Wellness Wednesday: Vitamin B5

Today I’m spotlighting Vitamin B5, which is also known of as Pantothenic Acid.

On my Facebook page this week our general food theme is sunflower seeds. We talked about their history, benefits, and what happens when you eat too many of them on #marinatingmonday.

On Tuesday's #testkitchen I spent a few hours creating a gluten free snack bar that uses sunflower and sesame seeds as the delicious power-packed topping. And on #foodiefriday I'll be sharing a recipe roundup that features sunflower seeds, as well as my sunflower sesame seed bar recipe. If you haven’t already “liked” and “followed” my Facebook page, I encourage you to do it today so that you don’t miss out!

Vitamin B5 is responsible for synthesizing cholesterol and keeping your adrenal glands happy and functional.  It works in conjunction with the other B-Vitamins to keep digestion strong as it also breaks down fat and carbohydrates into a form of energy your body can use.
Some studies have linked it to wound healing (when combined with vitamin c) as well as having a positive effect on Rheumatoid Arthritis, but such studies are limited.
Vitamin B5 helps to manufacture red blood cells, and as such is equally important as the rest of the B-complex.

You can get Vitamin B5 from many different fresh food sources- animal, vegetable, and grain. The vitamin is easily lost in processing, however, and it is water soluble, so plan your meals around fresh food. It’s fairly easy to get enough Vitamin B5 from your diet, and try to use your diet to meet your Vitamin B5 requirements. It is much easier to ingest too much of a vitamin when using supplements.
If you must take supplements, take the whole Vitamin B-Complex, not just one of them- they all need to work together. Check with your doctor before self-medicating.

There are some drug interactions that you should be aware of. Some medications may be adversely effected, specifically antibiotics and Alzheimer’s medications.  

To summarize, Vitamin B5 is important to:

• Support your adrenal glands and digestive system
  
• Foster healthy cholesterol levels
• Manufacture red blood cells

You can find Vitamin B5 in these food sources:
Chicken liver, salmon, sunflower seeds, avocados, corn, broccoli, mushrooms, egg yolks, split peas, whole grains, and peanuts are some foods with available B5.

Adults from the ages of 19 and onward need between 5 and 7 mg daily, depending on their age, sex, and whether or not they are pregnant or nursing. Children need between 1.7 and 5 mg per day, again depending on age and sex.

Here is my source for these numbers as well as the other information in this article.

Vitamin B5 deficiency is rare, but is discussed here.

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