What Vitamins Mean in Science

Vitamins are organic substances that are generally classified as either fat-soluble or water-soluble.

Fat-soluble vitamins

(such as vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K) dissolve in fat and tend to accumulate in the body. A deficiency of vitamin A can cause a range of symptoms, including vision problems, especially night blindness; delayed growth; dry skin; and a weakened immune system. When selecting beverages, milk is a good source of vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium.

It contains one or more dietary ingredients, including vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, and other substances. However, too much exposure to the sun can lead to skin aging and cancer, so many people try to get their vitamin D from other sources. In the past, sailors suffered from scurvy due to a lack of vitamin C, which the body normally gets from fruits and vegetables. In 1912, Polish biochemist Casimir Funk hypothesized that other diseases such as rickets, pellagra, celiac disease and scurvy could be cured with vitamins.

This means that we must obtain our vitamins from outside sources such as the foods we eat or the bacteria that reside in our body and produce the vitamin. Vegetarians must carefully plan their diets to ensure they get all the necessary vitamins and minerals. Vitamin D is unique because the human body can synthesize it in sufficient quantities when large parts of the body are exposed to sunlight. The last letter was later ruled out when it was discovered that not all vitamins contain nitrogen and therefore not all of them are amines.

Vitamins and minerals help boost the immune system, promote normal growth and development, and help cells and organs do their jobs. In 1931, Albert Szent-Györgyi and Joseph Svirbely suspected that hexuronic acid was actually vitamin C and gave a sample to Charles Glen King who demonstrated its antiscorbutic activity in his long-standing scorbutic test with guinea pigs. In 1943, Edward Adelbert Doisy and Henrik Dam received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of vitamin K and its chemical structure. In East Asia where polished white rice was the common staple food of the middle class, beriberi resulting from a lack of vitamin B1 was endemic.

Europe has regulations that define dose limits for vitamins (and minerals) for safe use as dietary supplements.