Riboflavin, your little yellow friend
If you’ve ever taken a megavitamin and was alarmed later at the bright yellow color of your urine, you’ve met Vitamin B2, also known s riboflavin. Like all of the B vitamins, riboflavin plays a part in the complex enzyme reactions that make everything in your engine work. Nutritional scientists believe that Vitamin B2 plays a part in more of the body’s various functions than any other vitamin, so when you don’t get enough it can cause a number of disparate dysfunctions – anemia, skin problems, a swollen tongue, dry cracks at the corners of the mouth or neurological problems.
Riboflavin is naturally present, in small amounts, in a number of foods, and the amount you need is directly connected to your energy intake – the more calories you need, the more riboflavin you require. The recommended daily requirement of riboflavin is 1.7 milligrams per day for men and 1.3 for women, but many experts now believe that number is high – many people eat far less than the RDA of riboflavin and never show any signs of deficiency.
A number of plant foods contain moderate amounts of riboflavin, making it easy to get the amount you need from the foods you eat. Leafy greens, broccoli, yogurt and avocados are sources of riboflavin, and enriched breads and cereals are good sources, and legumes like soybeans and soy food products are even better. You can make sure that your vitamin supplement contains Vitamin B2 but, as with so many nutrients, simply eating a healthy diet that includes a variety of foods will assure you that you’re getting enough.
Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin
Vitamin D is a vitamin, of course, but it also falls under the same general classification as hormones – our body generates it for use by another part of the body later. In this case, we create Vitamin D through exposure to the sun, then it goes to our bones, kidney and intestines to regulate calcium and strengthen our bones. Hundreds of years ago, people suffered regularly from diseases like rickets and osteomalacia when they received inadequate exposure to sunlight. Thankfully, these are rarely seen today.
To get enough Vitamin D from the sun, you need about a half an hour’s exposure on the hands and face, three times a week with no sunscreen, to generate enough to help your body year ‘round. If you have darker sun, you’ll need more. Lighter skin, less. However much you need, the exposure you get during the summer and spring is supposed to carry you through the long winter. It’s possible to not get enough Vitamin D, especially if you live in an area that has a heavy smog layer, spend all of your days indoors, or only go outside wearing heavy clothing or sunscreen. Older people are at a greater risk of Vitamin D deficiency, as our ability to manufacture it decreases with age.
The good news is that if your vegetarian diet includes dairy, you’re probably getting enough. In the United States, dairy products are fortified with Vitamin D, and extra supplements aren’t necessary. Vegans (and others who forgo dairy products) may want to take supplemental Vitamin D. If so, you may want to consult with a nutritionist or other health professional – excess Vitamin D is stored in the body, creating calcium deposits that can damage the kidneys and heart.
But the best solution? Get outside in the sun!
The rest of the best
Vitamin B1 (thiamin) helps convert carbohydrates to energy, and we need about 0.5 milligrams for every 1,000 calories we eat to do the job. The disease beriberi, famous from countless jungle adventure movies, is caused by a deficiency of thiamine and results in damage to the nervous system. Vegetarians generally get lots of thiamine in their diets – whole grains are loaded with it, enriched breads offer a lot of B1, and nutritional yeast is a good source, too.
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is a component of in 60 different enzyme systems, most of which help your body metabolize protein – the amount you need is based on how much protein you eat. Vegetarians, who consume less protein overall than omnivores, need less B6. Since plant foods contain very high levels of B6 for the amount of protein they offer, vegetarians usually get plenty of B6. There’s even more good news for vegetarians – studies have shown that animal proteins actually increase the need for B6 more than plant proteins, so people on meatless diets need about 25 percent less. It’s also been found that the type of B vitamins offered by plant foods are less susceptible to destruction during cooking than those in meat , so vegetarians win there, too.
Folic acid, also called “folate,” is necessary for the body to metabolize protein and for efficient cell division. It works with B12 to create new material needed for the cells to divide and grow. The current RDA is 200 micrograms for men and 180 micrograms for women. Vegetables are great sources of folic acid, especially broccoli, leafy greens and asparagus. Legumes also contain a lot of folic acid, so eat your soy and your black-eyed peas.
Vitamin C was once believed to cure colds, but we now know that the best you can hope for is that large doses will reduce the severity of a cold if you catch one. Lack of Vitamin C also causes scurvy, once the scourge of sea-faring folk who lacked fresh vegetables on long voyages. Odds are, you’re not a pirate or a merchant seaman, so you probably don’t need to worry about your intake of C as it’s abundant in fruits and vegetables, especially citrus fruits, strawberries, peppers, watermelon, potatoes – yes, potatoes! – and broccoli. Because of this, vegetarians get more than the recommended amounts from the foods they eat, and vegans get the most Vitamin C of all!
