Vitamins & Minerals
Why are Vitamins Important?
Vitamin K
Vitamin K
Benefits of Vitamin K
- Vitamin K is a group of vitamins that the body needs for blood clotting, helping wounds to heal.
Food Sources
Vitamin K is found in:
- green leafy vegetables – such as broccoli and spinach vegetable oils cereal grains Small amounts can also be found in meat and dairy foods.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D
Benefits of Vitamin D
- Vitamin D helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body.
- These nutrients are needed to keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy.
- A lack of vitamin D can lead to bone deformities such as rickets in children, and bone pain caused by a condition called osteomalacia in adults.
Food Sources
- The body creates vitamin D from direct sunlight on the skin when outdoors
- Vitamin D is also found in a small number of foods.
- Sources include:
- oily fish – such as salmon, sardines, herring and mackerel red meat liver
- egg yolks fortified foods – such as some fat spreads and breakfast cereals
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12
Benefits of Vitamin B12
- Make red blood cells and keeping the nervous system healthy
- Release energy from food use folate
Food Sources
Good sources include:
- meat
- fish
- milk
- cheese
- eggs
- some fortified breakfast cereals
Sodium Chloride
Sodium Chloride
Benefits of Sodium Chloride
Sodium chloride is commonly known as salt.
Sodium and chloride are minerals needed by the body in small amounts to help keep the level of fluids in the body balanced. Chloride also helps the body digest food.
Food Sources
Salt is found naturally at low levels in all foods, but some salt is added to many processed foods, such as:
- ready meals
- meat products – such as bacon
- some breakfast cereals
- cheese
- tinned vegetables with added salt
- some bread
- savoury snacks
Selenium
Selenium
Benefits of Selenium
- Selenium helps the immune system work properly, as well as in reproduction. It also helps prevent damage to cells and tissues.
Food Sources
Good sources of selenium include:
- Brazil nuts
- fish
- meat
- eggs
Manganese
Manganese
Benefits of Manganese
- Manganese helps make and activate some of the enzymes in the body. Enzymes are proteins that help the body carry out chemical reactions, such as breaking down food.
Food Sources
Manganese is found in a variety of foods, including:
- bread
- nuts
- breakfast cereals (especially wholegrain)
- green vegetables – such as peas
Magnesium
Magnesium
Benefits of Magnesium
Magnesium is a mineral that helps:
- turn the food we eat into energy
- make sure the parathyroid glands, which produce hormones important for bone health, work normally
Food Sources
Magnesium is found in a wide variety of foods, including:
- spinach
- nuts
- wholemeal bread
Phosphorus
Phosphorus
Benefits of Phosphorus
- Phosphorus is a mineral that helps build strong bones and teeth, and helps release energy from food.
Food Sources
Good sources include:
- red meat
- dairy foods
- fish
- poultry
- bread
- brown rice
- oats
Potassium
Potassium
Benefits of potassium
- Potassium is a mineral that helps control the balance of fluids in the body, and also helps the heart muscle work properly.
Food Sources
Good sources of potassium include:
- bananas
- some vegetables – such as broccoli, parsnips and brussels sprouts
- beans and pulses
- nuts and seeds
- fish
- beef
- chicken
- turkey
Molybdenum
Molybdenum
Benefits of Molybdenum
- Molybdenum helps make and activate some of the proteins involved in chemical reactions (enzymes) that help with repairing and making genetic material.
Food Sources
- Molybdenum is found in a wide variety of foods. Foods that grow above ground tend to be higher in molybdenum than foods that grow below the ground, such as potatoes or carrots.
Copper
Copper
Benefits of Copper
Copper helps:
- Produce red and white blood cells
- Trigger the release of iron to form haemoglobin, the substance that carries oxygen around the body
- It’s also thought to be important for infant growth, brain development, the immune system and strong bones.
Food Sources
Good sources of copper include:
- nuts
- shellfish
- offal
Beta-carotene
Beta-carotene
Benefits of Beta-carotene
- Beta-carotene gives yellow and orange fruit and vegetables their colour. It’s turned into Vitamin A in the body, so it can perform the same jobs in the body as vitamin A.
Food Sources
The main sources of beta-carotene are:
- yellow and green (leafy) vegetables – such as spinach, carrots and red peppers
- yellow fruit – such as mango, papaya and apricots
Iron
Iron
Benefits of iron
- Iron is important in making red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body.
Food Sources
Good sources of iron include:
- liver
- red meat
- beans, such as red kidney beans, edamame beans and chickpeas nuts
- dried fruit – such as dried apricots
- fortified breakfast cereals soy bean flour
Iodine
Iodine
Benefits of Iodine
- Iodine helps make thyroid hormones, which help keep cells and the metabolic rate (the speed at which chemical reactions take place in the body) healthy.
Food Sources
Good food sources of iodine include:
- sea fish shellfish Iodine can also be found in plant foods, such as cereals and grains, but the levels vary depending on the amount of iodine in the soil where the plants are grown.
Calcium
Calcium
Benefits of calcium
Calcium has several important functions.
- These include:
- helping build bones and keep teeth healthy
- regulating muscle contractions, including your heartbeat
- making sure blood clots normally A lack of calcium could lead to a condition called rickets in children, and osteomalacia or osteoporosis in later life.
Food Sources
Sources of calcium include:
- milk, cheese and other dairy foods green leafy vegetables – such as curly kale, okra but not spinach (spinach does contain high levels of calcium but the body cannot digest it all)
- soya drinks with added calcium bread and anything made with fortified flour
- fish where you eat the bones – such as sardines and pilchards
Vitamin E
Vitamin E
Benefits of Vitamin E
- Vitamin E helps maintain healthy skin and eyes, and strengthen the body’s natural defence against illness and infection (the immune system).
Food Sources
Good sources include:
- plant oils – such as rapeseed (vegetable oil), sunflower, soya, corn and olive oil nuts and seeds
- wheatgerm – found in cereals and cereal product
Vitamin C
Vitamin C
Benefits of Vitamin C
- Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, has several important functions.
- These include:
- helping to protect cells and keeping them healthy
- maintaining healthy skin, blood vessels, bones and cartilage
- helping with wound healing
Food Sources
Good sources include:
- citrus fruit, such as oranges and orange juice
- peppers
- strawberries
- blackcurrants
- broccoli
- brussels sprouts
- potatoes
Zinc
Zinc
Benefits of Zinc
Zinc helps with:
- Making new cells and enzymes
- Processing carbohydrate, fat and protein in food
- Wound healing
Food Sources
Good sources of zinc include:
- meat
- shellfish
- dairy foods – such as cheese bread
- cereal products – such as wheatgerm
Folate & Folic Acid
Folate & Folic Acid
Benefits of Folate & Folic Acid
Folate is also known as folacin and vitamin B9
Folate helps:
the body form healthy red blood cells
reduce the risk of birth defects called neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, in unborn babies
Food Sources
Good sources include:
- broccoli
- brussels sprouts
- leafy green vegetables, such as cabbage, kale, spring greens and spinach
- peas
- chickpeas and kidney beans
- liver
- breakfast cereals fortified with folic acid
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6
Benefits of Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine, helps:
- The body to use and store energy from protein and carbohydrates in food
- The body form haemoglobin, the substance in red blood cells that carries oxygen around the body
Food Sources
Good sources of vitamin B6 Vitamin B6 is found in a wide variety of foods, including:
- pork
- poultry, such as chicken or turkey
- some fish
- peanuts
- soya beans
- wheatgerm
- oats
- bananas
- milk
- some fortified breakfast cereals
Vitamin B7
Vitamin B7
Benefits of B7
- Biotin is needed in very small amounts to help the body make fatty acids.
Food Sources
- Biotin is also found in a wide range of foods, but only at very low levels.
Vitamin B5
Vitamin B5
Benefits of vitamin B5
Pantothenic acid is found in varying amounts in almost all vegetables, wholegrain foods and meats, but good sources include:
Food Sources
- chicken
- beef
- liver and kidneys
- eggs
- mushrooms
- avocado
Vitamin B3
Vitamin B3
Benefits of vitamin B3
Niacin, also known as vitamin B3, helps:
- The body release energy from food
- Keep the nervous system and skin healthy
Food Sources
Good sources of niacin include:
- meat
- fish
- wheat flour
- eggs
Vitamin B1
Vitamin B1
Benefits of vitamin B1
- Thiamin helps the body break down and release energy from food
- Keeps the nervous system healthy
Food Sources
Thiamin is found in many types of food.
Good sources include:
- peas
- some fresh fruits (such as bananas and oranges)
- nuts
- wholegrain breads
- some fortified breakfast cereals liver
Vitamin B2
Vitamin B2
Benefits of vitamin B2
Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, helps keep the skin, eyes and the nervous system healthy
And helps the body release energy from food
Food Sources
Good sources of riboflavin include:
- milk
- eggs
- fortified breakfast cereals
- mushrooms
- plain yoghurt
Vitamin B’s
Vitamin B’s
There are many different types of vitamin B.
Benefits of Vitamin B’s
This section has information on:
- Thiamin (vitamin B1)
- Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
- Niacin (vitamin B3)
- Pantothenic acid
- Vitamin B6
- Biotin (vitamin B7)
- Folate and Folic acid
- Vitamin B12
Food Sources
Vitamin A
Vitamin A
Helping your body’s natural defence against illness and infection (the immune system) work properly.
Benefits of Vitamin A
- Helping your body’s natural defence against illness and infection (the immune system) work properly
- helping vision in dim light
- keeping skin and the lining of some parts of the body, such as the nose, healthy
Food Sources
Good sources of vitamin A (retinol) include:
- cheese
- eggs
- oily fish
- fortified low-fat spreads
- milk and yoghurt
- liver and liver products
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