Obtaining Essential Vitamins

For the whole of human history, most people have obtained all the vitamins and minerals they needed without ever taking a Flintstones vitamin. Don't get me wrong, I take my Flintstones equivalent every day for good measure, but if you follow the food pyramid guidelines, your children should be able to get all of the vitamins and minerals they need from their diets.

Here is a helpful list of important water-soluble vitamins and the dietary sources from which they are derived.

Thiamin, or vitamin B₁: Needed for normal functioning of muscle tissues, including the heart, the nervous system, and the digestive system, B₁ also serves an important role in carbohydrate metabolism and energy production. Lean meats, nuts and beans, and enriched and fortified cereals are great sources of vitamin B₁.

Riboflavin, or vitamin B₂: Needed for energy production, normal immune function, and healthy skin, B₂ is easily obtained from foods like lean meat, eggs, cereals, green leafy vegetables, and dairy products.

Niacin, or vitamin B₃: Comes from foods such as lean meats, nuts and beans, cereals, and yeasts and is needed for energy production, for maintaining normal skin, and as a digestive aid. It can be made by your body from the dietary intake of the amino acid tryptophan.

Folic acid: Needed for energy production, preventing anemia, and preventing birth defects such as neural tube defects, folic acid can be easily obtained from meats, beans, leafy greens, and whole grains.

Vitamin B₁₂, or cobalamin: This vitamin comes only from animal-derived products, such as meat and dairy. B₁₂ is important for energy production, anemia prevention, utilization of folic acid, and nervous system function.

Biotin: Needed for many of the intracellular reactions that lead to energy production, biotin is so widespread in the foods your kids eat that deficiencies of this nutrient are unheard of in developed countries.

Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid: Found in citrus fruits, berries, tomatoes, potatoes, and leafy green vegetables, among other foods, vitamin C is needed for normal growth, immune function, wound healing, bone and tooth formation, and efficient iron absorption.

As you can see, if your children are eating well-balanced diets that include foods from all of the food groups, they will get all of the water-soluble vitamins they need without the help of Fred or Barney. Refer to Vitamins and minerals: Essential part of a child's diet for a more specific discussion of whether your child should take a daily multivitamin.

More on: Healthy Meals for Families

Excerpted from:

From Raising Healthy Eaters: 100 Tips for Parents by Henry Legere, M.D. Copyright © 2004. Used by arrangement with The Perseus Books Group.

To order this book visit perseusbooksgroup.com.