Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins
Vitamin Food Sources Health Benefit Deficiency

Fat Soluble
SOURCE BENEFIT DEFICIENCY
A Green vegetables, Component of light-sensitive Night blindness, permanent
milk products, liver pigments in eye, epithelial blindness, extremely dry
tissue maintenance skin
D Dairy products, Calcium absorption, bone Rickets (bone deformities)
eggs, cod liver oil; formation
ultraviolet light
E Margarine, seeds, Protects fatty acids and cell Possibly anemia
green leafy membranes from oxidation
vegetables
K Green leafy Blood clotting Uncontrolled bleeding
vegetables

Water Soluble
B1 (Thiamine) Organ meats, Carbohydrate metabolism, Beriberi (weakened heart,
pork, grains, nerve and heart function edema, nerve and muscle
legumes degeneration)
B2 (Riboflavin) Milk products, Energy metabolism Eye irritation, inflammation
liver, eggs, grains, and breakdown of skin cells
legumes
B3 (Niacin or Liver, lean meats, Oxidation-reduction reactions in Pellegra (skin and
Nicotinic Acid) grains, legumes cellular respiration gastrointestinal disorders,
nerve inflammation, mental
disorders)
B5 Milk products, Energy metabolism Fatigue, loss of coordination
(Pantothenic liver, eggs, grains,
Acid) legumes
B6 (Pyridoxine) Whole-grain Amino acid metabolism Convulsions, irritability,
cereals, kidney stones
vegetables, meats
B12 Red meats, eggs, Nucleic acid production Pernicious anemia,
(Cobalamin) dairy products neurological disorders
Biotin Meats, vegetables, Fat synthesis and amino acid Depression, fatigue, nausea
legumes metabolism
C (Ascorbic Citrus fruits, green Collagen formation in teeth, Scurvy (breakdown of skin,
Acid) leafy vegetables, bone, and connective tissue of blood vessels, and teeth)
tomatoes blood vessels; may help in
resisting infection
B9 Whole-wheat Nucleic acid metabolism Anemia, diarrhea
(Folic Acid) foods, green
vegetables,
legumes
Minerals
Mineral Food Sources Health Benefit Deficiency

Major
SOURCE BENEFIT DEFICIENCY
Calcium Milk, cheese, dried Bone and teeth formation, Rickets, osteoporosis,
legumes, vegetables blood clotting, and nerve convulsions
transmission
Chlorine Foods containing salt; Fluid regulation between cells Acid-base imbalance in
some vegetables and or cell layers body fluids (very rare)
fruits
Magnesium Whole grains; green, Enzyme activation, protein Growth failure, behavior
leafy vegetables synthesis problems, spasms
Phosphorus Milk, cheese, yogurt, fish, Bone and teeth formation, Weakness, loss of calcium
poultry, meats, grains acid-base balance
maintenance
Potassium Bananas, leafy Acid-base balance and fluid Muscle cramps, mental
vegetables, potatoes, balance maintenance, nerve confusion, loss of appetite,
cantaloupe, milk, meats transmission irregular cardiac rhythm
Sulfur Fish, poultry, meats Acid-base balance Disorders unlikely if body
maintenance and liver gets small amounts needed
function
Sodium Table salt Acid-base balance and body Muscle cramps, reduced
water balance maintenance, appetite, mental apathy
nerve function

Trace
Chromium Legumes, cereals, organ Glucose metabolism Adult onset diabetes
meats, fats, vegetable
oils, meats, whole grains
Copper Meats, drinking water Red blood cell formation Anemia, impairs bone and
nervous tissue development
Fluorine Drinking water, tea, Bone structure maintenance, Osteoporosis; tooth decay
seafood decay-resistant teeth
Iodine Salt-water fish, shellfish, Component of thyroid Enlarged thyroid (goiter)
dairy products, hormone
vegetables, iodized salt
Iron Lean meats, eggs, whole Hemoglobin formation in Anemia
grains, green leafy blood; energy metabolism
vegetables, legumes
Selenium Seafood, meat, grains Prevents breakdown of fats Anemia
and other body chemicals
Zinc Lean meat, whole-grain Component of many enzymes Growth failure, small sex
breads and cereals, dried included in digestion, cell glands, delayed wound
beans, seafood repair, sexual reproduction healing
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