OH)D. It then gets converted to 1,25(OH)2D, mostly in the kidneys. This is the active steroid form of Vitamin D. The active form of Vitamin D travels through the body, affecting almost every cell.

A note about Vitamin D and food: It’s close to impossible to get enough Vitamin D from food. For example, 100 grams of salmon has about 500 IU, and a whole egg has about 50 IU. To be in the optimal range (40ng/ml—65ng/ml) you will need at least a few thousands IU daily.

Vitamin E

What’s it good for?

Vitamin E's main role is to act as an antioxidant, preventing oxidative stress and protecting fatty acids in your cell membranes from free radicals.

These antioxidant properties are enhanced by other nutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin B3 and selenium.

Where do you get it?

Best sources are nuts, such as almonds, peanuts and hazelnuts, sunflower seeds and vegetable oils.

What happens if you don’t get enough/too much?

In high amounts, vitamin E also acts as a blood thinner, reducing the blood's ability to clot.

Vitamin E deficiency is uncommon and is never detected in people who are otherwise healthy.

It happens most often in diseases that impair the absorption of fat or vitamin E from food, such as cystic fibrosis and liver disease.

Symptoms of vitamin E deficiency include muscle weakness, walking difficulties, tremors, vision problems, poor immune function and numbness.

Extra Notes

Vitamin E is a group of related compounds divided into tocopherols and tocotrienols. Alphatocopherol is the most common type. It makes up for 90% of the Vitamin E in the blood.

Vitamin K

What’s it good for?

Vitamin K plays an essential role in blood clotting. In fact, the "K" stands for "koagulation," the Danish word for coagulation, which means clotting.

But vitamin K has other functions as well, including supporting bone health and helping prevent the calcification of blood vessels, potentially reducing the risk of heart disease

Where do you get it?

The best dietary sources of vitamin K1 (phylloquinone)

Green leafy vegetables, such as kale, spinach, turnip greens, collards, Swiss chard, mustard greens, parsley, romaine, and green leaf lettuce and cruciferous vegetables like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage

Vitamin K2 (menaquinone) is mainly found in animal-sourced foods: fish, liver, meat, eggs and fermented soy products.

What happens if you don’t get enough/too much?

Without vitamin K, your blood wouldn't clot and even a small wound could cause unstoppable bleeding. Fortunately, vitamin K deficiency is rare, since the body only needs small amounts to maintain blood clotting. Low levels of vitamin K have also been linked with reduced bone density and increased risk of fractures in women

Extra Notes

Vitamin K is a family of compounds. The main dietary forms are vitamin K1, found in plant foods, and vitamin K2, found in animal-derived foods and fermented soy products.

Next up is Water-Soluble Vitamins Vitamin C and all the B's

Unlike, fat-soluble vitamins, water-soluble are generally not stored in the body. Therefore, you should strive to consume them from your diet regularly.

Vitamin B1 Thiamine

What’s it good for?

Thiamine affects nearly every cell in the body. Its functions are that it is used as a co-enzyme to metabolize food for energy, it helps maintain proper heart and nerve function. Basically, without enough thiamine, the molecules found in carbs and proteins cannot be properly used by the body to carry out various important functions.

Where do you get it?

Some common food sources for thiamine are beef, liver, dried milk, nuts, oats, oranges, pork, eggs, seeds, legumes, peas and yeast.

What happens if you don’t get enough/too much?

A thiamine deficiency can cause weakness, chronic fatigue, heart complications, psychosis, and nerve damage.

Extra Notes

All B vitamins help extract energy from the food you eat into usable energy that is in the form of ATP. (Adenosine triphosphate is a chemical compound)

Vitamin B2 Riboflavin

What’s it good for?

Riboflavin is an important vitamin that also acts as an antioxidant. Functions of B2 are that it is responsible for maintaining healthy blood cells, helps boost energy, protecting skin and eye health.

Where do you get it?

Fish, meat, and poultry, such as turkey, chicken, beef, kidneys, and liver

Eggs

Dairy products

Asparagus

Artichokes

Avocados

Cayenne

Currants

also green leafy vegetables, beans and legumes.

What happens if you don’t get enough/too much?

Vitamin B2 deficiency can cause fatigue, nerve damage, and a slow metabolism

Vitamin B3 Niacin

What’s it good for?

Its very important for maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system, especially balancing blood cholesterol levels. Niacin also helps with brain function and healthy skin formation.

Where do you get it?

Top Niacin food sources are beef liver, chicken breast, tuna, salmon and sunflower seeds. Milk, green leafy vegetables, coffee, and tea also provide some niacin

What happens if you don’t get enough/too much?

Niacin deficiency is rare. Although when it happens, it can result in skin rashes, diarrhea or dementia.

Vitamin B5 Pantothenic Acid

What’s it good for?

It has plenty of functions including converting nutrients from food into energy, balancing blood

sugar, lowering high blood pressure, preventing nerve damage, and preventing heart failure.

Where do you get it?

B5 vitamin sources include both plants and animals foods such as organ meat, eggs, broccoli, peanuts, fish, shellfish, chicken, milk, yogurt, legumes, mushrooms, avocado, and sweet potatoes and yeast

What happens if you don’t get enough/too much?

B5 deficiencies may include symptoms like fatigue, depression, stomach pains.

Vitamin B6 Pyridoxine

What’s it good for?

B6 play an important role in regulating metabolism, nerve function, skin and eye health and helping boosts energy levels. It also aids in maintaining a healthy nervous system, make hemoglobin that carries oxygen in red blood cells throughout the body, boost mood and create antibodies.

Where do you get it?

Best food sources for B6 are avocados as well as pork, poultry, fish, tuna, bread, wholegrain cereals, such as oatmeal, wheatgerm and brown rice, eggs, vegetables, soy beans and chickpeas

What happens if you don’t get enough/too much?

Symptoms of vitamin B6 deficiency include muscle pains, confusion, changes in mood, such as anxiety and depression.

Vitamin B7 Biotin

What’s it good for?

Vitamin B7 plays a major part in maintaining the health of our hair, nails and skin (you may have noticed that many cosmetics products like shampoos and skin care products with added biotin in it)

Where do you get it?

Vitamin B7 is found in a number of foods, though in small amounts. This includes walnuts, peanuts, cereals, milk, and egg yolks. Other foods that contain this vitamin are whole meal bread, salmon, pork, sardines, mushroom and cauliflower. Fruits that contain biotin include avocados, bananas and raspberries.

What happens if you don’t get enough/too much?

Biotin deficiency is rare, but when it happens then your skin can become dry, there can be hair loss and you may feel lack of energy.

Vitamin B9 Folate

What’s it good for?

Folate primarily helps the body make new cells by playing a role in copying and synthesizing

DNA. That its the first nutrient that is recommended to females when they become pregnant. It also helps utilize Vitamin B12 (which is our next vitamin) and amino acid.

Where do you get it?

Beef liver is the most concentrated source of folate. Other sources include

Beans; chickpeas, pinto

Citrus fruits

Whole grains

Green leafy vegetables

Beets

Cauliflower

Lettuce

Asparagus

What happens if you don’t get enough/too much?

A folate deficiency will cause anemia, poor immune function, and poor digestion.

Extra Notes

Folate or Vitamin B9 does not participate in energy metabolism.

Vitamin B12

What’s it good for?

B12 plays a major role in forming red blood cells, play a role in DNA/RNA synthesis, helps with the production of hormones and helps with the synthesis of hemoglobin.

Where do you get it?

B12 is only found in animal foods like organ meats, fish, dairy, chicken and lamb.

What happens if you don’t get enough/too much?

Vitamin B12 deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiencies in the world, affecting vegetarians, vegans and elderly. Symptoms of B12 deficiency are fatigue, weakness, poor moods and low concentration.

Extra Notes

It's a good idea for vegetarians to supplement their diet with B12 tablets to complete the recommended dose.

Vitamin C Ascorbic Acid

What’s it good for?

Vitamin C health benefits are immense. It helps promote healthy skin and with collagen formation. It helps with a mineral formation, lowers risk of gout (its an arthritis type condition mainly afflicting the big toe). Vitamin C is one of the many antioxidants that help protect against free radical damage, it also fights colds and flu.

Where do you get it?

Oranges

Guava, strawberries

Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower

Green and red peppers

Spinach, cabbage, turnip greens, and other leafy greens

Sweet and white potatoes

Tomatoes and tomato juice

Winter squash

What happens if you don’t get enough/too much?

Deficiencies in Vitamin C may cause swollen and bleeding gums, dry hair, rough and scaly skin and weakened immune system.