Eat with understanding
Vitamins
16 stories
A, D, E and K are stored; the Bs and C need a daily supply.
Fat-soluble
- Vitamin DSkin makes vitamin D only from the UVB in sunlight, and none through glass. In a high-latitude winter the sun sits too low, the atmosphere absorbs…Vitamins · Fat-soluble7 stations
- Vitamin A & CarotenoidsWalk into a dark cinema and it takes a while before you can see the seats.Vitamins · Fat-soluble6 stations
- Vitamin EVitamin E's main job, and the one studied most thoroughly, is keeping the fats in cell membranes from being oxidized.Vitamins · Fat-soluble5 stations
- Vitamin K2Vitamin K is a family. K1 from green leaves is mostly used by the liver to activate clotting factors; K2 has a longer tail, reaches bone and blood…Vitamins · Fat-soluble6 stations
- Vitamin K1 (Phylloquinone)Vitamin K1 is the clotting vitamin: when a wound stops bleeding, that is because K1 has activated several clotting factors.Vitamins · Fat-soluble6 stations
Water-soluble
- Vitamin CThe body cannot make vitamin C and stores little, so it has to come from fresh produce every day. It is damaged by heat, oxygen and water: vegetables…Vitamins · Water-soluble6 stations
- Vitamin B12Only bacteria and archaea can make B12, so it is found almost only in animal foods. Plant sources are mostly unreliable: spirulina holds mainly…Vitamins · Water-soluble6 stations
- FolateFolate is vitamin B9, and cell division and DNA-making depend on it. Leafy greens, legumes and liver carry natural folate, about 50% bioavailable;…Vitamins · Water-soluble6 stations
- ThiaminVitamin B1 (thiamin) is a part the body cannot do without when it turns sugar into energy.Vitamins · Water-soluble5 stations
- RiboflavinRiboflavin (vitamin B2) does relay work for the body's power supply.Vitamins · Water-soluble5 stations
- NiacinInside the cell, vitamin B3 is built into two molecules, NAD and NADP.Vitamins · Water-soluble5 stations
- Vitamin B6B6 is the body's manager for protein and amino acids: it takes the amino acids you eat apart, remodels them, and puts them back together, and it helps…Vitamins · Water-soluble5 stations
- Pantothenic AcidThe name pantothenic acid comes from a Greek word meaning from everywhere: B5 is in almost every food, and a true shortage is extremely rare.Vitamins · Water-soluble5 stations
- BiotinBiotin (B7) is the vitamin that supplement marketing sells for hair, nails, and skin.Vitamins · Water-soluble5 stations
- CholineCholine is a raw material the body needs to build cell membranes and to make a neurotransmitter involved in memory and muscle contraction.Vitamins · Water-soluble5 stations
- B Family MapB vitamins are often called "energy vitamins", but they supply no energy themselves.Vitamins · Water-soluble5 stations