Major Roles of Vitamins and Foods that Contain Them

Ever wondered if you are getting all of the essential vitamins in your diet or if you may need to supplement? Well, here’s a cheat sheet for you to see if your diet really contains all of the essential vitamins. The bummer, though, is even if you ARE eating all of these foods, chances are that you still will need supplementation of some or all of them. Unfortunately our food sources are just not as rich as they once were in vitamins or minerals. (That’s the topic for another post though!) Here goes the list!
 
Vitamin A: 
Actions in the body:

• Helps fight infection and support the immune system
• Good for eyesight 
• Maintain healthy heart, lungs, and kidneys
• Strengthen bones and teeth

Foods that contain Vitamin A or the precursor (beta-carotene):

• Beef liver
• Salmon
• Milk
• Carrot 
• Broccoli 

 
Vitamin B: 
Actions in the body:

• Maintains brain function and nervous system function
• Support a healthy heart 
• Maintain healthy metabolism
• Product normal blood cells 

Foods that contain some or all of the B Vitamins (there’s several):

• Meat, especially liver and red meat
• Dairy (milk, yogurt)
• Shellfish 

 
Vitamin C: 
Actions in the body:

• Increases endurance
• Keeps skin healthy and glowing
• Helps manage high blood pressure
• Helps prevent iron deficiency 
• Overall great immune support and antioxidant

Foods that contain Vitamin C:

• Citrus
• Peppers 
• Kiwi
• Almost any brightly colored fruit or vegetable is a good source 

 
Vitamin D: 
Actions in the body:

• Maintains a healthy immune system
• Maintain bone health
• Controls calcium absorption and deposition 
• Balances phosphorus levels in the blood
• Maintains a healthy nervous system function (and brain function)

Foods that contain Vitamin D:

• Flesh of fatty fish (salmon, tuna)
• Fish liver oils
• Mushrooms
• Eggs
• Cheese
• Beef liver 

 
Vitamin E: 
Actions in the body:

• Major antioxidant for immune system
• Improves circulation and blood vessel diameter
• Helps body use vitamin K
• Helps with cell membrane integrity 

Foods that contain Vitamin E:

• Beef liver
• Egg
• Pumpkin
• Bell peppers
• Vegetable oils (***but use with caution – lots of research showing negative effects of certain vegetable oils recently!!!) 

 
Vitamin K: 
Actions in the body:

• Maintains a healthy immune system
• Maintains proper blood clotting
• Keeps bones strong and healthy 
• Supports cognitive (brain) health 

Foods that contain Vitamin K:

• Green leafy vegetables 
• Eggs
• Natto (fermented soy beans) 

 
If you don’t see your diet showing up under all of these vitamins, it may be time to talk to your doctor about a vitamin supplement to make sure your body is getting enough of these essential nutrients. 

Testing: If you’re just curious about your vitamin levels in your body and cells and want to make sure you have enough of them all, that’s also something we can help with. There are specific labs that can be checked to determine if you have enough of these essential vitamins. Send us a message below to get started with this.