B-Vitamins - 8 Individual Vitamins make up the B-Vitamin Family
What are B-Vitamins?
There are 8 members of the B vitamin family. They are all water soluble meaning that excess amounts of any B vitamin will be excreted in the urine. There is therefore little risk of consuming too much of these vitamins. They can be stored in limited amounts in the liver. They are:
B1 Thiamine
B2 Roboflavin
B3 Niacin
B5 Pantothenic Acid
B6 Pyridoxine
B12 Cyanocobalamin
Folic Acid
Biotin
Apparently the reason that there are so many vitamins considered to be part of the B Vitamin family is that these vitamins are all water soluble and found in the same foods even though they serve different functions. The odd numbering is explained by the discovery that some substances thought to be B vitamins later turned out not to be vitamins. (Some were manufactured in the body disqualifying them. Others were not organic or necessary to humans.) The result is this untidy grouping of B vitamins, some of which don't even rate a number.
What do they do?
Together the B-Vitamins are essential for:
Breaking down carbohydrates into glucose (energy production)
Breaking down fats and proteins
Muscle tone in stomach and intestines
Skin
Hair
Eyes
Mouth
Liver.
What dosage do you need?
In general, people seem to get an adequate supply of B vitamins in the diet. Many others receive them in multi-vitamins or fortified foods. There is more information about members of the B Vitamin family and recommended daily amounts in the linked paged for the individual B vitamins.
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