This vitamin calculator helps you discover how much vitamin you need in terms of daily requirement for your gender and age for a variety of elements. Discover below the form a quick definition for vitamins, what are the fat and water soluble ones and a table of the sources and deficiencies for the major ones.
How does the vitamin calculator work?
This health tool can prove to be an efficient and quick way to check how much vitamin you should have per day from the variety of elements that our bodies need.
In order to receive an adequate estimate of the daily vitamin intake you will need to provide your gender and age so the vitamin calculator can find your situation in one of the various tables being used for these recommendations.
You can also choose 5 vitamins you want to calculate at the same time to begin with but then once you know the result you can start again with other 5 vitamins that you might be interested in. You can find their names in the dropdown of the form but as well in the tables below.
Example calculation:
Let’s take for example the case of a 30 year old woman who would be interested to know how much vitamin A, B12, C, D and K her body requires on a daily basis. This is the result:
■ Vitamin A- Retinol- 700 mcg;
■ Vitamin B12- Cobalamine- 2.4 mcg;
■ Vitamin C- Ascorbic acid- 15 mcg;
■ Vitamin D- Cholecalciferol- 15 mcg;
■ Vitamin K- Phylloquinone- 90 mcg.
What are vitamins?
Vitamins are organic compounds that are essential to sustain life. These compounds have metabolic effects in small quantities. When the body cannot produce enough or none at all from an organic compound it has to take it from food, this is why vitamins are also nutrients.
If the intake is not properly adjusted to age, gender and other needs deficiency diseases can develop. There are two categories of vitamins: fat soluble vitamins and water soluble vitamins, there’s a table for each one of them with the main sources and the deficiencies that can appear.
Fat soluble vitamins are stored in the fat tissues and can be stored for long periods of time in the body:
| Vitamin | Sources | Deficiency |
| A (Retinol) | Chicken, tuna, milk, eggs, beef liver, potatoes, spinach, carrots, cheese, nuts and many more | Keratomalacia, anemia and impaired night vision |
| D (Cholecalciferol) | Fish and oils, eggs, fortified milk, cereals and others | Rickets and osteomalacia. |
| E (Tocopherol) | Vegetables, vegetable oils, unprocessed cereal, whole grains, nuts and fruits | Hemolytic anemia |
| K (Phylloquinone) | Green vegetables, plant oils and margarine | Coagulation problems and uncontrolled bleeding |
Water soluble vitamins are easier to absorb in the body but cannot form reserves as they are soon eliminated through urine:
| Vitamin | Sources | Deficiency |
| C (Ascorbic Acid) | Citrus fruits, tomatoes, potatoes, strawberries, cabbage, spinach and many others | Megaloblastic anemia and even scurvy |
| B1 (Thiamine) | Enriched products, whole grain products and ready to eat cereals | Beri-Beri disease |
| B2 (Riboflavin) | Meats, milk, whole bread products and fortified cereals | Ariboflavinosis that comes with cracked lips, throat swelling and low red blood cell count |
| B3 (Niacin) | Different meats, fish, poultry, whole grain breads and fortified cereals | Pellagra |
| B5 (Pantothenic Acid) | Chicken, beef, potatoes, tomatoes, liver, yeast, egg yolks, broccoli and whole grains | Chronic paraesthesia |
| B6 (Pyridoxine) | Fortified cereals, organ meats and soy substitutes | Peripheral neuropathy and anemia |
| B7 (Biotin) | Liver, different other meats and various fruits | Rashes, hair loss, drowsiness and mental conditions |
| B9 (Folic Acid) | Enriched cereal grains, vegetables, whole grain breads | In pregnant women can cause birth defects |
| B12 (Cobalamine) | Fortified cereals, meats, fish, poultry | Hypocobalanemia, megaloblastic anemia |
References
1) Lieberman S, Bruning N. (2007) The Real Vitamin & Mineral Book 4th ed. NY: Avery Group.
2) Bender DA. (2003) Nutritional biochemistry of the vitamins. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press
21 Dec, 2014