Vitamin

Vitamins function as catalysts in the body. Vitamin A (retinol), What it does: Helps maintain skin, eyes, urinary tract, and lining of the nervous, respiratory, and digestive systems. Needed for healthy bones and teeth. Sources:  Sweet potatoes, milk, liver, fish liver oils, eggs, butter, green and yellow vegetables.

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Vitamin is a chemical compound that the human body needs in small amounts. Vitamins make up one of the major groups of nutrients (food substances necessary for growth and health). Vitamins regulate chemical reac­tions by which the body converts food into energy and living tissues. There are 13 vitamins. Five of them are produced in the body itself. These vitamins are biotin, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin D, and vitamin K. Only biotin, pantothenic acid, and vitamin K, which are made by bacteria in the human intestine, are possibly pro­duced in sufficient quantities to meet the body's needs. Therefore, vitamins must be supplied in a person's daily diet

Each vitamin has such specific uses that one of the compounds cannot replace, or act for, another. But the lack of one vitamin can interfere with the function of an­other. The continued lack of one vitamin in an otherwise complete diet results in a vitamin deficiency disease. Such diseases include beriberi, pellagra, rickets, or scurvy. Investigators first discovered vitamins while searching for the causes of such diseases. In order to be considered a vitamin, a substance must be required in the diet to prevent a deficiency disease.

The best way for a healthy individual to obtain vita­mins is to eat a balanced diet. A daily diet that includes a variety of foods from each of the basic food groups pro­vides an adequate supply of all the vitamins (see Nutri­tion [Basic food groups]).

Some people take daily vitamin supplements, mostly in the form of vitamin tablets. Most supplements contain doses of one or more vitamins. The vitamins in such preparations are equivalent to those in food. But a per­son who eats a balanced diet has no need for daily sup­plements.

A person with a vitamin deficiency disease may be helped by taking one or more preparations that contain large doses of a certain vitamin or of a combination of several vitamins. Such preparations are widely available. But individuals should use them only if they are pre­scribed by a doctor.

Kinds of vitamins

The 13 vitamins are vitamins A; B complex, which is actually a group of 8 vitamins; and C, D, E, and K. Scien­tists divide vitamins into two general groups, fat-soluble vitamins and water-soluble vitamins. The fat-soluble vitamins—vitamins A, D, E, and K—dissolve in fats. The water-soluble vitamins—the B-complex vitamins and vi­tamin C—dissolve in water.

Vitamin A, also called retinol, occurs naturally only in animals. Egg yolk, liver, and milk provide much vita­min A. Some plants contain substances called carotenes, which the body converts into vitamin A. These plants in­clude cabbage, carrots, and lettuce.

Vitamin A is essential for the development of babies before birth and the growth of children. It is especially needed for the growth of bones and teeth. Vitamin A keeps the skin healthy and helps produce mucous se­cretions that build resistance to infection. People who do not get enough vitamin A may develop a condition called xerophthalmia, in which the surface of the eye be­comes dry and likely to develop infection. Vitamin A also forms part of the two pigments that help the eyes to function normally in light that varies in intensity. Night blindness is an early symptom of a deficiency of vita­min A.

Vitamin B complex was first believed to be only one vitamin. Researchers later discovered that it consists of eight vitamins—thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, B₆, panto­thenic acid, biotin, B₂, and folic acid.

Thiamine, or vitamin B,, prevents and cures beriberi, a disease of the nervous system (see Beriberi). The vita­min contains sulphur and nitrogen. Sources of thiamine include green vegetables; meat, especially pork; nuts; soybeans; yeast; and whole-grain and enriched breads and cereals. This vitamin, like vitamin A, is needed for growth. The body also needs it to change carbohydrates into energy.

Riboflavin, or vitamin B₂, is most abundant in such foods as eggs, fish, liver, milk> poultry, yeast and green and leafy vegetables. Direct sunlight destroys riboflavin in milk. This vitamin is needed for growth and for healthy skin and eyes. It promotes the body's use of oxy­gen in converting food into energy, if a person does not get enough riboflavin, cracks may develop in the skin at the corners of the mouth. The person also may have in­flamed lips and a sore tongue, and scaly skin around the nose and ears. The eyes may become extremely sensi­tive to light.

Niacin, or nicotinic acid, helps prevent pellagra (see Pellagra). The best sources of niacin are fish, green veg­etables, lean meat, poultry, and whole-grain and en­riched bread and cereal. Milk and eggs, even though they have little niacin, are good pellagra-preventive foods because they contain tryptophane, an amino acid (see Amino acid). The body converts some tryptophane into niacin.

Niacin is essential for growth, for healthy tissues, and for the conversion of carbohydrates into energy. It also helps produce fats in the body (see Fat). Without niacin, thiamine and riboflavin cannot function properly. Lack of niacin may cause ailments of the skin and of the diges­tive and nervous systems.

Vitamin B_e, pantothenic acid, and biotin. A defi­ciency of these vitamins has never been reported in people who have a healthy diet. Vitamin B₆, orpyridox- ine, helps the body use amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. Lack of this vitamin dam­ages the skin and nervous system. Pantothenic acid is converted by the body into coenzyme A, a vital sub­stance that helps the body produce energy from food. Biotin helps the body change fats into fatty acids, which also aid in producing energy.

Vitamin B_u and folic acid. Vitamin B_]2, or cyanoco- balamin, contains cobalt and is essential for the normal functioning of folic acid, also called folacin. Vitamin B₁₂ and folic acid are needed to produce deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in the body's cells. DNA carries the "master plans" that govern each cell's activities (see Cell). A defi­ciency of either of these vitamins produces anaemia, a condition in which the blood has insufficient red blood cells (see Anaemia). Doctors may advise a pregnant woman to supplement her diet with folate to prevent anaemia. Doctors inject minute amounts of vitamin B,₂ to treat persons with pernicious anaemia. Lack of vita­min B₁₂ also damages the nervous system.

Eggs, liver, milk, and other animal sources of pro­teins, as well as some microbes, supply vitamin B_l2. Peo­ple who eat only vegetables may lack this vitamin. Al­most all uncooked foods contain folic acid, but cooking destroys varying amounts of it.

Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid. Doctors call vitamin C the antiscorbutic vitamin because it prevents and cures scurvy (see Scurvy). The body stores little vitamin C, and so this vitamin must be supplied daily in the diet. Good sources of it include citrus fruit, raw cabbage, strawber­ries, and tomatoes.

Vitamin C is essential for healthy blood vessels, bones, and teeth. People who lack this vitamin may have sore gums and suffer bleeding under the skin. Vitamin C also helps form collagen, a protein that holds tissues to­gether.

Vitamin D helps prevent rickets, a bone disease (see Rickets). Either a deficiency or an excess of this vitamin can seriously affect the bones. There are several forms of vitamin D. One form, calciferol, or vitamin D₂, is pro­duced in plants. It is produced from a sterol, a type of chemical compound, when a plant is exposed to ultravi­olet light Another form, cholecalciferol, or vitamin D₃, occurs in the tissues of animals, including human be­ings.

Vitamin D has been called the "sunshine vitamin" be­cause it forms in the skin when the body is exposed to sunlight. Liver and fish oils contain much vitamin D₃. These oils may be used to enrich milk and other animal food products.

Vitamin E, or tocopherol, helps prevent polyunsatu­rated fatty acids from oxidizing (combining with oxygen). Vitamin E thus plays an important role in maintaining cell membranes, which contain substantial amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The best sources of vitamin E are lettuce and wheatgerm oil. Meat, milk, eggs, liver, whole-grain cereals, and most vegetables also contain this vitamin. A deficiency of vitamin E occurs rarely and produces few symptoms.

Vitamin K is essential for blood clotting. Green leafy vegetables, such as cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and spin­ach, are rich in Vitamin K. Pork liver is also an excellent source. Intestinal bacteria manufacture vitamin K in the body, and so deficiencies of this vitamin rarely result from a poor diet. Doctors sometimes give women vita­min K before childbirth to prevent bleeding in the new­born baby. Babies do not have enough intestinal bacte­ria to produce adequate amounts of the vitamin until they are about 2 weeks old.

How vitamins work

Vitamins function as catalysts in the body. A catalyst is a substance that increases the speed of a chemical reac­tion without being consumed by the reaction. Vitamins help accelerate certain chemical reactions that occur in the body and are essential for health. Without vitamins, these reactions would occur very slowly or not at all.

Most vitamins play the role of either enzymes or or­ganic compounds called coenzymes (see Enzyme). En­zymes are catalysts that contain protein and regulate certain body processes. An enzyme alters molecules in the body and combines with them to cause a chemical reaction. The enzyme is unchanged by the reaction, and it can repeat the process again and again.

Some vitamins occur in inactive forms that do not in­fluence chemical reactions. The body converts such vita­mins into their active forms. Vitamin D is unique be­cause it functions not only as a vitamin, but also as a "chemical messenger," or hormone (see Hormone).

History

Such nutritional diseases as beriberi, pellagra, rickets, and scurvy have been known for centuries. But the idea that they might result from a dietary deficiency is com­paratively new. One of the first persons to study the ef­fect of diet on human health was James Lind, a Scottish doctor. As early as the 1740's, Lind used lemons and or­anges to cure scurvy in sailors, who rarely ate fresh fruit on long voyages. In 1882, a Japanese doctor named Kanehiro Takaki cured beriberi among naval crews by adding meat and vegetables to their diet of rice.

Christiaan Eijkman, a Dutch scientist, studied beriberi in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). About 1900, he showed that people who ate polished rice (rice with the husks and bran layers removed) developed the disease, whereas those who ate unpolished rice did not. Eijkman concluded that the husks and bran layers of the rice contained an antiberiberi factor that was essential for health.

In 1912, a Polish biochemist, Casimir Funk, tried but failed to extract the pure antiberiberi factor from rice polishings. Funk thought the substance belonged to a group of chemical compounds called amines, and he named it vitamine, meaning amine essential to life. Meanwhile, research on the effect of diet on the growth of rats was published in 1906 by the British biochemist Frederick Hopkins. He demonstrated that certain foods contain substances that are vital for the growth and de-

Christiaan Eijkman, a Dutch scientist, studied beriberi in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). About 1900, he showed that people who ate polished rice (rice with the husks and bran layers removed) developed the disease, whereas those who ate unpolished rice did not. Eijkman concluded that the husks and bran layers of the rice contained an antiberiberi factor that was essential for health.

In 1912, a Polish biochemist, Casimir Funk, tried but failed to extract the pure antiberiberi factor from rice polishings. Funk thought the substance belonged to a group of chemical compounds called amines, and he named it vitamine, meaning amine essential to life. Meanwhile, research on the effect of diet on the growth of rats was published in 1906 by the British biochemist Frederick Hopkins. He demonstrated that certain foods contain substances that are vital for the growth and de velopment of the body. Hopkins called these substances "accessory food factors," to distinguish them from the well-established "basic food factors"—carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, and water. Later, the word vita­min (with the e dropped) came to be used for all such accessory substances. Together, Hopkins and Funk de­veloped the vitamin theory of deficiency disease.

At first, scientists thought there were only two vita­mins, a fat-soluble one and a water-soluble one. By 1922 the American biochemist Elmer McCollum had proved that the fat-soluble vitamin actually consisted of a mix­ture of vitamins. About the same time, Joseph Goldber- ger, an American doctor, showed that the water-soluble vitamin was also a mixture. Since then, vitamins of both types have been identified. Although it is possible that more may be discovered, none of the compounds pro­posed as vitamins since 1948, when vitamin B,₂ was iso­lated, has met the required scientific qualifications.

Related articles in Diet, Coldberger, and Joseph Nutrition.

Vitamins essential for human health

Vitamin A (retinol)

What it does: Helps maintain skin, eyes, urinary tract, and lining of the nervous, respiratory, and digestive systems. Needed for healthy bones and teeth.

Sources:  Sweet potatoes, milk, liver, fish liver oils, eggs, butter, green and yellow vegetables..

Vitamin: Thiamine (B₁)

What it does: Needed for carbohydrate metabolism and release of energy from food. Helps heart and nervous system function properly.

Sources: Yeast, meat, whole-grain and enriched breads and ce­reals, nuts, peas, potatoes, most vegetables.

Vitamin Riboflavin (B₂)

What it does: Helps body cells use oxygen. Promotes tissue repair and healthy skin.

Sources: Milk, cheese, liver, fish, poultry, green vegetables.

Vitamin: Niacin (nicotinic acid)

What it does: Essential for cell metabolism and absorption of carbo­hydrates. Helps maintain healthy skin.

Sources: Liver, yeast, lean meat, whole-grain and enriched breads and cereals.

Vitamin: B₆ (pyridoxine)

What it does: Needed for healthy teeth and gums, blood vessels, nervous system, and red blood cells.

Sources: Yeast, whole-grain cereals, meat, poultry, fish, most vegetables.

Vitamin: Pantothenic acid

What it does: Helps the body convert carbohydrates, fats, and pro­teins into energy.

Sources: Egg yolk, meat, nuts, whole-grain cereals.

Vitamin: B₁₂ (cyanocobalamin)

What it does: Essential for proper development of red blood cells. Helps proper function of nervous system.

Sources: Eggs, meat, milk, dairy products.

Vitamin: Biotin

What it does: Needed for healthy circulatory system and for main­taining healthy skin.

Sources: Egg yolk, nuts, liver, kidney, most fresh vegetables; made by intestinal bacteria.

Vitamin: Folic Acid

What it does: Needed for production of red blood cells.

Sources: Green leafy vegetables, yeast, meat, poultry, fish.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)

What it does: Essential for sound bones and teeth. Needed for tissue metabolism and wound healing.

Sources: Citrus fruit, tomatoes, raw cabbage, potatoes, straw­berries

Vitamin D (cholecalciferol)

What it does: Essential for calcium and phosphorus metabolism.

Sources: Fish liver oils, fortified milk, eggs, tuna, salmon, sun­light.

Vitamin E (tocopherol)

What it does: Helps prevent the oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in cell membranes and other body structures.

Sources: Whole-grain cereals, lettuce, vegetable oils.

Vitamin K

What it does: Needed for normal blood clotting. '          

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