Vitamins

Vitamins

Vitamins (and minerals) are the raw materials your body uses to perform the thousands of daily physiological tasks necessary for good health. Vitamins are micronutrients, meaning you need only tiny amounts of them to stay healthy.

Vitamins are either water-soluble (all the B vitamins, and vitamin C) or fat-soluble (vitamins A, D, E and K). Water-soluble vitamins dissolve in water. Leftover amounts of the vitamin leave your body through urine. Although some water-soluble vitamins can stay in your body for long periods of time, mostly, water-soluble vitamins should be replenished every few days. That means you need a continuous supply of these vitamins in your diet.

Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in your body and doled out gradually as needed. Eating a healthy diet, rich in whole grains, fruit, vegetables and fibre as well as dried fruit, nuts and seeds, is still the best way to get the right amount of vitamins you need for good health and wellbeing.

Vitamin/Function

Sources

Beta-carotene (a vitamin A precursor)

Beta-carotene is a carotenoid, a naturally occurring pigment synthesised by plants. Your body converts beta-carotene into retinol, a specific type of vitamin A. Beta-carotene is an antioxidant and helps protect cells from damage caused by free radicals, which contribute to certain chronic diseases and play a role in the ageing process.

You need vitamin A for:

• Healthy skin, teeth, skeletal and soft tissues and mucous membranes.

Normal functioning of the immune system.

• Good vision and seeing in the dark.

Muesli, Granola, Oat Bars

Nuts

Almonds, Hazelnuts, Pecans, 

Pine Nuts, Pistachios, Walnuts

Dried Fruits

Apricots, Blueberries, Cherries,

Dates, Figs, Goji Berries, Mangoes,

Papaya, Peaches, Pears, Prunes,Raisins

Seeds

Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds,

Chia Seeds

Superfoods

Barley Grass Powder, Cacao Nibs,

Chia Seeds, Goji Berries,Wheatgrass Powder

Thiamin (Vitamin B1)

Thiamin is essential for carbohydrate metabolism, thereby helping to release energy from the carbohydrates in the foods you eat. It is also essential for normal functioning of the nervous system and for growth and muscle tone.

Muesli, Porridge, Granola, Oat Bars

Nuts

Almonds, BrazilNuts, Cashews, Coconut, 

Hazelnuts, Macadamias,Peanuts, 

Pecan, Pistachio, Walnuts

Dried Fruits

Papaya, Pineapple, Sultanas

Seeds

Chia Seeds, Sesame Seeds,SunflowerSeeds,

 Linseeds

Superfoods

Barley Grass Powder, Cacao Nibs,Chia Seeds, 

Wheat Grass Powder

Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)

Riboflavin, or vitamin B2, plays a critical role in the metabolism of protein, fat and carbohydrates, helping your body to release energy from these three nutrients. Similarly, riboflavin plays a role in the breakdown and removal of drugs and toxins.

By interacting with enzymes, riboflavin plays a major role in protecting your cells from potential damage fromfree radicals.

Riboflavin is also needed:

• To help your body change vitamin B6 andfolate into their useable forms.
• For body growth and red blood cell production.

Most people who are healthy and who eat a well balanced diet get enough riboflavin. Elderly people and alcoholics may be at risk for riboflavin deficiency because of poor diet.

Muesli, Porridge, Granola, 

Oat Bars

Nuts

Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Cashews,

Coconut, Hazelnuts, Macadamias,

Peanuts, Pecans, Pistachio

Dried Fruits

Goji Berries, Papaya, Pineapple

Seeds

Chia Seeds, Sunflower Seeds

Superfoods

Barley Grass Powder, Cacao Nibs,Chia Seeds,

 Goji Berries, Wheat Grass Powder

Niacin (Vitamin B3)

Niacin, or vitamin B3, is involved in protein, fat and carbohydrate metabolism. Like the other B vitamins, niacin helps your body to convert food (carbohydrates) into fuel (glucose), which your body uses to produce energy.

You need niacin for healthy skin, hair, eyes, and liver. It also helps your nervous system function properly.

Niacin helps the body make various sex and stress-related hormones and helps improve circulation.

Muesli, Porridge, Granola, 

Oat Bars

Nuts

Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Cashews,

Coconut, Hazelnuts, Macadamias,

Peanuts, Pecans, Pine Nuts,

Pistachio, Walnuts

Dried Fruits

Apricots, Blueberries, Dates,

Peaches, Pears, Prunes, Raisins,

Seeds

Chia seeds, Linseeds, Pumpkin Seeds, 

Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds

Superfoods

Cacao Nibs, Chia Seeds, Wheat Grass Powder

Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6)

Pyroxidine, or vitamin B6, aids in the metabolism of protein.

It helps to make heme, the iron-containing component of haemoglobin, which your red blood cells need to transport oxygen around your body.

Pyroxidine is needed for normal brain development and function. It helps your body make several neurotransmitters, chemicals that carry signals from one nerve cell to another. For example, it helps make serotonin and noradrenaline, which influence yourmood. It also helps to make melatonin, which helps regulate your body clock.

Along with vitamins B12 and B9 (folic acid), pyroxidinehelps control levels of the amino acid homocysteine in the blood. Elevated levels of homocysteine may be associated with heart disease.

Muesli, Porridge, Granola, Oat Bars

Nuts

Cashews, Coconut, Hazelnuts,

Macadamias, Peanuts, Pecans, Pine Nuts,

 Pistachios, Walnuts

Dried Fruits

Apples, Apricots, Blueberries, Dates,Figs,

 Peaches, Prunes, Raisins

Seeds

Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds,

Superfoods

Barley Grass Powder, Wheat Grass Powder

Folate (Vitamin B9)

Folate, or vitamin B9, occurs naturally in foods, while folic acid is the synthetic form of vitamin B9 that is found in supplements and fortified foods like cereals and breads.

Folate is essential for proper brain function, and plays an important role in your mental and emotional health.

Folate is particularly important when cells and tissues are growing rapidly, as happens in infancy, adolescence and pregnancy. Adequate levels of folates protect against a range of birth defects. This is why pregnant women need more folic acid to lower the risk of certain birth defects such as cleft palate, spina bifida, and brain damage.

Folic acid also works closely with vitamin B12 to help make red blood cells and to help iron function properly in your body. Folate may help protect the heart through several mechanisms.

Low levels of folate are fairly common. Alcoholism,inflammatory bowel disease, and coeliac disease can cause folic acid deficiency. Certain medications, too, may lower levels of folic acid in the body.

 Muesli, Porridge, Granola, Oat Bars

Nuts

Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Cashews

,Coconut, Hazelnuts, Macadamias,

Peanuts, Pecans, Pine Nuts,Pistachios,

 Walnuts

Dried Fruits

Blueberries, Cherries, Dates, 

Figs,Peaches, Prunes, Mangoes,

 Papaya,Raisins, Strawberries

Seeds

Chia Seeds, Linseeds, Pumpkin Seeds,

Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds

Superfoods

Barley Grass Powder, Chia Seeds

Vitamin C

One of the major functions of vitamin C is as a potentantioxidant. Vitamin C can protect vital molecules in your body (such as proteins, lipids, DNA and RNA) from damage by free radicals. Free radicals are made during your body’s normal metabolic processes. They are also made when you are exposed to toxins and pollutants such as cigarette smoke.

Another major function of vitamin C is to maintain growth of, and to repair tissues in all parts of your body. It does this by:

• Forming a protein used to make skin, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels.
• Healing wounds and forming healthy scar tissue.
• Repairing and maintaining cartilage, bones, and teeth.

Vitamin C may also be involved in the metabolism of cholesterol to bile acids, which may have implications for blood cholesterol levels and the incidence ofgallstones. Vitamin C aids in the absorption of iron from foods.

Studies have shown that vitamin C stimulates the production of cells of the immune system.

Hazelnuts, Pistachios, Tiger Nuts,

Dried Fruits

Blueberries, Goji Berries, Mangoes

Mulberries, Papaya, Pineapple

,Raisins, Strawberries

Seeds

Cacao Nibs, Chia Seeds, Wheat Grass Powder

Superfoods

Barley Grass Powder, Chia Seeds,Goji Berries, 

Hemp Protein Powder,Wheat Grass Powder

Vitamin E (Alpha-tocopherol)

There are eight different forms of vitamin E, and the one that appears to have the greatest nutritional significance is alpha-tocopherol. Alpha-tocopherol is an antioxidant.

The main function of alpha-tocopherol is maintaining the integrity of cell membranes throughout your body and thus preventing damage to cells by free radicals.

Vitamin E protects the fats in ‘bad’ cholesterol from oxidation — these oxidised fats have been implicated in the development of cardiovascular disease.

Importantly, large studies have shown that increased consumption of vitamin E is associated with a decreased risk of heart attack or death from heart disease in both men and women who did not already have heart disease.

Additionally, vitamin E has been shown to enhance the widening of blood vessels and to prevent blood from clotting inside them.

Studies also suggest that Vitamin E enhances specific aspects of the immune response that appear to decline as people age.

Muesli, Porridge, Granola, Oat Bars

Nuts

Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Cashews,

Coconut, Hazelnuts, Macadamias,

Peanuts, Pecans, PineNuts,Pistachios, 

Tiger Nuts, Walnuts

Dried Fruits

Apricots, Cranberries

Seeds

Chia Seeds, Sunflower Seeds

Superfoods

Cacao Nibs, Chia Seeds, Wheat Grass Powder

Vitamin K

The ‘K’ in vitamin K is derived from the German word, ‘koagulation’.

Vitamin K plays key roles in the regulation of at least four physiological processes:

• It is essential for the clotting of blood through clot formation. This means that vitamin K helps wounds to stop bleeding.
• It may facilitate normal bone growth and development.
• It plays a role in the developing and aging nervous system.
• It enables the regulation of the vascular system (the vessels in the body, including blood vessels).

Muesli, Porridge, Granola, 

Oat Bars

Nuts

Cashews, Coconut, Hazelnuts,

Pecans, Pine Nuts, Pistachio Nuts

Dried Fruits

Apricots, Blueberries, Cherries,

Cranberries, Dates, Figs, 

Peaches,Pears, Prunes, Raisins

Seeds

Pumpkin Seeds

Superfoods

Wheat Grass Powder