B vitamins

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Vitamin B is a complex of eight water soluble vitamins, active in cell metabolism. The name arises because it was once considered a single vitamin, much like Vitamin C or Vitamin D. Since later research has shown it is in fact a complex of chemically distinct vitamins that happen to often coexist in the same foods, the name has gradually declined in use, being replaced by the generic term "the B vitamins", the vitamin B complex, or by the specific names of each vitamin.

[edit] List of B vitamins

• Vitamin B₁, (Thiamine)
• Vitamin B₂, (Riboflavin)
• Vitamin B₃, also Vitamin P or Vitamin PP (Niacin)
• Vitamin B₅, (Pantothenic acid)
• Vitamin B₆, (Pyridoxine and Pyridoxamine)
• Vitamin B₇, also Vitamin H (Biotin)
• Vitamin B₉, also Vitamin M and Vitamin B-c (Folic acid) – important for pregnancies
• Vitamin B₁₂, (Cyanocobalamin)

[edit] B vitamins deficiency

Several named vitamin deficiency diseases may result from the lack of sufficient B-vitamins.

• Vitamin B₁ (Thiamine) deficiency causes Beriberi. Symptoms of this disease of the nervous system include weight loss, emotional disturbances, Wernicke's encephalopathy (impaired sensory perception), weakness and pain in the limbs, periods of irregular heartbeat, and edema (swelling of bodily tissues). Heart failure and death may occur in advanced cases. Chronic thiamine deficiency can also cause Korsakoff's syndrome, an irreversible psychosis characterized by amnesia and confabulation.
• Vitamin B₂ (Riboflavin) deficiency causes Ariboflavinosis. Symptoms may include cheilosis (cracks in the lips), high sensitivity to sunlight, angular cheilitis, glossitis (inflammation of the tongue), seborrheic dermatitis or pseudo-syphilis (particularly affecting the scrotum or labia majora and the mouth), pharyngitis, hyperemia, and edema of the pharyngeal and oral mucosa.
• Vitamin B₃ (Niacin) deficiency, along with a deficiency of tryptophan causes Pellagra. Symptoms include aggression, dermatitis, insomnia, weakness, mental confusion, and diarrhea. In advanced cases, pellagra may lead to dementia and death.

Deficiencies of other B vitamins result in symptoms that are not part of a named deficiency disease.

• Vitamin B₅ (Pantothenic acid) deficiency can result in acne and Paresthesia, although it is uncommon.
• Vitamin B₆ (Pyridoxine) deficiency may lead to anemia, depression, dermatitis, high blood pressure (hypertension) and elevated levels of homocysteine.
• Vitamin B₇ deficiency does not typically cause symptoms in adults but may lead to impaired growth and neurological disorders in infants.
• Vitamin B₉ (Folic acid) deficiency results in elevated levels of homocysteine. Deficiency in pregnant women can lead to birth defects.
• Vitamin B₁₂ (Cyanocobalamin) deficiency causes pernicious anemia, memory loss and other cognitive decline. It is most likely to occur among elderly people as absorption through the gut declines with age. In extreme (fortunately rare) cases paralysis can result.

[edit] Related nutrients

Other substances which are very similar in structure and function to the B vitamins have been discovered. Many of them are "essential" vitamins to various plants and animals which cannot synthesize their own. (The adjective "essential" in the context of medicine and nutrition refers to a nutrient being required because it cannot be made by the body. Non-"essential" nutrients are still important.) None of these are "essential" vitamins to humans, because humans can synthesize their own, though some only technically so (choline, for instance, can be metabolized in humans by cannibalizing cells to make use of the choline they contain, killing the cells in the process).

Many of the following substances have been referred to as vitamins because they were believed to be vitamins at one time. Most of them are vitamins with respect to certain plants and animals as well. While they are non-"essential" in that they may be synthesized by the body from other starting materials, they are still important. See also Orthomolecular medicine.

• Vitamin B₄ (Adenine) –
• Vitamin B₇ "Vitamin I" of Centanni E. (1935) — more commonly called Vitamin B₇ and also called 'Enteral factor' is a both water and alcohol soluble rice-bran factor which prevents digestive disturbance in pigeons. It governs the anatomical and functional integrity of the intestinal tract. Later found in yeast. Possible candidates for this substance are inositol, nicotinic acid(niacin), and biotin. Carnitine was also claimed to be a candidate but is not possible as it is not soluble in alcohol.^{[citation needed]}
• Vitamin B₈ (Ergadenylic acid) – also known as adenosine monophosphate
• Vitamin B₁₀ (para-aminobenzoic acid, or PABA)– [1]
• Vitamin B₁₁ (Pteryl-hepta-glutamic acid) – Chick growth factor, which is a form of Folic acid. Later found to be one of five folates necessary for humans); (L-carnitine) in France.
• Vitamin B₁₃ (Pyrimidinecarboxylic acid) – Also known as Orotic acid, often misspelled erotic acid.
• Vitamin B₁₄ – cell proliferant, anti-anemia, rat growth, an antitumor pterin phosphate named by Earl R. Norris (biochemist of folic acid fame) isolated from human urine at 0.33ppm (later in blood), but later abandoned by him as further evidence did not comfirm this. He also clamed this was not Xanthopterin as the French do.
• Vitamin B₁₅ (Pangamic acid) – [2]
• Vitamin B₁₆ (dimethylgycine) – also known as DMG. (However Lipoic acid was discovered and named a B-Vitamin after B15 and before B17)
• Vitamin B₁₇ (Amygdalin) – proponents claim this is effective in cancer treatment and prevention and is commonly found in apricot kernels.
• Vitamin B₁₈ –
• Vitamin B₁₉ –
• Vitamin B₂₀ (Carnitine) –
• Vitamin B₂₁ –
• Vitamin B₂₂ – often claimed as an ingredient of Aloe vera extracts but also in many other foods. Claimed by one source to be Vitamin B12b-δ. first mentioned on internet in reference to Naturopath Linda Clark's book "Know your Nutrition"
• Vitamin B_h – another name for(biotin) [3]
• Vitamin B_m ("mouse factor") – also used to designate Inositol
• Vitamin B_p (Choline) –
• Vitamin B_t (L-carnitine) –
• Vitamin B_v – a type of B6 but not Pyrodoxine
• Vitamin B_w – a type of Biotin but not d-Biotin
• Vitamin B_x – another name for PABA (para-Aminobenzoic acid)
• Lipoic acid –

Note: B₁₆, B₁₇, B₁₈, B₁₉, B₂₀, B₂₁ & B₂₂ do not appear to be animal factors but are claimed by naturopaths as human therapedic factors.

[edit] Health benefits

The B vitamins often work together to deliver a number of health benefits to the body. B vitamins have been shown to:

• Bolster metabolism
• Maintain healthy skin and muscle tone
• Enhance immune and nervous system function
• Promote cell growth and division — including that of the red blood cells that help prevent anemia.

Together, they also help combat the symptoms and causes of stress, depression, and cardiovascular disease.

All B vitamins are water soluble, and are dispersed throughout the body. They must be replenished daily with any excess excreted in the urine.

[edit] Vitamin B sources

Vitamin B comes from a number of natural sources, including potatoes, bananas, lentils, chili peppers, tempeh, liver, turkey, and tuna. Nutritional yeast (or brewer's yeast) is an especially good source of Vitamin B. The iconic Australian spread Vegemite bills itself as "One of the worlds richest known sources of vitamin B". As might be expected due to its high content of brewer's yeast, beer is a good source of B vitamins [4], [5], although this may not be true of filtered beers [6], [7]; in fact, beer is sometimes referred to as "liquid bread" [8].

Another popular means of increasing one's Vitamin B intake is through supplements, purchased at supermarkets, health centers, or natural food stores.

[edit] References

• Linda Clark's "Know your Nutrition": ISBN 0-87983-401-3

[edit] External links

• How B Vitamins Work
• Vitamin B Deficiency Symptoms