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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.
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Vitamin B12
(National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements)
Also in Spanish
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Vitamin B6 (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements)
Also in Spanish
Diagnosis and Tests
- B Vitamins Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
- Homocysteine Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
- Methylmalonic Acid Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
- Vitamin B12 and Folate Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
Related Issues
- Niacin to Boost Your HDL "Good" Cholesterol (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Vitamin B-12 and Depression: Are They Related? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Vitamin Deficiency Anemia (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
Genetics
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Genetics Home Reference: biotin-thiamine-responsive basal ganglia disease (National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: transcobalamin deficiency (National Library of Medicine)
Games
- Vitamin B1 (Nobel Foundation)
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Biotin (National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Niacin (National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Riboflavin (National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Thiamine (National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Vitamin B Complex (National Institutes of Health)
Journal ArticlesReferences and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Find an Expert
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
