You eat chemicals every day. Food is complex combinations of chemicals called proteins, carbohydrates, fats, water, minerals and vitamins. Vitamins are organic substances that are essential in small amounts for your body to prosper and be in health. They work with enzymes in your body to facilitate chemical reactions. Each of the 13 vitamins you require for normal growth and metabolism fall into one of two categories: water-soluble or fat-soluble. Water-soluble vitamins that your body doesn’t use right away wash out of your body in your urine. Your body stores fat-soluble vitamins in your fatty tissue. To get your full complement of vitamins, make sure you eat lean protein, whole grains, healthy fats (mono-unsaturated and polyunsaturated) and a rainbow of fruits and vegetables. The table contains a list of the vitamins you need and a few of the foods that contain them.
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Sources:
† U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 2006. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 19. Nutrient Data Laboratory Home page. http://www.ars.usda.gov/ba/bhnrc/ndl
* Dietary Reference Intakes for Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Biotin, and Choline (1998), National Academy of Sciences. Institute of Medicine. Food and Nutrition Board. Page 384 http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/DRI//DRI_Thiamin/thiamin_full_report.pdf
Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia, U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002399.htm