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By Marie Spano, RD, MS

There has been a lot of press lately about Vitamin D deficiency, but what about B vitamins? B vitamins are found naturally in many foods and also added to other foods and beverages (these are considered enriched or fortified). From peanut butter to pork, it seems like it would be easy to meet your vitamin B needs. However, some Americans, especially those over 65 years of age, fall short either from consuming too little of a certain vitamin or from a decrease in absorption. The most common deficiencies noted in this age group are vitamins B12 and B6 .

The B vitamins are grouped together because they work together. While each B vitamin plays a unique role in our body, they work together to produce energy within our cells. Therefore, it is important to ensure that you are meeting your need for all B vitamins and not taking one or two B vitamins alone (unless directed by a physician). Additionally, excess folic acid can trigger symptoms of a vitamin B12 deficiency; therefore the balance between these two vitamins in our body is very important. If you think you may fall short, consider a B complex or multivitamin with all B vitamins.

B Vitamins and Their Food Sources

Vitamin	Function in the Body	Top food sources
Thiamin (B1)	Helps produce energy from carbohydrates	Pork, beef liver, enriched rice, fortified cereal, bread
Niacin	Helps the body use sugars and fatty acids; helps enzymes function	Fortified cereals, swordfish, tuna, salmon fish, chicken, wheat flour, pasta, malted drink mixes with added nutrients
Pyridoxine (B6)	Helps the body make nonessential amino acids (nonessential means the body can produce them); converts tryptophan into serotonin; helps produce other body chemicals (insulin, hemoglobin, antibodies)	Chicken, fish, pork, peanut butter
Riboflavin (vitamin B2)	Plays a key role in the metabolism of fats, ketone bodies, carbohydrates, and proteins	Beef, turkey, fortified cereals, vanilla fast food shake, roasted duck, milkshakes
Folate (folic acid or folacin)	Helps produce new cells in the body; works with B12 to produce red blood cells; helps decrease the risk of delivering a baby with neural tube defects; may help control homocysteine levels	Enriched rice, fortified cereals, cornmeal, turkey, wheat flour, chicken, lentils, cowpeas, orange juice, beans, chickpeas, okra
Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)	Works with folate to make red blood cells; helps the body use amino acids (components of protein) and some fatty acids; is part of many body chemicals	Mollusks, beef, turkey, clam chowder, chicken, Braunschweiger sausage, Alaska king crab, salmon, sardines, fortified cereals, trout, herring, pollock
Biotin	Helps metabolize proteins, carbohydrates and fats	Eggs, wheat germ, peanuts, cottage cheese, whole-grain bread
Pantothenic acid	Helps metabolize proteins, carbohydrates and fats	Fortified cereals, mushrooms, chicken, beef, turkey, duck, sunflower seeds, couscous, enriched rice
*Choline	Assists with transporting fats in the body and helps make substances that form cell membranes; helps make the neurotransmitter acetylcholine; plays a role in liver function and reproductive health	Beef, chicken, turkey, eggs, duck, eggnog, veal, tomato paste

*Choline is a vitamin like substance that is typically grouped with B vitamins.

According to the Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine, 10 to 30 percent of older people have trouble absorbing B12 from food and those older than 50 should consume foods fortified with B12 or take a supplement containing B12.

Keep Those B’s In Your Food
Keep in mind that the water-soluble B vitamins are destroyed to an extent during food preparation, processing and handling. Try these tips to keep vitamins in the food you will eat:

Rinse produce but don’t soak it
Eat the skin on produce
Eat your produce raw if possible or cook them for a minimal amount of time
Buy locally – less travel time = less nutrients that are lost (plus you are boosting your local economy)
Steam vegetables vs. boiling them in a pot of water
Cut vegetables that you will cook in larger pieces (less surface area = fewer vitamins lost)
Buy milk in opaque containers and don’t leave your milk on the counter (light destroys riboflavin)
Don’t rinse your grains before or after cooking. Add a little bit of olive oil to pasta after it is cooked if you prefer that it doesn’t stick together3.

Wellesse ALL DAY Energy shot with B Complex vitamins is an excellent source of the B Vitamins you need while getting a healthy energy boost at the same time. ALL DAY Energy is formulated with all the right B’s and antioxidants such as Green Tea for a sustained, healthy energy level. You can f

Always inform your doctor about the supplements you are taking and plan on taking so they can adjust their plan of care accordingly.

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Spinneker A, Sola R, Lemmen V et al. Vitamin B6 status, deficiency and its consequences--an overview. Review. Nutr Hosp 2007;22(1):7-24.

Duyff RL. American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide. 3rd Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New Jersey, 2006.

NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Folate. http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/folate.asp

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 2007. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 20. Nutrient Data Laboratory Home Page, http://www.ars.usda.gov/ba/bhnrc/ndl