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Vitamin B Complex
Vitamin B Complex
What does one mean by vitamin B complex?
The individual vitamins that make up this group are Vitamin B1 (thiamine), Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), Vitamin B3 (niacin), Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), Vitamin B12 (cobalmin), Folic acid or Vitamin C and Biotin or Vitamin H. There is a distinct quality about vitamin B complex and that is all of them are water soluble and the source of foods that they are found are also similar.
Why does the B complex assume so much of importance and what are the problems that one associates with its deficiency?
Vitamin B complex is essential for converting the food we eat into energy and helps create a strong immune system that can withstand infections. It also helps in establishing a balance in the body’s hormones.
Let us start looking at each one of the vitamin B complex group in order to understand their main functions, the sources of food that we can get these vitamins from and the diseases that are caused due to their deficiency.
Vitamin B1 is important for providing energy to the body and helps in keeping the nervous system healthy. The sources of this vitamin are beans, bread, cereals, brown rice, liver and pork. Any deficiency in this leads to beriberi. In some cases it has also been found to lead to depression and dementia.
Vitamin B2 is important for growth of cells and for providing energy. Eggs, Liver, kidney, milk, bread, nuts and green leafy vegetables are good sources of this and deficiency in this leads to anemia, dry eyes and sore lips and mouth.
Vitamin B3 is necessary for healthy nervous system, maintaining lustrous skin and hair and plays an important role of lowering cholesterol. Chicken, beef, liver, kidney salmon are good sources of this vitamin for non vegetarians and brown rice, peanuts grains, sunflower seeds and brewer’s yeast are good sources of it for vegetarians. Deficiency leads to skin problems, lack of appetite and weakness.
Vitamin B5 plays the important role of hormone production and also said to maintain the cholesterol balance. Bacteria in the intestines are the best source of getting this essential vitamin for our body. Most of us do not face any sort of deficiency of this vitamin as it is widely available.
Vitamin B6 is necessary for protein synthesis and a healthy nervous system. It is also essential for energy production and growth of the cells within the body. Tomato juice, brown rice, beans, chicken, meat, kidney, liver and cereals are rich sources of the vitamin. Deficiency could lead to dwarfism, depression and hair loss.
Vitamin B12 is very crucial as it helps in red blood cells production, helps in absorbing calcium and the main sources include eggs, meat, liver, kidney and cereals. Deficiency could lead to anemia, retarded growth and damage to the nervous system.
It is not necessary that you need to have adequate quantities of all these in your body and any deficiency in any one of them will have serious implications. A healthy diet ensures that you get vitamin B complex in your system and any shortage of a particular vitamin can be fulfilled by taking the necessary vitamin pill or capsule in consultation with your physician.