VITAMINS-WATER SOLUBLE

Vitamins that are water soluble means they can be washed out of your system so they need to be replaced often. Examples of these are the B group vitamins and Vitamin C.

B group vitamins

This is a group of 8 vitamins which are called B group vitamins. The B group, except for B12, are always in a hurry to go places so you need to top up with these vitamins all the time.

1. B1- Thiamine. B1 helps turns carbohydrates, fats and alcohol into energy and helps look after the heart and nervous system by preventing the build-up of waste which might damage them. You can get it from foods like bread, milk, meat, beans and sweetcorn, egg yolk and broccoli.
2. B2 – Riboflavin. This vitamin helps release the energy from food and works to help other vitamins, B6 and Niacin, to do their jobs. You may get it from milk, dairy products like cheese and yoghurt, eggs and meat and poultry
3. B3 – Niacin. It works with others to get the energy from food and helps make nerves work so that they can act as the message carriers of the body. Niacin also helps to keep your skin and digestive system. You can get it from meat, fish and seafood, legumes and many more.
4. Pantothenic acid. It helps to release energy from food and works with cholesterol, fat and red blood cells. You can get it from lots of animal and plant foods.
5. Biotin. Works in a similar way to pantothenic acid and you can get it from lots of foods especially liver, butter and egg yolks.
6. Folate – Folic Acid. This vitamin helps to produce more red blood cells and DNA (which is like a map of how each person is going to be made). It also keeps the nervous system healthy and helps to use protein. It is important for women to take it in early pregnancy because it helps to make sure they have healthy babies. You may get folic acid from green vegetables, nuts and dried beans, oranges and cereals.
7. B6 – Pyridoxine. B6 is a very vital vitamin that helps the body use protein, send messages through the nerves and make red blood cells. You can get it from meat, fish, cereals, banana and avocado, nuts and green vegetables.
8. B12 – Cyanacobalamin. This vitamin helps folate get into the cells so that it can do its work in producing more cells, making DNA and putting a coat, called myelin, around nerve fibers to protect them. You can get from meat and poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products.

Vitamin C – ascorbic acid

Vitamin C is known to fight off infections that enter our body. Aside from that, it also helps in making collagen, a protein that the body needs to make healthy skin, blood, bones, cartilage, teeth and gums.

Vitamin C also helps to heal cuts and burns, helps your blood to flow properly and helps you to sleep. Because it doesn’t hang around in the body for very long you have to make sure that you get a daily supply.

You can get Vitamin C in: fresh, raw fruits like strawberries, guavas and kiwi fruit; Vegetables such as green and red peppers, tomato and broccoli, potatoes; Fruit juices and Citrus fruits like oranges, limes, grapefruit and lemons.