There is so much health advice in the world that it is sometimes hard to keep it all straight! How do you know the right foods to eat? How do you know the right foods to avoid? How much of each kind can you enjoy?

Getting your vitamins

Eating healthy, balanced meals throughout the day is what will ensure that you take in all the vitamins and nutrients you need to survive. While individuals have different dietary needs, everyone needs the full complement of vitamins in order to live a healthy, disease-free life.

But why do we need vitamins? There are so many and it's hard to keep track of what they do. And why are there so many B vitamins?

The B vitamin: it's value to you

There used to only be one B vitamin, until scientists discovered that it was actually several different chemicals that work together. Over time, scientists have come to understand the B vitamin complex much better. As a result, they have isolated eight different vitamins within the B vitamin family. While they used to consider many more chemicals as part of the B vitamin family, the vitamins that remain (that you need to be taking) are B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, and B12.

Individually, deficiencies in these vitamins may lead to a variety of conditions (depending on which ones are deficient) including unhealthy weight loss, emotional distress, weakness, irregular heartbeat, diarrhea, inflammation of the skin, anemia, and even dementia.

Together, this family of vitamins contributes towards healthy skin, faster metabolism, a better nervous system and immune system, and they can help combat stress and depression. The B vitamin family can really do a lot to improve your life!

The solution

So if you are on a diet and are concerned that you may not be getting enough of the B vitamin complex, you should consider purchasing vitamin supplements to make sure you're getting all the vitamins you need. The cost of going without B vitamins can be tragic, while the benefits of having the full complement of the B vitamin complex is great.

Jeff Lakie is the founder of Vitamins Information a website providing information on Vitamins