Occurrence of vitamins in foods
In spite of the considerable and still rapidly increasingly commercial production of vitamins, the daily diet is and will long remain the major source of vitamins for human beings.
The vitamins are very unevenly distributed among the various foods however so that knowledge of the occurrence of the vitamins in the most important foods is important for provision of a balanced supply.
Meat and meat products are excellent source of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamins B6 and B12, pantothenic acid and biotin.
Liver is rich in vitamins A, D, E B12 and folic acid. Meat generally contains little vitamin K, which occurs mainly in vegetables.
An exception is pork liver, which can contain 115-230 ug/100 g. With the exception of liver and kidneys, meats contain much less folic acid than many vegetables.
Meat is generally not a good source of vitamin C.
Milk and milk products are among the most important sources of vitamins. An infant younger than one year consumes about 800 g milk daily; children and youth under 18 years of age consume 600-700 g milk daily.
Milk products supply about 40% of the required riboflavin and they are also an important source of vitamin A, B6, B12 and thiamin.
The enrichment of milk with irradiated ergosterol has practically eliminated dietary rickets in the USA.
Vitamin D occurs only in relatively small amounts in most foods. Skim milk should, as a rule, be enriched with vitamins A and D.
Cheese ahs been an important source of nutrients for thousands of years.
Occurrence of vitamins in foods