Vitamins

Vitamins are substances that your body needs to grow and develop normally. There are 13 vitamins your body needs. They are vitamins A, C, D, E, K and the B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12 and folate). You can usually get all your vitamins from the foods you eat. Your body can also make vitamins D and K. People who eat a vegetarian diet may need to take a vitamin B12 supplement.

Each vitamin has specific jobs. If you have low levels of certain vitamins, you may develop a deficiency disease. For example, if you don't get enough vitamin D, you could develop rickets. Some vitamins may help prevent medical problems. Vitamin A prevents night blindness.

The best way to get enough vitamins is to eat a balanced diet with a variety of foods. In some cases, you may need to take a daily multivitamin for optimal health. However, high doses of some vitamins can make you sick.

Vitamin on Wikipedia

'''Vitamins''' are organic chemicals that a given living organism requires in trace quantities for good health, but which the organism cannot synthesize, and therefore must obtain from its diet (nutrition). The term vitamin does not encompass other essential nutrients such as dietary minerals, essential fatty acids or essential amino acids. Nor is it used for the large number of other nutrients that are merely health-furthering, but not strictly essential. Humans require 13 different vitamins. The word vitamin was coined by the Poland biochemistry Kazimierz Funk in 1912. ''Vita'' in Latin is ''life'' and the ''-amin'' suffix is short for ''amine''; at the time it was thought that all vitamins were amines. Though this is now known to be incorrect, the name has stuck.

History

The value of eating certain foods to maintain health was recognized long before vitamins were identified. The ancient Egyptians knew that feeding a patient liver would help cure night blindness, now known to be caused by a Vitamin A deficiency. In 1747, the Scotland surgeon James Lind discovered that citrus foods helped prevent scurvy, a particularly deadly disease characterized by bleeding and severe pain. In 1753, Lind published his ''Treatise on the Scurvy''. In 1905, William Fletcher discovered that eating unpolished rice instead of polished helped prevent the disease beriberi. The following year, Frederick Hopkins postulated that foods contained "accessory factors"—in addition to proteins, carbohydrates, fats, etc.—that were necessary to the human body. When Kazimierz Funk isolated the chemical that Fletcher had identified, he proposed that it be named "Vitamine". The name soon became synonymous with Hopkins' "accessory factors", and by the time it was shown that not all vitamins were amines, the word was ubiquitous. ... [ Read More ]

External Resources

Music Song Lyrics - Vitamin C - Site offers lyrics from the musician's songs.

Vitamin C Fan Club - Fan club site with tour dates, pictures, video clips, lyrics, merchandise and links.

Smile - A Vitamin C site with pictures, discography, message board and links.

Vitamin C Fan Site - News updates, a chart history, and biographical information.

AskMen.com: Vitamin C - Pictures, biography, links and ratings from a male perspective.

Eberhard, Stefan - Shows the world only seen with the help of a microscope. Images of Vitamin C, fertilizer, niacin, and cystine, and other chemicals.

Vitamin Z - Official site. Features photos, lyrics, discography and news on what members are currently doing.

Vitamin C at ASAP - Biography and lyrics.

Vitaminic - Chris and Cosey - Sound samples, news and short biography.

VITAMINIC - eryK - Online feature on the European music site Vitaminic.com, includes photo, bio and downloads.

Vitamins

Vitamin on Wikipedia

History

External Resources

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