I’m eating cereal right now and it says it’s a good source of 5 B vitamins. You always see Vit B6 or B12. What are all these vitamins and why is there only one A or C vitamin?
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Basically, if you were to isolate vitamins in food, one of the first things you’d do is separate the molecules by solubility.
A, D, E, and K vitamins are not water soluble, which means they are found in fatty parts of food, and they stay in our cells for a long time.
B and C vitamins are water soluble, which means their mostly found in watery parts of foods (mostly fruits, vegetables and grains), and they easily leave our bodies dissolved in water. They need to be replenished daily.
Once you have separated vitamins by solubility, vitamin C has some unique chemical properties and a biological role that has been well understood for a long time. Removing it leaves the B vitamins: a whole bunch of compounds with different structures and functions, but similarly chemical and physical properties.
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