10 Essential Nutrients You May Be Missing

Vitamin B6

This versatile vitamin assists in more than 100 different enzyme reactions in the body. It helps make disease-fighting antibodies, manufacture hemoglobin (the protein that transports oxygen in red blood cells), keep nerve cells healthy, break down protein and maintain good blood sugar control. Like all B vitamins, vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin meaning that you need a continuous supply in your diet because the body cannot store leftover amounts as it can with fat-soluble vitamins.

Who needs it: Everyone, especially pregnant and lactating women. The CDC reports that 10.5 percent of the U.S. population doesn’t consume enough of this crucial vitamin.

Get it now: Chickpeas, fish, beef liver and other organ meats, fortified breakfast cereals (some contain as much as 2.5 milligrams, or mg, per serving), potatoes and other starchy vegetables, and non-citrus fruits.

How much: Although needs increase with age, during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, the daily Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for adults ages 19 through 50 is 1.3 mg. A cup of canned chickpeas contains 1.1 mg of vitamin B6.

Reviewed by Elaine Brown, MD on January 14, 2014

Sources

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