Vitamin B2
This is the active B vitamin, also called riboflavin, that gives urine a yellow-green fluorescent color when it's excreted through the kidneys — sometimes known as the "expensive" urine of vitamin takers. It functions as a co-factor, (a substance that assists another molecule with a certain function), which is really the active part of an enzyme, facilitating the production of energy from foods and supporting healthy skin, hair, and nails.
Key uses of vitamin B2:
- Used in the formation and maintenance of eye tissues.
- Helps in treating stress and fatigue. This "energy vitamin" is helpful for relieving stress and is needed more by women taking estrogens (for birth control or menopause) or after antibiotic use. Vitamin B2, used with pyridoxine, can also help lift the mood.
- Prevents some types of migraine headaches.
- Used to treat skin conditions.
- May help protect against bowel cancer.
Where you can find it: Found in small amounts in grains, fruits, and vegetables, riboflavin is higher in brewer's yeast, liver, and oily fish like salmon.
How much to take: You need B2 only in amounts of a couple milligrams a day, but supplements usually include about 15 to 50 mg.
Too little or too much: Too much riboflavin doesn't appear to cause problems, but deficiency is common, especially in the elderly, and can cause a variety of ill effects from fatigue and skin rashes (dry, cracked skin at the corners of the mouth) to eye and nerve problems.
