What Are the B Vitamins?
B vitamins refer to a group of 8 different vitamins that make up what’s often called the B-complex. The B vitamins are:
- thiamin (vitamin B1)
- riboflavin (vitamin B2)
- niacin (vitamin B3)
- pantothenic acid (vitamin B5)
- pyridoxine (vitamin B6)
- biotin (vitamin B7)
- folate (vitamin B9)
- cobalamin (vitamin B12)
This group of vitamins helps your body convert food into energy — also known as the process of metabolism — as well as create new blood cells. They’re also important for the maintenance of healthy skin cells, brain cells, and other body tissues.
Like vitamin C, the B vitamins are water-soluble, which means that they dissolve in water. Unlike the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, which are best absorbed when ingested alongside dietary fats, the water-soluble vitamins can be taken with water and then used by your body. Bacteria in the intestinal tract of animals produce B vitamins, which is why prevailing wisdom has recommended eating animals to meet our daily requirements. This isn’t necessary, as many plants also contain these nutrients (see below for examples).
Recently, however, scientists have discovered that bacteria in the human microbiome themselves generate B vitamins. This makes logical sense, given that humans are in fact animals, but there are a couple of reasons that we can’t rely on our internal B factories for all we need.
First, not all guts produce these compounds equally. Second, we absorb B vitamins in the small intestines, but the bacteria that manufacture these vitamins are in the large intestines. Since the large intestines are the next to last stop on the poop train, it’s not clear how fully and efficiently those vitamins get to their absorption sites.
For these reasons, many of us need to be intentional with our dietary sources of B vitamins to make sure we’re getting enough. But luckily, most of the B vitamins are typically found together in food.
(Excerpt taken fro The Food Revolution Network)