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B vitamins and folic acid
Vitamins and minerals
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— V itam in A
B vitamins and folic acid
— V itam in C
— V itam in D
V itam in E
— V itam in K
— Calcium
Iodine
— IrQn
— O thers
There are m any different types of vitamin B.
This section has inform ation on:
• th iam in (vitam in B1)
• rib o flavin (vitam in B2)
• niacin (vitam in B3)
• p a n to th en ic acid
• vitam in B6
• biotin (vitam in B7)
• fo late and folic acid
• vitam in B12
Thiam in (vitam in B1)
Th ia m in , also kno w n as vitam in B1, helps:
• th e body b reak dow n and release energy from food
• keep th e nervous system healthy
Good sources of thiamin
Th iam in is found in m any types o f food.
Good sources include:
• peas
• some fresh fruits (such as bananas and oranges)
• nuts
Pregnancy
Q
NHS services
• w h o le g ra in breads
• some fo rtified breakfast cereals
• liver
How much thiamin do I need?
Th e am o unt o f th iam in adults (aged 19 to 64) need is:
• 1 mg a day fo r men
• 0.8m g a day fo r w om en
You should be able to get all th e th iam in you need from y o u r daily
diet.
Th iam in canno t be stored in th e body, so you need it in y o u r diet
every day.
What happens if I take too much thiamin?
Th ere's not enou gh evidence to k n o w w h a t th e effects m ig ht be o f
ta kin g high doses o f th iam in supplem ents each day.
What does the Department of Health and Social Care
advise?
You should be able to get all th e th iam in you need by eating a varied
and balanced diet.
If you ta k e supplem ents, do not ta k e too much as this m ig ht be
harm ful.
Takin g 100mg or less a day of th iam in supplem ents is u n likely to cause
any harm .
Riboflavin (vitam in B2)
R ib o flavin, also kno w n as vitam in B2, helps:
• keep skin, eyes and th e nervous system healthy
• th e body release energ y from food
Good sources of riboflavin
Good sources o f rib o flavin include:
• m ilk
• eggs
• fo rtified breakfast cereals
• m ushroom s
• plain y o g h u rt
UV light can destroy rib o flavin , so ideally these foods should be kept
out o f direct su nlight.
How much riboflavin do I need?
Th e am o unt o f rib o flavin ad ults (aged 19 to 64) need is ab out:
• 1,3mg a day fo r men
• 1,1mg a day fo r w om en
You should be able to get all th e riboflavin you need from y o u r daily
diet.
R iboflavin can n o t be stored in the body, so you need it in yo u r diet
every day.
What happens if I take too much riboflavin?
Th ere's not enou gh evidence to k n o w w h a t th e effects m ig ht be o f
ta kin g high doses o f riboflavin supplem ents each day.
What does the Department of Health and Social Care
advise?
You should be able to get all th e riboflavin you need by eating a
varied and balanced diet.
If you ta k e supplem ents, do not ta k e too much as this m ig ht be
harm ful.
Takin g 40m g or less a day o f riboflavin supplem ents is u n likely to
cause any harm .
Niacin (vitam in B3)
Niacin, also kno w n as vitam in B3, helps:
• th e body release energ y from food
• keep th e nervous system and skin h ealthy
Good sources of niacin
Th ere are 2 form s o f niacin: nicotinic acid and nicotinam id e. Both are
fo und in food.
Good sources o f niacin include:
• m eat
• fish
• w h e a t flo u r
• eggs
How much niacin do I need?
Th e am o unt o f niacin you need is ab out:
• 16.5m g a day fo r men
• 13.2mg a day fo r w om en
You should be able to get all th e niacin you need from y o u r daily diet.
Niacin canno t be stored in th e body, so you need it in yo u r diet every
day.
What happens if I take too much niacin?
Takin g high doses o f nicotinic acid supplem ents can cause skin flushes.
Takin g high doses fo r a long tim e could lead to liver dam ag e.
Th ere's not enou gh evidence to k n o w w h a t th e effects m ig ht be o f
ta kin g high daily doses o f nicotinam ide supplem ents.
What does the Department of Health and Social Care
advise?
You should be able to get th e am o u n t o f niacin you need by eating a
varied and balanced diet.
If you ta k e niacin supplem ents, do not ta k e too much as this m ight be
harm ful.
Takin g 17mg or less o f nicotinic acid supplem ents a day, or 500m g or
less o f nicotinam ide supplem ents a day, is u n likely to cause any harm .
P anto th enic acid
Pantothenic acid has several functions, such as helping th e body to
release energ y from food.
Good sources of pantothenic acid
Pantothenic acid is fo und in varying am ounts in alm ost all veg etab les,
w h o le g rain foods and m eats, but good sources include:
• chicken
• b eef
• liver and kidneys
• eggs
• m ushroom s
• avocado
B reakfast cereals are also a good source if th e y have been fortified
w ith p anto thenic acid.
How much pantothenic acid do I need?
No am o u n t has been set in th e UK fo r h o w much p anto thenic acid
you need.
You should be able to get all th e p anto thenic acid you need from
yo u r daily diet, as it's fo und in m any foods.
Pantothenic acid canno t be stored in th e body, so you need it in yo u r
diet every day.
What happens if I take too much pantothenic acid?
Th ere's not enou gh evidence to k n o w w h a t th e effects m ig ht be o f
ta kin g high daily doses o f p anto thenic acid supplem ents.
What does the Department of Health and Social Care
advise?
You should be able to get all th e p anto thenic acid you need by eating
a varied and balanced diet.
If you ta k e supplem ents, do not ta k e too much as this m ig ht be
harm ful.
Takin g 200m g or less a day of p anto thenic acid in supplem ents is
u n likely to cause any harm .
V itam in B6
V itam in B6, also kn o w n as p yridoxine, helps:
• th e body to use and store energ y from protein and carbohydrates
in food
• th e body form haem o g lo b in, th e substance in red blood cells th a t
carries oxygen around th e body
Good sources of vitamin B6
V itam in B6 is fo und in a w id e variety o f foods, including:
• pork
• pou ltry, such as chicken or tu rk ey
• some fish
• peanuts
• soya beans
• w h e atg erm
• oats
• b ananas
• m ilk
• some fo rtified breakfast cereals
How much vitamin B6 do I need?
Th e am o unt o f vitam in B6 adults (aged 19 to 64) need is ab out:
• 1,4mg a day fo r men
• 1,2mg a day fo r w om en
You should be able to get all th e vitam in B6 you need from yo u r daily
diet.
Th e bacteria th a t live n atu rally in yo u r bow el are also able to m ake
vitam in B6.
What happens if I take too much vitamin B6?
W hen ta kin g a su pplem ent, it's im p ortant not to ta k e to o m uch.
Takin g 200m g or m ore a day o f vitam in B6 [LK2] can lead to a loss of
feeling in th e arm s and legs kno w n as periph eral n e u ro p a th y .
This w ill usually im prove once you stop ta kin g th e supplem ents.
But in a fe w cases w h e n people have ta k e n large am ounts o f vitam in
B6, particularly fo r m ore th an a fe w m onths, th e effect can be
p erm anen t.
Th e effect o f ta kin g vitam in B6 at doses b etw een 10 and 200 mg is
unclear. So th ere's not enou gh evidence to say how long these doses
could be ta ke n fo r safely.
What does the Department of Health and Social Care
advise?
You should be able to get th e vitam in B6 you need by eating a varied
and balanced diet.
If you ta k e vitam in B6 supplem ents, do n o tta k e too much as this
could be harm ful.
Do n o tta k e m ore th an 10mg o f vitam in B6 a day in supplem ents
unless advised to by a doctor.
Biotin (vitam in B7)
Biotin is needed in very sm all am ounts to help th e body m ake fatty
acids.
Th e bacteria th a t live n atu rally in yo u r bow el are able to m ake biotin,
so it's not clear if you need any ad d itio n al biotin from th e diet.
Biotin is also fo und in a w id e rang e of foods, but only at very low
levels.
What happens if I take too much biotin?
Th ere's not enou gh evidence to k n o w w h a t th e effects m ig ht be o f
ta kin g high daily doses o f biotin supplem ents.
What does the Department of Health and Social Care
advise?
You should be able to get all th e biotin you need by eating a varied
and balanced diet.
If you ta k e biotin supplem ents, do not ta k e too much as this m ight be
harm ful.
Takin g 0.9m g or less a day o f biotin in supplem ents is u n likely to cause
any harm .
Folate and folic acid
Folate is a B vitam in fo und in m any foods. Th e m anm ade form of
fo late is called folic acid.
Folate is also kno w n as folacin and vitam in B9.
Folate helps:
• th e body form healthy red blood cells
• reduce th e risk o f birth defects called neural tu b e defects, such as
spina b ifid a , in unborn babies
A lack o f fo late could lead to fo la te deficiency a n a e m ia .
Good sources of folate
Folate is fo und in sm all am ounts in m any foods.
Good sources include:
• broccoli
• brussels sprouts
• leafy green veg etab les, such as cabb age, kale, spring greens and
spinach
•
kid ney beans
• liver (b ut avoid this d u rin g p reg nancy)
• b reakfast cereals fo rtified w ith folic acid
How much folate do I need?
A dults need 200 m icrogram s o f fo late a day. A m icrogram is 1,000
tim es sm aller th an a m illigram (m g). Th e w ord m icrogram is som etim es
w ritten w ith th e G reek sym bol μ fo llo w ed by th e letter g ^ g ).
Th ere are no long-term stores in th e body, so you need to eat folateco ntaining foods fre q u e n tly.
Most people should be able to get th e am o u n t o f fo late th e y need by
eating a varied and balanced diet.
If you're pregnant or could get pregnant
If yo u 're p reg n an t, trying fo r a baby, or could get preg nant, it's
recom m ended th a t you ta k e a 400 m icrogram folic acid supplem ent
daily until yo u 're 12 w e e ks p reg nant.
Folic acid supplem ents need to be ta k e n before you get p reg n an t, so
start ta kin g them before you stop using contraception or if th ere's a
chance you m ig ht get preg nant.
This is to help p reven t neural tu b e defects, such as spina bifida, in your
baby.
Some w o m en have an increased risk o f having a pregnancy affected
by a neu ral tu b e defect and are advised to ta k e a hig her dose o f 5mg
o f folic acid each day until th ey're 12 w e e ks p reg nant.
This is im p ortant and u n likely to cause harm , as it's ta k e n on a short­
term basis, but sp eak to yo u r doctor first.
G et m ore advice ab o ut vitam ins and m inerals d u rin g p reg n an cy,
including w h o should ta k e a hig her dose of folic acid.
What happens if I take too much folic acid?
Takin g doses o f folic acid h ig h er th an 1mg can m ask th e sym ptom s of
vitam in B12 deficiency, w hich can e ven tu a lly d am ag e th e nervous
system if it's not spotted and treated .
This is particularly a concern fo r older people because it becom es m ore
difficult to absorb vitam in B12 as you get older.
What does the Department of Health and Social Care
advise?
Th e D ep artm ent o f Health and Social Care recom m ends th a t folic acid
supplem ents are ta k e n by all w o m en w h o are p reg n an t or could get
p reg nant.
W om en w h o canno t get p reg n an t and men should be able to get all
th e fo late th e y need by eating a varied and balanced diet.
If yo u 're ta kin g folic acid supplem ents, it's im p ortant not to ta k e too
much as this could be harm ful.
Takin g 1 mg or less a day o f folic acid supplem ents is u n likely to cause
any harm .
V itam in B12
V itam in B12 is involved in helping th e body:
• m ake red blood cells and keeping th e nervous system h ealthy
• release energ y from food
• use folate
A lack o f vitam in B12 could lead to vitam in B12 deficiency a n a e m ia .
Good sources of vitamin B12
Good sources include:
• m eat
• fish
• m ilk
• cheese
• eggs
• some fo rtified breakfast cereals
How much vitamin B12 do I need?
A dults (aged 19 to 64) need ab o u t 1.5 m icrogram s a day o f vitam in
B12.
If you e a t m eat, fish or dairy foods, you should be able to get enough
vitam in B12 from y o u r diet.
But as vitam in B 12 is not found n atu rally in foods such as fru it,
veg etab les and grains, veg ans m ay not get enou gh o f it.
Read ab o u t th e veg an diet fo r nutrition inform ation and advice.
What happens if I take too much vitamin B12?
Th ere's not enou gh evidence to sh o w w h a t th e effects m ay be of
ta kin g high doses o f vitam in B12 supplem ents each day.
What does the Department of Health and Social Care
advise?
You should be able to get all th e vitam in B12 you need by eating a
varied and balanced diet.
If you ta k e vitam in B12 supplem ents, do not ta k e too much as this
could be harm ful.
Takin g 2mg or less a day o f vitam in B12 in supplem ents is un lik ely to
cause any harm .
Page last reviewed: 03 August 2020
Next review due: 03 August 2023
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