A vitamin (US /ˈvaɪtəmɪn/ or UK /ˈvɪtəmɪn/) is an organic compound required by an organism as a vital nutrient in limited amounts. An organic chemical compound (or related set of compounds) is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet. Thus, the term is conditional both on the circumstances and on the particular organism. For example, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is a vitamin for humans, but not for most other animals, and biotin (vitamin H) and vitamin D are required in the human diet only in certain circumstances.
Thiamin
What it does:
helps convert the food we eat to the energy we need
Foods that have thiamin:
spinach, tomato juice, watermelon, sunflower seeds, ham
Deficiency problems:
weakness, tingling in feet and hands, poor coordination
Riboflavin - named for its yellow color (flavus means yellow in Latin)
What it does:
helps convert the food we eat to the energy we need
Foods that have riboflavin:
milk, cheese, liver, broccoli, asparagus, spinach
Deficiency problems:
eye disorders, cracks at corners of mouth, swollen tongue
Niacin
What it does:
helps our body use the fat and sugar we eat for energy
helps keep our skin healthy
Foods that have niacin:
mushrooms, tuna, green beans, broccoli, spinach, breakfast cereals
Deficiency problems:
diarrhea, skin problems, mental disorientation
Vitamin B6
What it does:
helps make red blood cells
helps our body use the fat and protein we eat for energy
Foods that have vitamin B6:
spinach, broccoli, tomato juice, banana, watermelon, chicken breast
Deficiency problems:
headache, convulsions, vomiting, flaky skin, sore tongue
Folate
What it does:
helps to make new cells
helps prevent heart disease
Foods that have folate:
asparagus, broccoli, corn flakes, green beans, tomato juice, beans
Deficiency problems:
diarrhea, mental disorders, poor growth
Vitamin B12
What it does:
helps to make new cells
Foods that have vitamin B12:
meat, fish, poultry, milk, cheese, eggs
Deficiency problems:
anemia, poor nerve function
Vitamin C- almost all animals make vitamin C in their bodies (only humans, guinea pigs, some bats, and some fish don’t)
What it does:
protects cells from damage
helps keep bones and skin healthy
may help prevent cancer and heart disease
Foods that have vitamin C:
oranges, strawberries, peppers, kiwi, brussel sprouts, broccoli, spinach
Deficiency problems:
bleeding gums, tiredness, weakness, sore muscle
Vitamin A - discovered in 1913
What it does:
helps with eyesight
keeps skin healthy
helps with growth of body organs (like bones)
Foods that have vitamin A:
liver, fish, milk, butter, eggs, carrots
Deficiency problems:
night blindness, poor growth, dry skin
Vitamin D - made in the skin by the sun
What it does:
helps bones grow strong
Foods that have vitamin D:
egg yolks, liver, butter, milk
Deficiency problems:
rickets (deformed bones), weak bones
Vitamin E - called the antiaging vitamin
What it does:
protects lungs against pollution damage
helps keep heart healthy
may help protect against cancer
Foods that have vitamin E:
sweet potatoes, peanut butter, sunflower seeds, spinach, nuts
Deficiency problems:
nerve destruction, red blood cell destruction
Vitamin K - made by bacteria in our intestines
What it does:
helps make blood clot
helps keep bones healthy
Foods that have vitamin K:
liver, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, milk, meat, eggs
Deficiency problems:
hemorrhage
……….
By convention, the term vitamin includes neither other essential nutrients, such as dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, or essential amino acids (which are needed in larger amounts than vitamins) nor the large number of other nutrients that promote health but are otherwise required less often. Thirteen vitamins are universally recognized at present.
Vitamins are classified by their biological and chemical activity, not their structure. Thus, each “vitamin” refers to a number of vitamer compounds that all show the biological activity associated with a particular vitamin. Such a set of chemicals is grouped under an alphabetized vitamin “generic descriptor” title, such as “vitamin A“, which includes the compounds retinal, retinol, and four known carotenoids. Vitamers by definition are convertible to the active form of the vitamin in the body, and are sometimes inter-convertible to one another, as well.
itamins have diverse biochemical functions. Some, such as vitamin D, have hormone-like functions as regulators of mineral metabolism, or regulators of cell and tissue growth and differentiation (such as some forms of vitamin A). Others function as antioxidants (e.g., vitamin E and sometimesvitamin C). The largest number of vitamins, the B complex vitamins, function as precursors for enzyme cofactors, that help enzymes in their work as catalysts in metabolism. In this role, vitamins may be tightly bound to enzymes as part of prosthetic groups: For example, biotin is part of enzymes involved in making fatty acids. They may also be less tightly bound to enzyme catalysts as coenzymes, detachable molecules that function to carry chemical groups or electrons between molecules. For example, folic acid may carry methyl, formyl, and methylene groups in the cell. Although these roles in assisting enzyme-substrate reactions are vitamins’ best-known function, the other vitamin functions are equally important.
Until the mid-1930s, when the first commercial yeast-extract vitamin B complex and semi-synthetic vitamin C supplement tablets were sold, vitamins were obtained solely through food intake, and changes in diet (which, for example, could occur during a particular growing season) usually greatly altered the types and amounts of vitamins ingested. However, vitamins have been produced as commodity chemicals and made widely available as inexpensive semisynthetic and synthetic-source multivitamin dietary and food supplements and additives, since the middle of the 20th century.,,,,,,,
List of vitamins
Each vitamin is typically used in multiple reactions, and, therefore, most have multiple functions.
Vitamin generic
descriptor name
Vitamerchemical name(s) (list not complete)
Solubility
Recommended dietary allowances
(male, age 19–70)[6]
Deficiency disease
Upper Intake Level
(UL/day)[6]
Overdose disease
Food sources
Vitamin A
Retinol, retinal, and
four carotenoids
including beta carotene
Fat
900 µg
Night-blindness,Hyperkeratosis, andKeratomalacia[7]
3,000 µg
Hypervitaminosis A
Orange, ripe yellow fruits, leafy vegetables, carrots, pumpkin, squash, spinach, liver, soy milk, milk
Vitamin B1
Thiamine
Water
1.2 mg
Beriberi, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome
N/D[8]
Drowsiness or muscle relaxation with large doses.[9]
Pork, oatmeal, brown rice, vegetables, potatoes, liver, eggs
Vitamin B2
Riboflavin
Water
1.3 mg
Ariboflavinosis
N/D
Dairy products, bananas, popcorn, green beans, asparagus
Vitamin B3
Niacin, niacinamide
Water
16.0 mg
Pellagra
35.0 mg
Liver damage (doses > 2g/day)[10] and other problems
Meat, fish, eggs, many vegetables, mushrooms, tree nuts
Vitamin B5
Pantothenic acid
Water
5.0 mg[11]
Paresthesia
N/D
Diarrhea; possibly nausea and heartburn.[12]
Meat, broccoli, avocados
Vitamin B6
Pyridoxine,pyridoxamine,pyridoxal
Water
1.3–1.7 mg
Anemia[13] peripheral neuropathy.
100 mg
Impairment ofproprioception, nerve damage (doses > 100 mg/day)
Meat, vegetables, tree nuts, bananas
Vitamin B7
Biotin
Water
30.0 µg
Dermatitis, enteritis
N/D
Raw egg yolk, liver, peanuts, certain vegetables
Vitamin B9
Folic acid, folinic acid
Water
400 µg
Megaloblastic anemiaand Deficiency during pregnancy is associated with birth defects, such as neural tube defects
1,000 µg
May mask symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency;other effects.
Leafy vegetables, pasta, bread, cereal, liver
Vitamin B12
Cyanocobalamin,hydroxycobalamin,methylcobalamin
Water
2.4 µg
Megaloblastic anemia[14]
N/D
Acne-like rash [causality is not conclusively established].
Meat and other animal products
Vitamin C
Ascorbic acid
Water
90.0 mg
Scurvy
2,000 mg
Vitamin C megadosage
Many fruits and vegetables, liver
Vitamin D
Cholecalciferol
Fat
10 µg[15]
Rickets andOsteomalacia
50 µg
Hypervitaminosis D
Fish, eggs, liver, mushrooms
Vitamin E
Tocopherols,tocotrienols
Fat
15.0 mg
Deficiency is very rare; mild hemolytic anemiain newborn infants.[16]
1,000 mg
Increased congestive heart failure seen in one large randomized study.[17]
Many fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds
Vitamin K
phylloquinone,menaquinones
Fat
120 µg
Bleeding diathesis
N/D
Increases coagulation in patients taking warfarin.[18]
Leafy green vegetables such as spinach, egg yolks, liver
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