Many Nobel Prizes are actually related to it! Do you consume enough every day?

Expert of this article: Pa Lize, Chief Physician of Nutrition, Science Popularization Committee Member of Chinese Nutrition Society

When it comes to vitamins, many people think of letters such as A, B, C, and D. Each vitamin has a different function. But have you noticed that among them, vitamin B is a little special. It is always followed by a different number, such as B1, B12... Why are there so many types of vitamin B? What are their functions? Let's learn about its story today.

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B Vitamins and the Nobel Prize

Before the 19th century, people always believed that any disease that spread like an epidemic in a region was caused by the presence of certain substances in the environment, rather than by the lack of certain substances in the food people consumed from the environment.

The discovery of vitamins overturned the fixed understanding of the causes of diseases in the early days of mankind. So far, 19 scientists have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering vitamins and their research on the relationship between vitamins and health, and 7 of them won the Nobel Prize for their breakthrough contributions in the discovery and synthesis of vitamin B and for pointing out and verifying for the first time the role of vitamin B in energy metabolism.

One of the most famous studies was that of Dr. Eijkman from the Netherlands, who spent many years of time and energy on practical research and revealed the secret of beriberi. He extracted vitamin B1 from rice bran and eventually used brown rice as "medicine", which cured patients of beriberi.

What are the vitamin families?

With the development of medicine, chemistry and genetics, we know that vitamins are a huge family. When vitamins were first discovered, they were given various letters and numbers for easy memorization. Later, it was discovered that the way vitamins are absorbed and transported in the blood circulation, as well as whether they can be stored in the body and the degree to which they are easily lost in the body are all determined by their different solubility in water and fat. Therefore, vitamins are divided into two categories: fat-soluble (vitamins A, D, E, K) and water-soluble (vitamin C and B vitamins).

The so-called B vitamins are a class of water-soluble vitamins with the common property of synergistic effects, including vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin), folic acid, vitamin B9, choline, biotin, etc.

What are the functions of different B vitamins?

Each B vitamin is a component of one or more coenzymes, directly or indirectly participating in the energy metabolism process. Although it only acts as a "helper" to promote the body's chemical reactions, it plays an irreplaceable and important role in maintaining health. Each member of the B vitamins has its own unique properties. The functions of the B vitamins can be summarized as follows:

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01

Play the role of utilizing food to generate heat. Vitamin B1, B2, niacin, pantothenic acid and biotin play a pivotal role in energy metabolism by directly participating in the release of energy from sugar, fat and protein metabolism.

02

It plays a role in building and repairing tissues, synthesizing hormones, fighting infection, or functioning as a fuel. Vitamin B6 helps the body synthesize proteins by using amino acids.

03

By helping cells absorb energy, they can reproduce. Folic acid and vitamin B12 play an essential role in the maturation of red blood cells in the blood, which are renewed every 120 days.

04

It plays an important role in brain function and mood regulation. Recently, scientists have also discovered that B vitamins participate in the synthesis of various neurotransmitters and steroid hormones.

What are the symptoms of vitamin B deficiency?

Table 1 Common B vitamin deficiency diseases and symptoms

From the table above, we can see that the deficiency of each B vitamin corresponds to a series of different symptoms, but in fact, the deficiency of B vitamins rarely occurs alone. The deficiency of a certain B vitamin also indicates the deficiency of other B vitamins, but the deficiency of one of them is more obvious. Only in animal experiments, when the feeding plan is achieved to only lack a certain vitamin, can these symptoms be clearly divided.

Although a deficiency of B vitamins will affect every cell in the body, the deterioration of the body's functions caused by the deficiency is not easy to observe. Even the slow and delayed growth and development of children and adolescents is often overlooked.

However, according to the nutrition and health monitoring data of the Chinese population, the rate of insufficient intake of vitamin B1 and vitamin B2 among adult residents of all ages in my country has remained above 80% in the past 10 years. The deficiency of B vitamins is very common in my country, so prevention of B vitamin deficiency should be given great attention.

How to supplement B vitamins?

Whole grains, lean meat, animal liver, yeast, milk and its products, green leafy vegetables and other foods contain a certain amount of B vitamins. Therefore, if the general population can adhere to the principles of "food diversity and reasonable combination", "eat more fruits and vegetables, milk, whole grains, and soybeans", and "eat fish, poultry, eggs, and lean meat in moderation" in the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents 2022" in their daily diet, they can achieve the goal of preventing nutrient deficiencies including B vitamins.

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However, some people who have an increased demand for B vitamins or whose absorption capacity is limited, such as pregnant women, nursing mothers, people who drink alcohol frequently, people who like processed food and sugary drinks, the elderly, people who have undergone partial gastrointestinal resection, and people with renal insufficiency, need to choose dietary supplements after consulting with nutritionists, doctors and other professionals on the basis of trying to have a balanced diet. For these people, the caring care of "drink more hot water" should be replaced with "eat more B vitamins."

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