By team Briyo Supplements · Updated August 2026
Your body runs on 13 vitamins and roughly 13 essential minerals - nutrients it either cannot make at all, or cannot make enough of. Every one of them has a job, and every one has a daily requirement. This is your plain-language reference to all 26: what each does, where it comes from, and who tends to run short.
Daily values below follow ICMR-NIN guidance for Indian adults - individual needs vary with age, pregnancy and health conditions, so treat these as sensible reference points, not prescriptions.
The fat-soluble vitamins: A, D, E, K
These four are absorbed with dietary fat and stored in the body - which means consistency matters less day to day, but genuine gaps take longer to fix.
- Vitamin A - vision, skin, immune function. Found in dairy, eggs, and as beta-carotene in carrots, pumpkin and leafy greens.
- Vitamin D - calcium absorption and bone strength. Made in skin from sunlight; very little comes from food. The single most common deficiency in urban India - we've written a full guide to it.
- Vitamin E - an antioxidant protecting cell membranes. Nuts, seeds, vegetable oils.
- Vitamin K - normal blood clotting, and a growing role in directing calcium to bones (that's the K2 you see paired with D3). Leafy greens, fermented foods.
The water-soluble vitamins: C and the B family
These aren't stored in meaningful amounts - what you don't use, you lose. Daily intake matters.
- Vitamin C - collagen formation, iron absorption, antioxidant protection, immune support. Amla, citrus, guava, capsicum.
- B1 (Thiamine) - converts carbohydrates to energy. Whole grains, legumes.
- B2 (Riboflavin) - energy metabolism. Milk, eggs, greens. One of India's quieter widespread shortfalls.
- B3 (Niacin) - energy production, skin and nerve function. Grains, peanuts, meat.
- B5 (Pantothenic acid) - hormone and energy pathways. Present in almost everything, deficiency is rare.
- B6 (Pyridoxine) - protein metabolism, brain chemistry. Bananas, potatoes, chickpeas.
- B7 (Biotin) - hair, skin, nails, metabolism. Eggs, nuts. Deficiency is rarer than the shampoo ads suggest.
- B9 (Folate) - cell division and red blood cells; critical before and during pregnancy. Leafy greens, legumes.
- B12 (Cobalamin) - nerves, red blood cells, energy. Found almost only in animal foods, which is why roughly half of India runs low. Full B12 guide here.
The major minerals
- Calcium - bones, teeth, muscle contraction. Dairy, ragi, sesame. Needs vitamin D to absorb properly - they're a package deal.
- Phosphorus - bone structure, energy storage. Abundant in normal diets.
- Magnesium - 300+ enzyme reactions, muscle and nerve function, sleep quality. Nuts, whole grains, greens. Modern refined diets often fall short.
- Sodium, Potassium, Chloride - the electrolytes: fluid balance, nerve signals, muscle function. Most Indians get too much sodium and too little potassium - the ratio matters more than either number. Sweat heavily and you lose all three, which is what a balanced electrolyte mix like H2Lyte is designed around.
- Sulphur - protein structures, joints. Comes along with protein foods.
The trace minerals
Needed in tiny amounts - milligrams or less - but non-negotiable.
- Iron - oxygen transport in blood. India's most documented deficiency, especially in women. Veg sources (greens, legumes) absorb poorly - pairing them with vitamin C helps meaningfully.
- Zinc - immune function, wound healing, taste. Seeds, legumes, meat.
- Iodine - thyroid hormones. Iodised salt largely solved this - keep using it.
- Selenium - antioxidant defence, thyroid. Nuts (especially), grains.
- Copper - iron metabolism, connective tissue. Nuts, seeds, whole grains.
- Manganese - bone formation, metabolism. Tea, grains, greens.
- Chromium - carbohydrate metabolism. Whole grains, broccoli.
- Molybdenum - enzyme cofactor. Legumes. Deficiency essentially unknown - included for completeness.
So do you need all 26 in a pill?
No - and any brand that says otherwise is selling, not informing. A reasonable Indian diet covers most of this list most of the time. The realistic gaps are predictable: vitamin D (indoor lives), B12 (vegetarian diets), iron (especially women), and sometimes magnesium and riboflavin.
The honest strategy: eat a varied diet, fix the predictable gaps deliberately - through targeted supplements like D3 or B12, or a broad-spectrum option like All Around Women / All Around Men if you'd rather cover the bases in one capsule - and test when symptoms suggest something specific.
FAQ
Which deficiencies are actually common in India? Vitamin D, B12, iron and folate top the list by a wide margin. If you're going to test for anything, start there.
Can I just take a multivitamin and forget the list? A good multivitamin is sensible insurance, but it uses moderate doses of everything - if you have one confirmed deficiency, a targeted supplement at a proper dose works better for that nutrient.
Fat-soluble vs water-soluble - why does it matter? Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) need some dietary fat to absorb and are stored in the body. Water-soluble ones (C, B family) need regular topping up because excess is excreted.
Do supplements replace food? Never - food brings fibre, protein and hundreds of compounds no capsule contains. Supplements fill specific, predictable gaps. That's the whole job.
Briyo products are food supplements and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult a healthcare professional before use if you have a medical condition or are taking medication.