Opening the B-Files (Vitamin B2 - Riboflavin)

Ciao Nutrinutters!

Welcome back! So Christmas is here once again for those of us who celebrate it...I confess I've been stressing over what to give my older sister, I'm sorry Mi!!! Well, I guess this will be the test if she reads the post or not :)

But going back to "the A through Z Journey" it is time to open the second B- file! Ladies and gents I introduce to you vitamin B2... known by close friends/nutrition nerds like me as Riboflavin or "Ribs" (my own nickname for it).

You might be wondering how it got this name...It's actually because it contains in its chemical structure a sugar called "ribitol" attached to a flavonoid, which is a substance from plants that contain a pigment called flavone...In B2's case, it has a yellow pigment. So the happy marriage between both resulted in beautiful Riboflavin...a perfect name don't you think?

Benefits of B2

In some ways, this vitamin has similar functions to others we've previously discussed. Like B1, this vitamin is important for the breakdown and absorption of proteins and carbohydrates, meaning that it helps in having energy available for the cells in our body. "Ribs" is similar to vitamin A because it protects the health of mucous membranes (the moist tissues we talked about before) that line up the eyes, mouth, nose, throat.

 Here's another very good reason to want vitamin B2 in your body...it works indirectly as an antioxidant!

What is an antioxidant anyways? That word keeps popping up! I think that it is safe to assume that those are good for me and found in berries, or so I've heard...But what in fact do they do?

A natural process that happens in our bodies is our cells being affected / damaged by activated oxygen...Does this make you want to hold your breath? Oxygen sounds quite evil with aging my skin and all...but no worries, this is actually quite natural and part of the living process..so continue taking those breaths :). Antioxidants protect the cells from this kind of damage by making the activated oxygen stable , keeping the reaction from taking place in your cells. And how does B2 help? Well, antioxidants need to be recycled constantly and this week's vitamin makes it possible for a specific antioxidant called Glutathione...We can call B2 our co-pilot for this antioxidant!

What happens if I'm lacking B2 in my diet?

Quite a few different skin irritations can happen when there's not enough B2 in your body, including inflammation of the skin, soreness and burning of the lips, mouth (with also cracking of the skin around the corners of the mouth) and tongue. "Ribs" deficiency can also result in symptoms that affect your eyes such as light sensitivity and burning and itching of the eyes.

How to avoid these symptoms and how much is enough??

Good ways to obtain riboflavin come from animal sources such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs and milk. However, whole or enriched grain products have considerate amounts as well as dark green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli.

Riboflavin's recommendation for adults is as follows:

Females: 1.1 mg / day                      
-Pregnant: 1.4 mg
-Lactating: 1.6 mg

Males: 1.3 mg / day

Just so you have an idea of how much riboflavin is available in foods, your Nutrinut has some numbers for you!

1 egg has about 0.3 mg of Riboflavin
1 cup (8 ounces/230 ml) of milk has about o.4 mg of Riboflavin
1 cup of plain yogurt has about 0.5 mg of Riboflavin.  (Almost half of what you need per day!)

 

Can "Ribs" be toxic???

The good news is that B2 is also a water-soluble vitamin...meaning that it is very difficult to overdose on these kinds of vitamins unless you take enormous amounts of supplements. In this vitamin's case, there have never actually been any toxic side-effects documented. However be advised that just because they were never documented, does not mean that it is safe to have incredibly large supplement doses.

Here's an interesting fact...did you know that your  urine can become bright yellow after taking high amounts of riboflavin??? True story! Not mine...but still true! This is because of its yellow pigment that we talked about above.

The Nutrient Chain

The beauty of these nutrients is that they all link to each other in some way or other. For this week's vitamin, we'll see that it depends on B1 status...adequate amounts of B1 will help B2 levels.
Did you know that a few other vitamins and minerals will not fully be available in the body without adequate amounts of Riboflavin?? Iron, Folate, B12 and next week's star..B3, just to name a few.

This concludes another B vitamin for you!

Getting the names mixed up?? Don't worry...I've got you!

B1: Thiamine
B2: Riboflavin (or "ribs" if you'd like to adopt my nickname for it)

Come back next Monday for more! B3 is ecstatic to introduce itself to you! :)

XOXO,

-The Nutrinut-