Vitamin A and B

Vitamin A and B

All vitamins are of great importance to the body. They work in close co-operation with minerals, which are necessary to the success of their work (and vice versa). During pregnancy and lactation larger amounts of both are needed; nursing mothers would enhance the value of their milk of they took one teaspoonful of cod (or halibut) liver oil a day. In this section, we will talk about vitamin A and B first.

Vitamin A

Fish-liver oils are the richest sources of vitamin A. It is also found in carrots, liver, kidneys, butter, cream, milk, spinach, watercress, tomatoes, and sun-dried apricots. It is destroyed by exposure to air and to light, hence the necessity for keeping butter in a covered container, and milk and cream in the dark.

The vitamin A content of dairy-produce depends upon the amount of vitamin A in the cow’s food, and so dairy produce is richer in vitamin A in the summer, when fresh grass is eaten by the cow, than in the winter, when dried grass is available. The vitamin A in carrots is in the read coloring-matter called carotin.

A deficiency of vitamin A results in dry skin, night-blindness, and a lowered resistance to infection. Adults need more of it than children. One halibut-liver oil capsule a day, together with the A vitamin in the above foods (some of which we should eat every day), supplies all the A and the D vitamins that we require (Food-Tables).

Vitamin B

There are about twenty member of the B group of vitamins, twelve of which are important; but, generally speaking, if your diet contains vitamins B1, 2, and 3, it will include the other nine. Brewer’s yeast contains all the B vitamins except B12, but this can be obtained from liver (or dried liver tablets), from eggs, yoghurt, soya-beans, peanuts, and comfrey herb tea.

B vitamins are also self-manufactured, by bacteria our intestines, especially if yoghurt, which encourages their growth, is eaten. A shortage of vitamin B12 is very often the cause of retarded growth and of gawkiness in teenagers.

Vitamin B1

You need this vitamin for the complete digestion of starches and sugars, for strong nerves and heart, and for energy. It is found chiefly in the growing center of grains, eg, in the germ of wheat. It is found also in brewer’s yeast, wholewheat flour, millet, milk and yoghurt.

Vitamin B2

Very important for healthy skin, good eye-sight, and for obtaining energy from our starches and sugars. Best sources are liver and brewer’s yeast, but, if these foods are not eaten every day, milk should be taken to replace them. Breen vegetables also supply this vitamin.

Vitamin B3

This also is necessary for the proper digestion of starches and sugars. Best sources are brewer’s yeast, liver, wheatgerm, nuts, and eggs. A lack of vitamin B3 results in nervous tension, insomnia, irritability, sore red tongue rough red skin. You get an adequate supply of all the B vitamins if you eat whole wheat bread, wheatgerm cereal, liver (or dried liver tablets), fish roe, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, skim-milk powder, nuts, Marmite, and brewer’s yeast.