Vitamins the ABCs of Good Health

These chemical substances found in foods provide you the ABCs of good health.  Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables will ensure that you have all the letters covered.

Vitamin A: This fat-soluble vitamin helps you resist infection, and possibly cancer, promotes vision, and builds strong tooth enamel.  Vitamin A is found in orange and leafy green vegetables; liver and other organ meats; butter; and whole and fortified milk.  You can’t get too much vitamin a in the food you eat, but excessive supplementation can be dangerous for you and your baby.

Vitamin B: These water-soluble vitamins help you to prevent anemia, aid digestion, and promote a sense of well-being.  Get your B vitamins from whole grains, organ meats, milk, leafy greens, almonds, and peanuts.  One part of the B vitamin, folic acid, or folacin, is particularly important.  Since a deficiency of folic acid has been linked to serious neural tube defects such as spina bifida, the U.S. government began in January 1998 to require folic-acid enrichment of grain products such as white flour, cornmeal, white rice, and commercial breads and breakfast cereals.
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