Learning Your ABC’s: The Language of Vitamins—and a Refreshing Gazpacho Recipe
Learning the essential vitamins can feel like learning a whole new language—but you don’t need a translator app to understand the importance of vitamins in your diet. Vitamins are a group of micronutrients needed for normal cell function, growth and development. In other words, they’re required for your body to work properly. There are 13 essential vitamins that everybody needs. Explore their functions and food sources by clicking on each vitamin below:
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Vitamin A
Function: helps form and maintain healthy teeth, bones and skin.
Food sources: dark-colored fruits and leafy vegetables, egg yolk, fortified milk and dairy products (cheese, yogurt, butter, cream), liver, beef and fish.
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B Vitamins
Function: important for metabolism, the production of red blood cells, maintaining the nervous system and more.
Food sources: avocados, bananas, beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, chocolate, fortified cereals, dried beans, eggs, enriched bread, fish, green vegetables, lean and organ meats, lentils, mushrooms, nuts and seeds, oranges, peas, potatoes, poultry and whole grains.
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Vitamin C
Function: promotes healthy teeth and gums and is essential for wound healing.
Food sources: broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, citrus fruits, potatoes, spinach, strawberries and tomatoes.
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Vitamin D
Function: helps the body absorb calcium, which is needed for normal development and maintenance of healthy teeth and bones.
Food sources: fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, herring), fish liver oils, fortified cereals, fortified milk and dairy products.
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Vitamin E
Function: helps the body form red blood cells and use vitamin K.
Food sources: avocados, dark green vegetables (spinach, broccoli, asparagus), mango, margarine and oil (made from safflower, corn and sunflower oil), papaya, seeds and nuts.
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Vitamin K
Function: necessary for normal blood clotting and bone health.
Food sources: cabbage, cauliflower, cereals, dark leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, collards), fish, liver, beef and eggs.
