Are You Getting Enough Vitamin B?

Many people with gluten intolerance have vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Vitamin B deficiency seems to be a common one among celiacs. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to healthy, gluten-free sources that contain these nutrients.

Vitamin B is actually a complex of eight different vitamins. They are referred to collectively as “B Vitamin” or the “Vitamin B Complex”. The different nutrients in the vitamin B complex are often found together in foods and offer many of the same benefits, so it can be useful to discuss them as a single entity.
Each of the different types of vitamin B all have their own health benefits, but they also work together to help the body function in a number of ways.

The vitamin B complex boosts metabolic function; promotes skin and muscle tone; boosts the immune and nervous systems; and promotes cellular metabolism, growth, and division. The vitamin B complex promotes cardiovascular health, improves energy, and helps prevent depression.

Deficiencies in certain B vitamins can result in such illnesses as beriberi, anemia, heart disease, and birth defects.

Vitamin B is water-soluble, so it must be replenished every day. If you aren’t getting it in your diet, vitamin supplements may be necessary. Vitamins are best absorbed when you get them in their natural state; a food source.  Some natural, gluten-free sources of Vitamin B include bananas, potatoes, lentils, chili peppers, green vegetables, eggs, dairy products, and meats including turkey, tuna and liver.