Why
Take Vitamins?
Why take Vitamins?
By: Dr. George Obikoya
Vitamins are substances that are found in many
of the foods we eat. Your body needs vitamins to work properly,
which makes them some really important substances! Your body uses
vitamins to do many things, like help you grow and develop. It needs
vitamins to help your blood clot when you get a cut. Some vitamins
help us make energy. Vitamins are even involved in making sure you
can see in color, the world would look black and white without them!
And if you've ever wondered what helps make your teeth healthy and
strong, then you'll be sure to smile when you find out it's, guess
what, vitamins!
Besides vitamins, there is also something similar called provitamins.
A provitamin is similar in structure to a specific vitamin and can
be converted to it by a few metabolic reactions, for example, beta-carotene
can be converted to vitamin A; 7-dehydrocholesterol into vitamin
D3. The amino acid tryptophan is called a precursor of the vitamin
nicotinic acid because the conversion pathway is less direct than
that of a provitamin.
Vitamins regulate metabolism reactions, in contrast to other dietary
components known as macronutrients, for examples, fats, carbohydrates,
proteins, which are the compounds utilized in the reactions regulated
by the vitamins. Absence of a vitamin blocks one or more specific
metabolic reactions in a cell and eventually may disrupt the metabolic
balance within a cell and in our entire body. Vitamins contain no
calories but play an essential role in your body. Think of vitamins
kind of like the fluids in your car. If you have no oil (vitamins)
in your car, it does not matter how much gasoline (calories) you
put in your car, your car will not run. For this reason, it is critically
important to ensure a proper supply of vitamins in your car. Unlike
the oil in your car, many vitamins are purged from your body daily.
A high-quality liquid multivitamin will replenish lost vitamins
and minerals.
With the exception of vitamin C (ascorbic acid), all of the water-soluble
vitamins assist enzymes that function in energy transfer or in the
metabolism of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. In other words,
it will be difficult for our body to break down these nutrients
into energy we can use without vitamins.
Some of the fat-soluble vitamins form part of the structure of biological
membranes or assist in maintaining the integrity and functioning
of these membranes. Some fat-soluble vitamins also may function
at the genetic level to control the synthesis of certain enzymes.
Fat-soluble vitamins are necessary for specific functions in highly
differentiated cells.
A characteristic deficiency disease (or hypovitaminosis) results
when we take an inadequate amount of a specific vitamin. The severity
of this disease depends upon the degree of vitamin deprivation (see
the figure below).
Symptoms of the disease may be specific such as functional night
blindness when we take too little of vitamin A or nonspecific, for
examples, loss of appetite and failure to grow. Some effects of
vitamin deficiencies cannot be reversed by simply adding the vitamin
to the diet, especially if damage to non-regenerative tissue such
as cornea of the eye, nerve tissue, or calcified bone has occurred.
A vitamin deficiency may be "primary" (or dietary), in which case
the dietary intake is lower than the normal requirement of the vitamin.
A "secondary" (or conditioned) deficiency may occur (even though
the dietary intake is adequate) if a pre-existing disease or state
of stress is present such as malabsorption of food from the intestine,
chronic alcoholism, repeated pregnancies and lactation. Many people
today have micro deficiencies, in which they do not have clinical
symptoms but they may suffer from difficulty concentrating, lack
of energy, poor wound repair and a whole host of other mild, but
cumulative symptoms.
When you take fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K), the vitamins
are stored in the fat tissues in your body and in your liver until
your body needs them, some are stored for a few days, some for up
to six months! Water-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin C and the
B group of vitamins, on the other hand are different. They are not
stored as much in your body. Instead, they travel through your bloodstream
and whatever your body doesn't use comes out when you urinate. So
these kinds of vitamins need to be replaced often, and many people
fail to do so as in this case, often means daily.
Vitamins are, no doubt, absolutely critical for a healthy body and
mind.
A good multivitamin is the foundation of health
and nutrition. Take a look at our scientific reviews of many of
the popular brands for factors such as ingredients, areas of improvement,
quality level, and overall value. If you are looking for a high
quality liquid multivitamin, we suggest that you take a look at
the Multivitamin
Product Comparisons.
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