Vitamins
Vitamins are natural substances found in plants and animals. Vitamins are essential for healthy maintenance of the cells, tissues, and organs. Vitamins are organic substances which help regulate bodily functions. Vitamins are so effective that only tiny amounts need to be taken in each day through food or supplements.
Vitamins
Vitamins are classified as either water-soluble, meaning that they dissolve easily in water, or fat-soluble, and are absorbed through the intestinal tract with the help of lipids. Vitamins (with few exceptions) cannot be manufactured endogenously and must therefore be obtained from supplements or from foods via the diet. Vitamins have been produced as commodity chemicals and made widely available as inexpensive pills for several decades, allowing supplementation of the dietary intake. Vitamins are not a substitute for food.
Minerals
Vitamins and minerals are substances that are found in foods we eat. Vitamins and minerals are essential for DNA health and regeneration. Minerals come from the soil and are absorbed by plants that we eat or are eaten by animals. Minerals are different from the other nutrients discussed thus far, in that they are inorganic compounds (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and vitamins are all organic compounds).
Diet
Dietary supplements, often containing vitamins, are used to ensure that adequate amounts of nutrients are obtained on a daily basis, if optimal amounts of the nutrients cannot be obtained through a varied diet. Dietary supplements are not meant to be food substitutes, as they can not replicate all of the nutrients and benefits of whole foods, such as fruits and vegetables. Dietary requirements for some minerals have yet to be established.
Deficiency
If a particular vitamin is missing from your diet you will suffer from a deficiency disease. For example, if you have absolutely no Vitamin C you will end up with a deficiency disease called scurvy. If you have no Iodine in your diet you will end up with a deficiency disease called goiter. The ancient Egyptians knew that feeding a patient liver would help cure night blindness, an illness now known to be caused by a vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) deficiency causes pernicious anemia, memory loss and other cognitive decline. Vitamins and minerals are taken to supplement for any deficiency.
Synthetic Vitamins
Synthetic Vitamins are chemicals that produce drug reactions in the body. Synthetic vitamins may perform some of the functions of their natural counterparts while being useless for others. Synthetic vitamins are made in a laboratory setting from coal tar derivatives. These synthetic vitamins which are really just industrial chemicals may be called “Vitamin E” or “Vitamin A” or even “Vitamin C” but they have no functional resemblance to the real vitamins that occur in nature. Synthetic vitamins only give you 50% of biological activity as compared to whole vitamins (vitamins directly from vegetables). In fact, research studies show that synthetic vitamins can be dangerous to your health!
Vitamins are nutrients in the human body that act to keep the body healthy. Vitamins are involved in many processes that enable your body to use carbohydrates, fats and proteins for energy and repair. Vitamins are bio-molecules that act both as catalysts and substrates in chemical reactions. Vitamins are essential for the normal growth and development of a multicellular organism. Whole Vitamins are critical for maintaining good health.
