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Vitamins that Help You Use Food for Energy

Your body needs calories (also known as energy) to survive the rigors of daily life. This energy can be used more effectively if your body has taken in certain vitamins and minerals. By supplementing your diet with more of these energy-processing nutrients, your body can become more energy efficient.

  1. The B Vitamins

    • The vitamin B complex is another term for the eight B vitamins that work together to help your body produce and utilize energy. B1 (thiamin), B6 (pyridoxine), B9 (folic acid) and B12 (cyanocobalamin) have many uses for the body, but when related to energy, they all work together to make sure that blood cells and circulation are healthy and efficient. The vitamins B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin) and B5 (pantothenic acid) work in tandem to facilitate the chemical reactions necessary to use energy. Biotin helps with the fat and protein metabolism of food and its conversion to energy.

    Other Energy Vitamins and Minerals

    • While vitamin C is more often known for immune system help, it also helps with energy conversion by working directly with your mitochondria. Also working with the mitochondria are coenzyme Q10 and copper. Iron is essential to produce healthy red blood cells that can transport oxygen throughout the body, an absence of which would surely affect energy. ATP is the major energy molecule in the body, and it requires the mineral magnesium. Lastly, zinc is necessary to create the proteins in the body, a lack of which would be problematic for energy utilization.

    Supplement or Whole Foods

    • Recent studies have shown that multivitamins are not an adequate replacement for the whole foods themselves. Luckily, there are many readily available foods that include these vitamins and minerals. Some vegetables include broccoli, spinach, asparagus, potatoes and parsley. Meats and dairy include eggs, liver, fresh sardines, mackerel and milk. Examples of seeds and nuts are lentils, split peas, green beans and sunflower seeds. Also, some vitamin-rich fruits include oranges, bananas and tomato juice.

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