Vitamins protect us from diseases:

There are different components of foods, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals.  All of them are essential because of their unique functions.

According to their functions they are categorized as

1.    Energy giving foods: Carbohydrates and fats

2.    Body building foods: Proteins

3.    Protective foods: Vitamins and minerals

Vitamins are protective foods because they protect us from various deficiency diseases. If anyone will not take sufficient amount he/she may suffer from various deficiency diseases. Vitamins are named as A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12, C, D, E and K.

Vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12, C and D are water soluble where A, D, E and K are fat soluble.

Every day we see lots of people fall ill due to intake of insufficient quantity of vitamins in their diet. Doctors prescribe them medicines which full fill the vitamin quantity and also advice them to eat foods rich in vitamins.

To keep the diseases away we must take the adequate quantity of vitamins.

Vitamin table:

Vitamins	Chemical Name	Sources	Deficiency Diseases
A	Retinol	Carrot, papaya, broccoli, sweet potato, spinach, pumpkin, collard greens, egg, apricot, cantaloupe, melon, milk, liver, cod liver oil etc.	Night blindness, (a person can’t see at night or dim light)
B1	Thiamine	Yeast, cereal grains, brown rice, pork, sunflower seeds, asparagus, cauliflower, potato, orange, liver, eggs etc.	Beriberi
B2	Riboflavin	Asparagus, meat, fish, eggs, banana, cheese, milk, green beans etc.	ariboflavinosis
B3	Niacinmide	Liver, heart, kidney, chicken, beef, fish, milk, eggs, dates, tomatos, broccoli, carrots, sweet potatos etc.	Pellagra
B5	Pantothenic acid	Meats, whole grains, royal jelly, fish ovaries etc.	Paresthesia
B6	Pyridoxal	Meats, whole grains, bananas, nuts	Anemia, peripheral neuropathy
B7	Biotin	Egg yolk, liver, some vegetables	Dermatitis, enteritis
B9	Folic acid, folinic acid	Green leafy vegetables, legumes, liver, yeast (beakers), grains, sunflower seeds, fruits etc.	Pregnancy deficiency, birth defects etc.
B12	Cyanocobalamin, hydroxycobalamin	Fish, shellfish, meat, poultry, eggs, milk and dairy products, cereals, soy products, yeast etc.	May cause megaloblastic  anemia
C	Ascorbic acid	Citrus fruits, vegetables, kakadu plum, liver etc.	Scurvy
D	Ergocalciferol, Cholecalciferol	Sunlight, fatty fish, eggs, mushrooms, beef liver	Rickets, osteomalacia
E	Tocopherols, tocotrienols	Almonds, avocado, eggs, milk, nuts, green leafy vegatables, unheated vegetable oils, grains etc.	May cause mild hemolytic anemia in new born babies.
K	Phylloquinone, menaquinones	Green leafy vegetables, kiwi fruit, parsley etc.	May cause bleeding diathesis, excess bleeding