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Summary

The B vitamins are

• B1 (thiamine)
• B2 (riboflavin)
• B3 (niacin)
• B5 (pantothenic acid)
• B6
• B7 (biotin)
• B12
• Folic acid

These vitamins help the process your body uses to get or make energy from the food you eat. They also help form red blood cells. You can get B vitamins from proteins such as fish, poultry, meat, eggs, and dairy products. Leafy green vegetables, beans, and peas also have B vitamins. Many cereals and some breads have added B vitamins.

Not getting enough of certain B vitamins can cause diseases. A lack of B12 or B6 can cause anemia.

Start Here

• Pantothenic Acid (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements)
• Vitamin B12 (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements) Also in Spanish
• Vitamin B6 (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Homocysteine Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Methylmalonic Acid (MMA) Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Vitamin B Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Niacin to Boost Your HDL "Good" Cholesterol (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Vitamin B-12 and Depression: Are They Related? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Vitamin Deficiency Anemia (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Genetics

• Transcobalamin deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Biotin (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Niacin (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Riboflavin (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Thiamine (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Vitamin B Complex (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: The Affinity of Carboplatin to B-Vitamins and Nucleobases.
• Article: Twelve-Week Daily Consumption of ad hoc Fortified Milk with ω-3, D,...
• Article: Circulatory and Urinary B-Vitamin Responses to Multivitamin Supplement Ingestion Differ between...
• B Vitamins -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Find a Nutrition Expert (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)
• Food and Drug Administration
• Food and Nutrition Information Center
• National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements

Patient Handouts

• Anemia - B12 deficiency (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Beriberi (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Methylmalonic acid blood test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Niacin (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Pantothenic acid and biotin (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Pellagra (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Riboflavin (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Thiamin (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Vitamin B12 (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Vitamin B12 level (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Vitamin B6 (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish