Vitamins

Vitamins are a class of essential nutrients that cannot be synthesized (either at all or in sufficient quantities) by a given organism and must be taken (in trace quantities) with food for that organism's continued good health. Humans require 13 different vitamins. The term vitamin is not used for other classes of essential nutrients including dietary minerals, essential fatty acids or essential amino acids. Substantial savings can be realized by buying vitamins online.

The 13 required vitamins and their function:

Biotin: Biotin, also known as vitamin H or B7 is a B-complex vitamin that is an important catalyst in the role to synthesize fatty acids, to generate glucose, and to metabolize leucine; one of the 20 most common amino acids on earth, it is an essential amino acid.

Folic Acid: Folic acid is a B-complex vitamin, once called vitamin M, that is important in preventing neural tube defects (NTDs) in the developing human fetus. Folate and folic acid are forms of a water-soluble B vitamin. Folate occurs naturally in food. Folic acid is the synthetic form of this vitamin that is found in supplements and fortified foods.

Niacin: Niacin, or vitamin B3, is a water-soluble vitamin whose derivatives play essential roles in energy metabolism in the living cell. Severe lack of niacin causes deficiency diseases: mild deficiency slows down the metabolism, which in turn decreases cold tolerance and is a potential contributing factor towards obesity.

Vitamin B5: Pantothenic acid, also called vitamin B5, is an antioxidant water-soluble vitamin needed to break down carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Pantothenic acid deficiency is very uncommon and more common with age. The vitamin is contained in whole grain cereals, legumes, eggs, meat, and many other foods. Symptoms of deficiency are highly similar to other vitamin B deficiencies. They include allergies (e.g. stuffed or runny nose), adrenal insuffiency, Addison's disease and rheumatoid arthritis

Riboflavin: Riboflavin, also known as Vitamin B2, is an easily absorbed, water-soluble micronutrient with a key role in maintaining human health. Like the other B vitamins, it supports energy production by aiding in the metabolizing of fats, carbohydrates and proteins. Vitamin B2 is also required for red blood cell formation and respiration, antibody production, and for regulating human growth and reproduction. It is essential for healthy skin, nails, hair growth and general good health, including regulating thyroid activity. Riboflavin also helps in the prevention or treatment of many types of eye disorders, including some cases of cataracts. It may assist bloodshot, itching or burning eyes and abnormal sensitivity to light. Milk, cheese, leafy green vegetables, liver and yeast are good sources of Vitamin B2.

Thiamin: Thiamin or Thiamine, also known as Vitamin B1, is colorless, soluble in water, and insoluble in alcohol. It decomposes if heated too much. Thiamin pyrophosphate is important in the metabolism of carbohydrates; thiamin deficiency causes problems with it.

Vitamin A: Retinol, the most useful form of vitamin A, (along with retinal and retinoic acid) is a fat-soluble, antioxidant vitamin important in vision and bone growth. It is sometimes used in the treatment of severe acne. A deficiency of vitamin A is not only disease causing, but it can kill. On the other hand, overdoses of vitamin A are also lethal. Deficiency of Vitamin A can cause night-blindness, pale, dry skin. Vitamin A is found in Carrot, Spinach, Milk and Egg. Vitamin A gets destroyed at about 40 degrees Celsius, hence these foods must be consumed raw in order to avail maximum benefit.

Vitamin B: Vitamin B is a complex of several vitamins. The name arises because it was once considered a single vitamin, much like Vitamin C or Vitamin D. Since later research has shown it is in fact a complex of chemically distinct vitamins that happen to often coexist in the same foods, the name has gradually declined in use, being replaced by the generic term "the B vitamins", or by the specific names of each vitamin.

The B vitamins are:

Vitamin B-1 (Thiamine)

Vitamin B-2, also Vitamin G (Riboflavin)

Vitamin B-3, also Vitamin P or Vitamin PP (Niacin)

Vitamin B-4 (Adenine)

Vitamin B-5 (Pantothenic acid)

Vitamin B-6 (Pyridoxine) –Required: helps in governing the release of glucose from glycogen.

Vitamin B-7, also Vitamin H (Biotin)

Vitamin B-7* — more commonly called Vitamin I

Vitamin B-8 (Ergadenylic acid)

Vitamin B-9, also Vitamin M (Folic acid)

Vitamin B-10, also Vitamin R (Pteroylmonoglutamic acid mixed with other B vitamins)

Vitamin B-11, also Vitamin S

Vitamin B-12 (Cyanocobalamin) –Required: needed for red blood cells

Vitamin B-13 (Pyrimidinecarboxylic acid)

Vitamin B-14 — a mixture of B-10 and B-11

Vitamin B-15 (Pangamic acid)

Vitamin B-16

Vitamin B-17 (Amygdalin)

Vitamin B-22, often claimed as an ingredient of Aloe vera extracts

Vitamin B-c, another name for Vitamin B-9 (Folic acid)

Vitamin B-h (Inositol)

Vitamin B-t (L-Carnitine)

Vitamin B-w, another name for Vitamin B-7 (Biotin)

Vitamin B-x, also PABA (Para-Aminobenzoic acid)

Note that several of these are not true vitamins or pseudo-vitamins. Questionable B-vitamins are marked with italics.

Vitamin C: Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin used by the body for several purposes. Most animals can synthesize their own vitamin C, but some animals, including guinea pigs, humans, and other primates, cannot. Vitamin C was first isolated in 1928, and in 1932 it was proved to be the agent that prevents scurvy.

Vitamin D: Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that contributes to the maintenance of normal levels of alcium and phosphorus in the bloodstream.

Vitamin E: Tocopherol, or Vitamin E, is a fat-soluble vitamin in eight forms that is an important antioxidant. Vitamin E is often used in skin creams and lotions because it is believed to play a role in encouraging skin healing and reducing scarring after injuries such as burns. itamin E exists in eight different forms. Each form has its own biological activity, the measure of potency or functional use in the body. Alpha-tocopherol is the most active form of vitamin E in humans, and is a powerful biological antioxidant.