Vitamin b5, or pantothenic acid, is very important for our health, as it provides benefits that are essential for the proper functioning of our body. Find out here what the benefits of this vitamin belonging to the B group are.
What is vitamin B5?
Vitamin b5 contains Calcium pantothenate and is a vitamin necessary for the correct functioning of energy metabolism. It is also involved in the metabolism of nutrients (proteins, lipids and carbohydrates).
This vitamin is also particularly useful in the processing of part of the chemical neurotransmitter messages (brain activity). It enables our central nervous system to function properly, in other words, it is important to make the most of the benefits of the vitamin.
It also plays a crucial role in the synthesis of steroid hormones. Indeed, this vitamin will synthesise both the hormones that manage stress, but also the sexual hormones.
It is also clearly essential for maintaining good health on a daily basis. It is therefore necessary to take care of its contribution in the first place via the foods that we consume daily,rich in vitamin b5.
The International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology explains how important the vitamin of the group b5 or pantothenic acid is for our health.
What are the vitamin b5 requirements for athletes?
The RD for an average person is 5 mg, but sportsmen and women have much higher requirements.
Indeed, they must be able to practise their sporting activity in optimal shape. This means that they must have a very good energy metabolism.
To give you an idea, the RDA for sportsmen is 100 mg. This vitamin is therefore very important for them.
They must have a sufficient intake of vitamin B5, which they can find in foods rich in vitamin B5, as we will see below.
Sportsmen and women should make sure that they can enjoy the benefits of this vitamin every day.
What are its benefits?
This vitamin is very important for energy production (energy nutrients) and helps to reduce physical fatigue. It therefore helps people to feel fit every day to face their daily life and not to feel tired.
Aid to intellectual functions
It also contributes to the normality of intellectual/psychological capacities: reasoning, memory or concentration. A good intake of this vitaminis essential throughout life, from childhood to old age.
Participates in cell renewal
The vitamin is also used to renew the cells of our skin, it is involved in the production of hair and hair growth and in the renewal of our mucous membranes.
Vitamin D synthesis
Its role does not end there, as pantothenic acid is used in the synthesis of vitamin D. As we all know, vitamin D is also very important for the mineralisation of bones. It also plays an important role in the absorption of both phosphorus and calcium in the intestine.
When there is a deficiency,this will therefore always be detrimental to vitamin D synthesis.
Other benefits
Pantothenic acid is also useful for the proper functioning of the adrenal glands.
In addition, it is essential for the synthesis of fats in the body, as well as in the oxidation process.
It therefore has an effective action and helps to maintain a good level of cholesterol and triglycerides.
Where can we find this vitamin?
Vitamin b5 is available in many foods, at varying mg levels. These are good food sources and should not be neglected.
However, the body cannot store this vitamin, and it can only be synthesised in very small amounts.
It is therefore in our interest to ensure that we consume foods particularly rich in this vitamin or pantothenic acid, in order to have a correct daily intake, effective for the production of energy.
Among the foods most rich in this vitamin, we can mention:
- beef kidneys;
- pork kidneys;
- lamb liver ;
- veal or pork liver ;
- Poultry liver and gizzards;
- and Shiitake mushrooms (count a 10th of Shiitake for an amount of 8 mg).
It should be noted that vitamins and minerals are eliminated in the water used to cook food, since it is water-soluble. It is also known that heat destroys this vitamin, so it is important to take these two major drawbacks into account when preparing a food.
Apart from food, products for eye hydration can be found which contain vitamin b5.
There are also products for treating the skin, containing a pantothenic acid alcohol. Its name is panthenol.
The use of this compound helps in the treatment of irritated skin and better healing of the wound.
When the body lacks this vitamin, these additional sources can be useful, but should of course be used as a complement to food sources, which should be preferred.
What happens if there is a vitamin b5 deficiency?
Our current lifestyles can lead to a deficiency of vitamin b5, when we have an unbalanced diet (lack of vitamins), when we eat mainly processed foods.
Also, freezing food and canned products, for example, are damaging for this vitamin. These products have lost a significant amount of this vitamin and cannot provide the recommended dose.
A balanced diet with good amounts of vitamin b5 or pantothenic acid is therefore the best solution.
When there is a deficiency of this vitamin or pantothenic acid, the human body will react as follows:
- the subject will have numbness in the hands and feet (ants) or other unpleasant sensations;
- immune defences will be down;
- hypoglycaemic disorder (lack of blood sugar) may occur;
- leg cramps, day and night, may occur;
- Respiratory problems are very likely to occur (infections that are difficult to cure, see lung complications).
Other inconveniences may occur, more or less important, such as a change of mood leading to a depressive state, or intestinal problems (gas and constipation).
Finally, we should also mention the occurrence of insomnia. They can indeed be caused by a vitamin deficiency and in particular b5 or pantothenic acid, a cause that one does not necessarily think of.
Skin problems will naturally find an interesting improvement by using a product containing pantothenic acid alcohol.
As the deficiency prevents the proper synthesis of fats in the human body, it is necessary to make up for it, in order to regain a correct level of cholesterol and triglycerides.
A person with a deficiency of this vitamin should review his or her diet to eat more foods rich in this group of vitamins, such as pork kidneys, beef kidneys, lamb liver, and calf or pig liver.
Indeed, these are foods with good quantities of mg, so they should not be neglected. It is therefore important to use as many of these foods as possible when preparing meals.
Conclusion
If the diet does not provide enough of this vitamin b5 or acid, it will be necessary to have a medical prescription from the doctor in order to receive a vitamin supplement.
