Vitamins

• Vitamin-A AND BETA-CAROTENE
• Vitamin-B6
• Vitamin-B12
• Vitamin-C
• Vitamin-D
• Vitamin-E (alpha-tocopherol)
• Folic Acid (folate)
• Niacin
• Calcium
• Chromium
• Iron
• Potassium
• Selenium
• Zinc

Vitamin-A and Beta-Carotene
 
It is needed for vision, healthy skin, cells and tissues, fight infection and aid in bone growth. Fruits and vegetables rich in beta-carotene and other carotenoids may be allies in the fight against cancer and heart disease. Vitamin A toxicity can occur from animal foods, fortified foods, and/or supplements. Symptoms include loss of hair, headaches, dry skin, vomiting, loss of mineral density in bones, and liver damage. High intakes may increase the risk of birth defects in pregnant women. Excess beta-carotene from plant foods is stored in your body, but luckily, is not toxic. However, high intakes for several weeks can give your skin a yellow appearance, most visible on the palms of your hands and soles of your feet. High doses of beta-carotene from supplements, not foods, have been shown to increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers.
Recommended daily:

• 1 to 3 years old: 300 micrograms
• 4 to 8 years old: 400 micrograms
• 9 to 13 years old: 600 micrograms
• 14+ year-old males: 1,000 micrograms
• 14+ year-old females: 700 micrograms

Top Ten Vitamin-A rich foods

Liver, sweet potato, carrot, mango, 1 medium spinach, cooked, cantaloupe, squash, acorn, cooked milk, egg yolk, mozzarella cheese are rich in Vitamin-A and Beta-Carotene

Vitamin-B6
 
It is required to help your body break down and generate amino acids to create new cells to help produce hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells and to help fight infection Along with vitamin-B12 and folate, vitamin-B6 may help lower high levels of blood homocysteine, an amino acid. High levels of homocysteine in the blood have been associated with an increased risk of heart disease.

Recommended daily:

• 1 to 3 years old: 0.5 mg
• 4 to 8 years old: 0.6 mg
• 9 to 13 years old: 1.0 mg

Males:

• 14 to 50 years old: 1.3 mg
• 51+ years old: 1.7 mg

Females:

• 14 to 18 years old: 1.2 mg
• 19 to 50 years old: 1.3 mg
• 51+ years old: 1.5 mg

Large intakes of supplements, 2,000 to 6,000 mg daily for 2 to 40 months, have been associated with nerve damage. Painful and disfiguring skin lesions have also been reported with intakes of 2,000 to 4,000 mg a day for more than a year.

Vitamin-B6 rich foods

Banana, cooked chicken skinless, light meat cooked, ground turkey cooked, sweet potato with skin baked, vegetable juice, beef - top round, braised, watermelon, spinach boiled are vitamin-B6 rich foods

Vitamin-C 
 
Recommended daily:

• 1 to 3 years old: 15 milligrams (mg)
• 4-8 years old: 25 mg 9-13 years old: 45 mg

Males:

• 14-18 years old: 75 mg
• 19+ years old: 90 mg

Females:

• 14-18 years old: 65 mg
• 19+ years old: 75 mg

(Smokers need to add an additional 35 mg daily.)
Why you need it: helps your body absorb iron for healthy gums, teeth, bones, and muscles to help heal wounds to fight infection as a powerful antioxidant protecting the cells of your body. It may reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, and cataracts. May slightly lessen the duration of a cold, along with easing some of the discomfort, such as the annoying runny or stuffed-up nose.
too much may be risky Large amounts may cause nausea, stomach cramps, and diarrhea. May interfere with anti-clotting medications. Can cause too much dietary iron to be absorbed and dangerously stored in the body in individuals with hemochromatosis, a rare iron-storage disease.

Top Vitamin-C rich foods

• papaya, 1 medium (188 mg)
• broccoli, 1 cup, boiled (116 mg)
• orange juice, from frozen concentrate, 8 oz (97 mg)
• strawberries, 1 cup raw (84 mg)
• orange, 1 navel (75 mg)
• kiwi, 1 (74 mg)
• cantaloupe, 1 cup (68 mg)
• grapefruit juice, 8 oz (67 mg)
• mango, raw, 1 (57 mg)
• peppers, chopped, raw, 1/2 cup (45 mg)

Vitamin-D Recommended Daily:

• 1 to 50 years old: 200 International Units (IU)
• 51 through 70 years old: 400 IU 71+ years: 600 IU

Why you need it: helps your body absorb bone-strengthening calcium and phosphorus from your gastrointestinal tract signals your kidneys to retain calcium so that it won't be lost from your body.
Research has uncovered vitamin D's involvement in other places in the body, such as the pancreas, muscles, skin, immune cells, and some cancer cells, all of which suggests that it may be of use in treating disorders such as cancer. too much may be risky While your major source of vitamin D is the exposure of your skin to sunlight, your age, lifestyle, the intensity of the sunlight, and even the use of sunscreen, may put you at risk of falling short of meeting your needs through sunlight.

Too much vitamin D, through supplements or food, but not sunlight, can be harmful and can cause kidney stones, nausea, loss of appetite, and vomiting, as well as damage to the kidneys, blood vessels, heart and lungs, and even death.

Top ten vitamin-D rich foods :

• milk, fortified, 8 oz (100 IU)
• cereals, fortified, ready-to-eat (40-100 IU)
• egg, large (25 IU)
• evaporated milk, 2 tbls (24 IU)
• egg substitutes, 1/4 cup (22 IU)
• margarine, 1 tsp (20 IU)
• salmon with bones, 3 oz (10 IU)
• dietary supplement

Vitamin-E (alpha-tocopherol) Recommended daily

• 1 to 3 years old: 6 milligrams (mg)
• 4 to 8 years old: 7 mg
• Males: 11 to 51+ years old: 10 mg
• Females: 11 to 51+ years old: 8 mg

Why you need it: as a powerful antioxidant protecting the cells of your body, including red blood cells helps protect unsaturated fat from the destructive damage of oxygen. It may help fight heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, cataracts, and improve your immune system. too much may be risky High amounts can interfere with vitamin K's clotting actions and enhance the effect of anti-clotting drugs, potentially increasing the risk of hemorrhage.

Top vitamin-E rich foods

• sunflower seeds, 2 tbls (7 mg)
• wheat germ, 1/4 cup (5.3 mg)
• peanut butter, 1 tbls (1.6 mg)
• Italian salad dressing (1.6 mg)
• almonds, dry roasted, 1 oz (1.6 mg)
• canola or corn oil, 1 tsp. (1.0 mg)
• salmon, canned, with bones, 3 oz (1.2 mg)
• tuna, white, canned, 3 oz (1.4 mg)
• lobster, cooked, 3 oz (0.9 mg)
• olive oil, 1 tsp (0.6 mg)

Folic Acid (folate) Recommended daily:

• 1 to 3 years old: 150 microgram (µg)
• 4 to 8 years old: 200 µg
• 9 to 13 years old: 300 µg
• Males: 14 to 70+ years old: 400 µg
• Females: 14 to 70+ years old: 400 µg

Why you need it: for healthy red blood cells for making new cells in the body, especially along your digestive tract and during pregnancy to reduce the risk of having a child with neurological birth defects. To lower their risk, women need to consume adequate folic acid approximately one month before and during the first month of pregnancy, a critical time in the fetus's formation, yet when many women are unaware that they have conceived. Folate helps reduce the risk of heart disease, colon and rectal cancers, the growth of pre-cancerous cells of the cervix (cervical dysplasia), and psychiatric and mental disorders, such as depression and deficiencies in learning and memory. Excess amount of folic acid could mask a vitamin B-12 deficiency, paving the way to crippling, irreversible nerve damage.

Top Folate-rich foods

• cereals, fortified, 1 serving (100-400 µg)
• lentils, 1/2 cup, boiled (179 µg)
• spinach, 1/2 cup, boiled (131 µg)
• asparagus, 6 spears, boiled (131 µg)
• orange juice, from concentrate, 1 cup (109 µg)
• chickpeas, 1/2 cup, canned (80 µg)
• kidney beans, 1/2 cup, canned (62 µg)
• pasta, fortified, 1 cup, cooked (60 µg)
• rice, white, fortified, 1 cup, cooked (68 µg)
• bread, wheat, fortified, 1 slice (20 µg)

Calcium Recommended daily:

• 1 to 3 years old: 500 milligrams (mg)
• 4 to 8 years old: 800 mg
• 9 to 18 years old: 1,300 mg
• 19 to 50 years old: 1,000 mg
• 51+ years old: 1,200 mg

why you need it: for bone strength to combat osteoporosis for the clotting of blood in the contracting and relaxing of muscles for strong, healthy teeth to help nerves function the jury is still out on these potential benefits May help lower high blood pressure, reduce the risk of colon cancer, and ease premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Calcium can inhibit the absorption of iron, zinc, phosphorus, and magnesium.


Top calcium-rich foods

• plain, non fat yogurt, 8 oz (452 mg)
• orange juice or grapefruit juice, calcium-fortified, 1 cup (300-400 mg)
• milk, low fat or skim, 1 cup (300 mg)
• yogurt, fruit flavored, 8 oz (314 mg)
• tofu, packaged with calcium, 1/2 cup firm (258 mg)
• cheddar cheese, lower fat, 1 oz (200 mg)
• salmon with bones, canned, 3 oz (181 mg)
• parmesan cheese, grated, 2 tbls (138 mg)
• cottage cheese, low fat, 1/2 cup (69-100 mg)
• broccoli, boiled, 1 cup (72 mg)

Chromium Recommended daily:

• 1 to 3 years old: 11 micrograms (µg)
• 4 to 8 years old: 15 µg
• 7 to adults: 50-200 µg

Males:

• 9-13 years old: 25 µg
• 14-50 years old: 35 µg
• 51+ years old: 30 µg

Females:

• 9-13 years old: 21 µg
• 14-18 years old: 24 µg
• 19-50 years old: 25 µg
• 51+ years old: 20 µg

why you need it: helps the hormone insulin better manage the blood sugar (glucose) in your body for your body to use fat properly If chromium supplements really can help you lose fat and build muscle. Studies are lacking to support this theory. too much may be risky No known harmful effects from excess chromium from food as yet. No upper safe limit has been set at this time.

Top Chromium-rich foods

• shredded wheat, 2 oz (65 µg)
• peas, cooked, 1 cup (60 µg)
• brewer's yeast, 2 tbls (60 µg)
• cheese, American, 1 oz (48 µg)
• liver, braised, 3 oz (42 µg)
• egg, cooked, 1 large = 26 µg
• chicken breast, cooked, 3 oz (22 µg)
• whole wheat bread, 1 slice (16 µg)
• corn oil, 1 tbls (6 µg)

Selenium Recommended daily:

• 1 to 3 years old: 20 micrograms (µg)
• 4 to 8 years old: 30 µg
• 9 to 13 years old: 40 µg
• 14 to 18 years old: 55 µg
• 19+ years old: 55 µg

Why you need it: an antioxidant protecting your body’s cells. It may help in fight against cancer.
Too much may be risky Large amounts are toxic, causing vomiting, diarrhea, tooth damage, brittleness and loss of hair and nails, skin rash, disorders of the nervous system, and fatigue.

Top Selenium-rich foods

• potato, baked with skin, 7 oz (903 µg)
• tuna, light, water packed, 3 oz (69 µg)
• pork loin, roasted, 3 oz (32 µg)
• egg, 1 (31 µg)
• sunflower seed kernels, roasted, 1 oz (22 µg)
• top sirloin, lean, broiled, 3 oz (28 µg)
• turkey breast, 3 oz (27 µg)
• wheat germ, 1/4 cup (23 µg)
• chicken breast, roasted, 3 oz (22 µg)
• whole wheat bread, 1 slice (10 µg)
• cashews, roasted, 1 oz (3 µg)

Zinc Recommended daily:

• 1 to 3 years old: 3 milligrams (mg)
• 4-8 years old: 5 mg
• 9-13 years old: 8 mg
• Males: 14+ years old: 11 mg
• Females: 14 to 18 years old: 9 mg
• 19+ years old: 8 mg

Vegetarians, especially strict vegetarians, may need up to 50% more zinc.
Why you need it: important for growth helps over 100 enzymes work in your body for taste perception so you can enjoy your foods to help your immune system function.

The jury is still out on these potential benefits whether zinc can help reduce the length of time you suffer with the annoying symptoms of the common cold.

Too much may be risky: High doses from supplements and/or fortified foods can cause vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, cramps, loss of appetite, suppression of your immune system, and lower your body's copper content.

Top Zinc rich foods

• oysters cooked (23.7 mg)
• Crab cooked (6.5 mg)
• turkey, dark meat, cooked (3.8 mg)
• yogurt, plain, nonfat, (2.2 mg)
• ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup skim (1.7 mg)
• sunflower seeds (kernels), dry roasted, (1.5 mg)
• lentils, 1/2 cup, boiled (1.3 mg)
• green peas, frozen, 1/2 cup, cooked (0.8 mg)
• spinach, 1/2 cup, boiled (0.7 mg)
• broccoli, 1/2 cup, boiled (0.3 mg)