Healthy Food

By Ray Chowdhury

Vitamins are crucial for your overall health, and the best place to get natural vitamins is through the foods you eat. Learn which foods are the best source for vitamins:

A (retinol)

Has a positive effect on skin, overall immunity, tooth and bone growth, vision and reproductive fertility. You can find vitamin A in foods like mangoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, pumpkin, butternut squash, tomato juice and even beef liver.

B1 (thiamine)

Your body needs B1 for improved energy metabolism as well as for nerve functioning. It's found in many foods, such as: sunflower seeds, lean pork, spinach, tomato juice, green peas and soy milk.

B3 (niacin)

B3 is good for metabolism, healthy skin, nerves and your digestive system. To improve your intake of B3, eat plenty of potatoes, chicken breast, liver, spinach, tomato juice, lean ground beef, tuna and shrimp.

B6 (pyridoxine)

This vitamin is necessary to create new red blood cells as well as amino acid and fatty acid metabolism. It's found in foods like broccoli, acorn squash, potatoes, bananas, tomato juice, watermelon, white rice and chicken white meat.

Vitamin B12

Your body uses B12 to help create new cells, metabolize fatty acids and amino acids. It also supports the maintenance of your nervous system. B12 is found mostly in animal products such as meat, fish, milk, poultry, eggs and shellfish.

Biotin

Biotin aids in the metabolism of amino acids, synthesis of fats and overall energy metabolism. Biotin is found in too many foods to list.

C (ascorbic acid)

The health benefits of vitamin C include an improved absorption of iron, amino acid metabolism and collagen synthesis. It also helps your immune system and is an antioxidant. You will get vitamin C when you eat oranges, strawberries, snow peas, tomato juice, red bell peppers, broccoli, spinach and mangoes.

Vitamin D

The main function of vitamin D is the promotion of bone mineralization. It's found in milk that has been fortified with vitamin D, egg yolks, fatty fish and beef liver. Fortified vitamin D used in processed foods is lab made synthetic substance. They have been proven to be not safe and effective.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and it also supports the stabilization of cell membranes. For extra vitamin E, you should eat sunflower seeds, sweet potatoes, avocado, tofu, shrimp, wheat germ, cod fish and polyunsaturated plant oils (such as corn, canola or soybean).

Folate

Folate's main role in the body is the synthesis of DNA as well as the formation of new cells. It's found in many foods, including: green beans, spinach, asparagus, lentils, pinto beans, okra, tomato juice, broccoli and black-eyed peas.

Vitamin K

You need vitamin K to help maintain blood-clotting functions and to keep the levels of calcium in your blood stable. Foods like spinach, broccoli, cabbage, liver and other leafy green vegetables all contain vitamin K.

Pantothenic Acid

This final vitamin compound is directly involved with overall energy metabolism and is found widely in too many foods to list out.

A Note on Food Safety

Because of harmful and questionable practices of conventional farming and food processing methods, locally, naturally and organically grown foods should be consumed whenever possible.

Fish, especially tuna has mercury and other industrial waste contamination. Deep-water fish like wild Alaskan salmons are much safer to consume.