Vitamin Types Benefits

Benefits and Types of Vitamins that You Should Take for Good Health

Don’t we all vaguely remember our science textbooks trying to teach us the importance of vitamins? We probably wrapped our heads around it in school, but while flipping through new books and moving up the education ladder, we seem to have forgotten all about it. Picking the burger over a bowl of greens and leading an unhealthy life over the years has left our bodies lacking some of the most vital vitamins. And to fix that, it is essential to understand what are vitamins, benefits of vitamins, and why we need all 13 of them!

Different Types of Vitamins And Their Benefits

Let us look at these vitamins individually in greater detail.

  1. Vitamin A

A fat-soluble vitamin that you mustn’t ignore if you want eyes like a hawk. Eat plenty of kale, spinach, sweet potatoes, carrots, collard greens, cheese, and pumpkin to avoid night blindness at all costs.

Vitamin A
  1. Vitamin B1

Love pork, cereals, sunflower seeds, brown rice, asparagus, cauliflower, or kale? Great, now you need not worry about a B1 deficiency. This water-soluble vitamin is needed to produce various enzymes that help breakdown blood sugar.

Vitamin B1
  1. Vitamin B2

To ensure the proper growth and development of body cells, Vitamin B2 is essential. A lack of this may cause inflammation of the lips and fissures inside your mouth. Asparagus, bananas, persimmons, okra, chard, cottage cheese, milk, yogurt, meat, eggs, fish, and green beans – make one of these your favourite and you’re good to go. 

  1. Vitamin B3

Chicken, beef, milk, eggs, tomatoes, leafy vegetables, broccoli, carrots, nuts and seeds, tofu, and lentils are rich sources of Vitamin B3. If you’re a vegetarian or dislike these vegetables, try Daily Greens to help your cells grow and work correctly. A deficiency of this can lead to a condition called pellagra that causes diarrhea and skin changes. 

  1. Vitamin B5

15 cups of broccoli or one Daily Greens tab? Pick one to keep you energized. You can also munch on avocados, nuts, or yogurt if you hate getting ‘pins and needles’. Read our article, 'Here's Why You Need Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid)' to know more about this micronutrient!

Daily Greens - Vitamin B5
  1. Vitamin B6
Red blood cells need this and so do you! Low levels of Vitamin B6 may cause anemia or peripheral neuropathy. Make chickpeas, beef liver, bananas and nuts are your best friends if you lack this vitamin or just turn to Wellbeing Nutrition’s vitamin-rich products. 
  1. Vitamin B7

Biotin as we prefer to call it, this vitamin keeps our nails, skin and hair healthy. Eat egg yolk, cheese, liver, or spinach in good quantities to avoid dermatitis or inflammation of the intestines. You can read more about this vitamin in our article, 'The Importance of Biotin For Healthy Hair'.

  1. Vitamin B9

Your body needs Vitamin B9 or folic acid to make your DNA and RNA. Taking folic acid supplements before and during pregnancy keeps the fetus’s nervous system healthy. Leafy veggies, legumes and peas are good sources of this vitamin. 

  1. Vitamin B12
A vitamin that keeps your nervous system healthy, it is mostly found in fish, meat, poultry, dairy products, fortified soy products and fortified cereals. And for all you vegans, we already have Daily Greens. You can also read our article, ‘Vitamin B12: Here’s Why Your Body Needs It,’ to know more about it.
  1. Vitamin C
The functions of this one are plenty collagen production, wound healing, and bone formation. It also boosts immunity and acts as an antioxidant. To ensure you never have a deficiency of vitamin C, eat plenty of salads and fruits as cooking destroys it. (We know that some of you are picky eaters and that’s why our vitamin supplements taste real good) Read our article, Vitamin C: All You Need To Know About It!, to know more about this essential micronutrient.
  1. Vitamin D
Soaking up the sun? Then healthy bones are yours to be! And if tanning is a problem for you then get ready to turn to Vitamin D supplements sooner rather than later. Read our article, 'Vitamin D3: Why It's the Best thing for your Body', to know about it. 
  1. Vitamin E
Prevent oxidative stress and inflammation. Almonds, kiwis, almonds, eggs, nuts and leafy greens will help you with that. 
  1. Vitamin K
Essential for blood clotting, Vitamin K prevents excessive bleeding or bleeding diathesis. This essential vitamin also plays a significant role in maintaining bone health. Leafy greens, pumpkins, figs, and parsley are rich sources of this vitamin.
Vitamin K

“This looks like a vitamin deficiency to me!” – never have your doctors tell you this again. 

Now that you know the importance of these nutrients, include these vitamin-rich foods in your diet.

References:

  • Gilbert C. What is vitamin A and why do we need it?. Community Eye Health. 2013;26(84):65. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3936685/)
  • Martel JL, Kerndt CC, Franklin DS. Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) [Updated 2020 Dec 5]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan-. Available from: (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482360/)
  • Associations of Milk Consumption and Vitamin B2 and B12 Derived from Milk with Fitness, Anthropometric and Biochemical Indices in Children.
    The Healthy Growth Study, George Moschonis, Ellen G. H. M, van den Heuvel, Christina Mavrogianni, Cécile M. Singh-Povel, Michalis Leotsinidis and Yannis Manios, Nutrients Journal,(https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3b31/6790ca57461d021677c503b92ec8f2894adf.pdf?_ga=2.170877411.294264018.1625553899-2061582123.1616676956)
  • Peechakara BV, Gupta M. Vitamin B3. [Updated 2020 Jun 23]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526107/ (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526107/)
  • Stover PJ, Field MS. Vitamin B-6. Adv Nutr. 2015;6(1):132-133. Published 2015 Jan 15. doi:10.3945/an.113.005207. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4288272/)
  • Folate (Folic Acid) – Vitamin B9, Harvard T. Chan School of Public Health, (https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/folic-acid/)
  • Shipton MJ, Thachil J. Vitamin B12 deficiency - A 21st century perspective . Clin Med (Lond). 2015 Apr;15(2):145-50. doi: 10.7861/clinmedicine.15-2-145. PMID: 25824066; PMCID: PMC4953733. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25824066/)
  • Ilie, P.C., Stefanescu, S. & Smith, L. The role of vitamin D in the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 infection and mortality. Aging Clin Exp Res 32, 1195–1198 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-020-01570-8. (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40520-020-01570-8#citeas)
  • Rizvi S, Raza ST, Ahmed F, Ahmad A, Abbas S, Mahdi F. The role of vitamin e in human health and some diseases. Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J. 2014;14(2):e157-e165. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3997530/)
  • Akbari S, Rasouli-Ghahroudi AA. Vitamin K and Bone Metabolism: A Review of the Latest Evidence in Preclinical Studies. Biomed Res Int. 2018;2018:4629383. Published 2018 Jun 27. doi:10.1155/2018/4629383. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6040265/)