Modern medicine believes that 85% of our health depends on nutrition, but not just on the use of any food, but on fortified food. Vitamins are an important nutritional factor; they are necessary for a person not because of their energy value, but because of their ability to regulate the course of chemical reactions in the body.
The physiological need of healthy people for vitamins varies depending on age, gender, nature of work, national cuisine traditions, climatic conditions, etc.
What are vitamins: origin and properties
Vitamins (lat. vita life + amines) are low molecular weight organic compounds of various chemical nature, which are necessary for normal life and have high biological activity. Sources of vitamins for humans are various foods of plant and animal origin. Some vitamins are partially formed in the body, with the participation of microbes that live in the large intestine. Today, about 20 vitamins are known. The main ones are: B1, B2, B6, B12, PP, C, A, D, E, K, (vitamins are indicated by letters of the Latin alphabet), folic acid, pantothenic acid, biotin and others.
Vitamins can be divided into 3 groups.
1st includes B vitamins: B1, B2, B6, B12, folic acid, pantothenic acid, PP, biotin. These vitamins as coenzymes are involved in carbohydrate and energy metabolism.
The second group is formed by bioantioxidant vitamins, which neutralize the active form of oxygen. This is vitamin C, which acts in the water phases of the body: in the serum, in the lacrimal fluid, in the fluid that lines the lungs. Vitamin E, located in the cell membrane, which is also highly susceptible to the damaging effects of oxygen. This group also includes carotenoids, in particular beta-carotene.
The third group is prohormones – vitamins from which hormones are formed. Among them are vitamin A, D.
Division of vitamins by chemical nature
According to their chemical nature, all vitamins are divided into water-soluble and fat-soluble.
Water-soluble vitamins are vitamin C and B vitamins. They are not stored in the body and are excreted from it after a few days, so they need to be taken daily. A rich source of these vitamins is fruits, berries, vegetables and herbs, brewer’s yeast and cereal sprouts.
Fat-soluble vitamins – A, D, E and K. They accumulate in the liver and adipose tissue, so they remain in the body for a longer time. The source of fat-soluble vitamins is fish oil, butter, cream, sturgeon caviar, and some vegetables.
Vitamins can be natural (found in food) or synthetic.
Natural vitamins are most preferred, since food also contains enzymes, fibers and other elements that facilitate their absorption. The content of vitamins in the diet may decrease in the winter and spring months. Freezing food reduces the concentration of vitamins in food. Storage in the light is detrimental to vitamins E and A, contact with oxygen is not acceptable for vitamin B6.
Synthetic vitamins correspond in their chemical composition to natural ones, and can compensate for the deficiency of a particular vitamin in the body, but do not contain other essential nutrients.
During periods of recovery, with increased physical activity, natural vitamins are not enough and it is necessary to take synthetic vitamin supplements. The need for vitamin A increases in the summer, when sunbathing, and the need for vitamins C, groups B, B, E, folic acid, increases sharply in winter and, especially, in spring, during a period of increased incidence of colds.
What does vitamin deficiency lead to?
High psycho-emotional load, deterioration of the ecological situation, increased background radiation, violation of the food culture, uncontrolled use of drugs, the prevalence of artificial feeding of children are factors contributing to the development of vitamin deficiency.
With insufficient intake of vitamins in the body, hypovitaminosis develops, in severe cases – beriberi with symptoms characteristic of each vitamin.
In the absence or deficiency of essential vitamins, our body’s ability to extract and use nutrients from food is weakened. Uncontrolled use of vitamins in large doses can lead to intoxication of the body with the development of hypervitaminosis, cause an allergic reaction.
Health effects of inadequate vitamin intake
Insufficient intake of vitamins causes significant damage to health, increases child mortality, adversely affects the growth and development of children, reduces physical and mental performance, resistance to various diseases, increases the negative impact on the body of adverse environmental conditions, harmful production factors, neuro-emotional stress and stress, It reduces occupational injuries, the sensitivity of the body to the effects of radiation, and reduces the duration of an active working life.
Deficiency of antioxidant vitamins: ascorbic acid (vitamin C), tocopherols (vitamin E) and carotenoids – is one of the factors that increase the risk of cardiovascular and oncological diseases.
Therefore, each person needs to be attentive to their health, respond in a timely manner to the slightest ailments, “nourish” the body with the necessary vitamins like proven caruso’s vitamins and prevent beriberi.
