A Helpful Vitamin Chart

Lately Ia??ve been worrying about Kevina??s refusal to eat broccoli, and wondering what exactly is so good about those green bunches of roughage. In browsing the Web for more detailed information on the matter, I found a helpful vitamin chart.

The table comes from the HHSa??sponsored National Womena??s Health Information Center a?? a good spot to know of if youa??re a woman looking online for reliable sources. Ita??s a bit simple for my taste. In the intro, wea??re told there are 13 essential vitamins our bodies need. After some basics on Vitamin A a?? good for the eyes and skin, as you probably knew already a?? the chart picks up with a quick review of the essential B vitamins 1, 2 ,3 ,5 ,6 , 9 and 12 (my favorite), followed by a rundown on Vitamins C, D, E, H (that would be biotin) and K:

Vitamins, Some of their Actions, and Good Food Sources
Vitamin	Actions	Sources
A	Needed for vision Helps your body fight infections Helps keep your skin healthy	Kale, broccoli, spinach, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, liver, eggs, whole milk, cream, and cheese.
B1	Helps your body use carbohydrates for energy Good for your nervous system	Yeasts, ham and other types of pork, liver, peanuts, whole-grain and fortified cereals and breads, and milk.
B2	Helps your body use proteins, carbohydrates, and fats Helps keep your skin healthy	Liver, eggs, cheese, milk, leafy green vegetables, peas, navy beans, lima beans, and whole-grain breads.
B3	Helps your body use proteins, carbohydrates, and fats Good for your nervous system and skin	Liver, yeast, bran, peanuts, lean red meats, fish, and poultry.
B5	Helps your body use carbohydrates and fats Helps your body make red blood cells	Beef, chicken, lobster, milk, eggs, peanuts, peas, beans, lentils, broccoli, yeast, and whole grains.
B6	Helps your body use proteins and fats Good for your nervous system Helps your blood carry oxygen	Liver, whole grains, egg yolk, peanuts, bananas, carrots, and yeast.
B9 (folic acid or folate)	Helps your body make and maintain new cells Prevents some birth defects	Green leafy vegetables, liver, yeast, beans, peas, oranges, and fortified cereals and grain products.
B12	Helps your body make red blood cells Good for your nervous system	Milk, eggs, liver, poultry, clams, sardines, flounder, herring, eggs, blue cheese, cereals, nutritional yeast, and foods fortified with vitamin B12, including cereals, soy-based beverages, and veggie burgers.
C	Needed for healthy bones, blood vessels, and skin	Broccoli, green and red peppers, spinach, brussels sprouts, oranges, grapefruits, tomatoes, potatoes, papayas, strawberries, and cabbage.
D	Needed for healthy bones	Fish liver oil, milk and cereals fortified with vitamin D. Your body may make enough vitamin D if you are exposed to sunlight for about 5 to 30 minutes at least twice a week.
E	Helps prevent cell damage Helps blood flow Helps repair body tissues	Wheat germ oil, fortified cereals, egg yolk, beef liver, fish, milk, vegetable oils, nuts, fruits, peas, beans, broccoli, and spinach.
H (biotin)	Helps your body use carbohydrates and fats Needed for growth of many cells	Liver, egg yolk, soy flour, cereals, yeast, peas, beans, nuts, tomatoes, nuts, green leafy vegetables, and milk.
K	Helps in blood clotting Helps form bones	Alfalfa, spinach, cabbage, cheese, spinach, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, tomatoes, plant oils. Your body usually makes all the vitamin K you need.

(From womenshealth.gov; table accessed 2/19/2011.)

Overall Ia??d say the chart is useful — a good place to start if you want to know, say, whata??s a good, non-citrus source of Vitamin C. It could be improved by provision of more details, like the precise amount of Vitamin B2 per cupful of Swiss chard, and how preparing foods in distinct ways — like roasting, saut??ing, boiling, or serving them raw — affects the nutritional value.

                        l