Vitamins: the basics

Posted by whitneyrho on February 22nd, 2020

Vitamins are micronutrients. They were discovered by Eijkman (1897) in Indonesia, Java, while studying a disease called common beriberi among natives whose main diet was rice. He noted that the birds fed polished rice developed beri beri, but not when fed with raw rice.

In 1911, Funk obtained an alcoholic extract from the outer rice that cured beri beri. It was believed to be a vital amine presenting the name of vitamin. "E" was then dropped to read "vitamin."

Functions and sources of vitamins:

As micronutrients, vitamins are required in small amounts. Generally, your body cannot produce or synthesize vitamins from scratch. Therefore, you should pick them up from the food you eat or from the supplement pills. However, some bacteria, yeasts, molds, algae and some plant species can synthesize vitamins. It has been discovered that some Best vitamins for sex such as vitamin B5 are synthesized by bacteria in the human colon. However, it is not cear whether vitamins are available for absorption and use of the body.

The body requires vitamins for various biological processes. These include growth, for example, vitamin B6; mental attention, for example, choline, niacin; resistance to infection, e.g. Vitamin C and Vitamin E. They also act as catalysts in the body's chemistry as well as precursors of vital body factors. This allows the body to use carbohydrates, fat and proteins.

The vitamins themselves have no calories and therefore do not give the body energy. Natural vitamins are found in living things that are plants and animals and are organic foods. There are many artificially synthesized vitamins.

Vitamins are found in various amounts in various food sources for yeast, wheat bran, boiled eggs that provide biotin, citrus fruits and milk that provide vitamin C, green leafy vegetables and legumes that provide folic acid.

Vitamin Classification:

There are mainly two types of vitamins classified according to their solubility. These are water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins.

i) Water soluble vitamins include: Vitamin C also called citric acid, vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), vitamin B9 (folic acid), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin B12 (cobalamin), choline, biotin.

Water-soluble vitamins are not stored in the body in appreciable quantities. The excess is eliminated mainly through the urine. They require a constant filling using the diet we eat. This makes them safe because they do not accumulate toxic levels in the body, making large doses of vitamin supplements safe. But caution still needs to be exercised because megadoses have side effects and can even be fatal.

For example, there is a low risk of vitamin toxicity from nicotinic acid with megadoses. Nicotinic acid, a derivative of vitamin niacin, can experience redness, itching, nausea and vomiting, liver cell damage. So supplement with daily value doses. Do not use megados unless under the guidance of current experts

ii) Fat soluble vitamins include: Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E and Vitamin K. Since they are fat soluble, these vitamins are stored in the fat in our bodies. They can easily accumulate to toxic levels, so if you choose to supplement, be careful.

Vitamin deficiency:

The lack of these food factors, that is the results of vitamins for deficiency diseases. Vitamin deficiency diseases are a manifestation of a malfunction in biochemical processes due to the lack of vital vitamins. Since the same vitamin can be used in multiple processes, the lack of some vitamins can be quite severe and even fatal. For example, more than two hundred enzymes require the vitamin niacin coenzyme. So the lack of niacin makes these two hundred enzymes work poorly.

Vitamin deficiency has been linked to long-term latent deficiency diseases. These diseases occur after a long time with a lack of some nutritional factors such as vitamins. Long-term latent deficiency diseases can be just as serious as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. In our current society, these diseases are becoming the biggest health problem.

The situation is serious because not only can they be prevented, but also at low cost. Proper nutrition is all that is needed to get all the necessary nutrients, including adequate amounts