Vitamin B - Benefits and Food Sources
What is Vitamin B?
Vitamin B is the very important vitamin for human body. B-Complex vitamins are a mixture of eight essential B-vitamins that our bodies require ever day. Each member of the B-complex has a unique structure and performs unique functions in the human body. The B vitamins work together to boost metabolism, enhance the immune system and nervous system, keep the skin and muscles healthy, encourage cell growth and division, and other benefits to your body. Human require members of the B-complex vitamin. All these nutrients are soluble in water and are distributed in many common foods with many similarities in dietary sources. The B complex vitamins are:-
- Vitamin B1
- Vitamin B2
- Vitamin B3
- Vitamin B5
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin B7
- Vitamin B9
- Vitamin B12
Benefits of Vitamin B
- It is good for breakdown of carbohydrates into glucose which provides energy for the body.
- These also play an important role in breaking down of fats and proteins which helps in normal functioning of nervous system.
- These are also helpful in normal working of muscle tone in the stomach and intestinal tract. These are also helpful in skin, hair, eyes, mouth and liver.
- These work to promote healthy nerves, improve mood, strengthen the heart, and improve heartburn.
Deficiency Symptoms of Vitamin B
- Deficiency of vitamin B causes Beriberi. Symptoms of this disease of the nervous system include weight loss, emotional disturbances, impaired sensory perception, weakness and pain in the limbs etc.
- Deficiency causes ariboflavinosis. Symptoms may include cheilosis, high sensitivity to sunlight, angular cheilitis, glossitis, seborrheic dermatitis.
- Poor B vitamin cause profound fatigue and an assortment of neurologic manifestations, which may include weakness, poor balance, confusion, irritability, memory loss, nervousness, tingling of the limbs, loss of coordination and depression etc.
- A severe and prolonged lack of niacin causes a condition called pellagra. The classic signs of pellagra are dermatitis, dementia, and diarrhea. It is very rare now, except in alcoholics, strict vegans, and people in areas of the world with very poor nutrition.
Rich Food Sources of Vitamin B
Vitamin B founds in a number of natural sources, including potatoes, bananas, lentils, chili peppers, tempeh, liver, turkey and tuna, nutritional yeast. Marmite and the iconic Australian spread Vegemite bills itself as "one of the world’s richest known sources of vitamin B". As might be expected, due to its high content of brewer’s yeast, beer is a good source of B vitamins, although this may not be true of filtered beers. However, the alcohol in beer impairs the body’s ability to activate vitamins. In fact, beer is sometimes referred to as liquid bread.