8 B Vitamins for Optimal Health and Wellbeing

As strong partners in everyday life, they perform numerous tasks in our body and play a key role in energy production and cognitive function– the B vitamins. Since they only achieve their optimal effect together, a sufficient supply of all 8 of the water-soluble vitamins is important.

In nuclear physics, 8 is considered a “magic number”: the presence of so many neutrons and protons in the nucleus makes atoms particularly stable. In numerology, on the other hand, the 8 stands for balance and health. In fact, there are 8 water-soluble B vitamins involved in numerous biochemical processes.

One (B vitamin) for all & all for one

Although each of the vitamins has special tasks to fulfill, they pull together – as is customary in a good family. Most of them are in cereals, yeast, legumes, meat, dairy products and vegetables and are taken in together. This daily intake from external sources is important because the water-soluble B vitamins are not stored by the human body, except B12 which is stored in the liver and folate which is mainly stored in the liver as well and the remainder in blood and body tissues. At the same time, the inadequate supply of a single B vitamin can disrupt the entire household, as they only achieve their optimal effect in combination.

Supply of B vitamins

Although “vitamin B” ends up on our tables in sufficient measure with a varied, fresh diet, deficits are also more common than expected due to increasingly one-sided diets, fast food and industrially processed foods with many trans fats or sugar.

Another reason for this is an increased need: during growth, pregnancy and lactation, old age and stress, we generally need more “vitamin B”. In addition, some medications, alcohol consumption or smoking, can increase the need. For vegetarian and especially vegan diets, it is important to ensure sufficient intake of cobalamin, as vitamin B12 is chemically called. Because vitamin B12 is only found in animal foods.