Vitamins – Vital for Life

Vitamins arechemically unrelated substances and all are organic. Organic substances arethose that contain carbon and come from materials that are living, such asplants and animals, or that were once living, for example petroleum or coal.

VitaminsVitamins aresubstances which, in small amounts, are necessary to sustain life. They must beobtained from food as they are either not made in the body at all, or are notmade in sufficient quantities for growth, vitality and well-being. A deficiencyof a particular vitamin causes disease symptoms which can only be cured by thatvitamin. are a group of nutrients which, in small measures, areessential to sustain life. It is quite impossible to sustain lifewithout all the vitamins. They together with minerals form micro-nutrients,which though in smaller amounts are extremely necessary for our well-being. Thevitamins are not produced in our body (if produced, it is in a very negligibleamount)
and so should be obtained from food in sufficient quantities for properdevelopment, strength
and in totality to maintain health. A deficient intake ofa particular vitamin causes disease symptoms which can be treated by having aregulated amount of the vitamin.

Vitamins aresubstances which, in small amounts, are necessary to sustain life. They must beobtained from food as they are either not made in the body at all, or are notmade in sufficient quantities for growth, vitality and well-being. A deficiencyof a particular vitamin causes disease symptoms which can only be cured by thatvitamin.

Vitamins arechemically unrelated substances and all are organic. Organic substances arethose that contain carbon and come from materials that are living, such asplants and animals, or that were once living, for example petroleum or coal.

It is impossible tosustain life without all the essential vitamins. It is impossible to sustainlife without all the essential vitamins.

Vitamin A is thename given to a group of compounds which regulate certain actions in our body. Retinol, one such compound is used as astandard to measure the activities of other related compoundsVitamin A is the name given toa group of compounds which have certain actions in the body. One of thesecompounds is called retinol and it is used as a standard against which theactivity of other compounds can be measured.  What arevitamins?. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and isobtained from food of both plant and animal origin. If the vitamin is obtainedfrom plants (that we usually use for food in the form of vegetables and fruits)it is called pro-vitamin A (carotene).If the vitamin is obtained from a food source that is of animal origin (milk,eggs, butter, and so on) it is a pre-vitaminA (retinol or retinal).

Vitamin A isessential for the normal functioning of our eyes and promotes good visionespecially in dim light. It is vital for the growth and recovery of bones,teeth, tissues, cartilage and collagen. It is helpful in the formation of skin,teeth, eyes, ears and many other body organs. It acts as an important part ofthe body’s immune system and is suitably known as ‘the anti-infective vitamin’. It arms our body by enhancing theantibody response against the micro-organisms.

If VitaminA is taken in a deficient amount it may affect eyes (night blindness or xerophthalmia), skin (dry skin prone to infections), growth (growth retardation and improper tooth formation), immune system (skin and respiratoryinfections), and lead to othersymptomatic diseases like cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and so on.

The sources of pre-formed vitamin A arefoods of animal origin like butter, whole milk, egg yolks, cod liver oil, beefliver, some sea food and such other like sources. The pro-formed vitamin A is found in foods of plant origin likevegetables – carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, apricots, spinach, broccoli, andmostly in dark green leafy vegetables and fruits – plums, apples, berries,papaya, and some other dark colored fruits. The more intense the color of thefruit or vegetable, the higher amount of beta-carotene content it has in it.

Too much of anything is not good. So is the case with vitamin intake as well. If, it is takenin excess, it results in overdose resulting in headache, followed by chappedlips, dry skin, fatigue, emotional imbalance and bone and joint pain. Increasedintakes of beta-carotene can result to a condition called as Hypervitaminosis A (skin color changes to yellow then to orange).