Vitamins: Sources, Health Tips

Vitamins - Sources & Health Tips App.

Your body is one powerful machine, capable of doing all sorts of things by itself.
But when it comes to vitamins, it can use some help.
That's where food comes in. Your body is able to get the vitamins it needs from the foods you eat because different foods contain different vitamins. The key is to eat different foods to get an assortment of vitamins.

Vitamins are organic substances produced by plants or animals. They often are called "essential" because they are not synthesized in the body (except for vitamin D) and therefore must come from food.

Vitamins are divided into two categories: water soluble—which means the body expels what it does not absorb—and fat soluble where leftover amounts are stored in the liver and fat tissues as reserves. The water-soluble vitamins are the eight B vitamins (B-1, B-2, B-3, B-5, B-6, B-7, B-9, and B-12) and vitamin C. The fat-soluble vitamins are A, D, E, and K.

Fat-soluble vitamins (vitamin A, D, E and K) are mainly found in:

• Animal fats;
• Vegetable oils;
• Dairy foods;
• Liver;
• Oily fish;

While your body needs these vitamins to work properly, you don't need to eat foods containing them every day.

Water-soluble vitamins (vitamin C, the B vitamins and folic acid) are mainly found in:

• Fruit and vegetables;
• Grains;
• Milk and dairy foods;

These vitamins aren't stored in the body, so you need to have them more frequently.

We have compiled the main products containing the maximum amount of a specific vitamin. And added basic information about each vitamin.

The foods you eat do more than fill your belly — they also give your body the nutrients it needs to thrive. What you eat can affect how you feel today as well as how you feel years from now.

Some foods can deplete your energy, impair your digestive system, and raise your risk of health problems. Other foods fuel your body’s natural disease-fighting abilities.