Vitamins- What are they and what do they do?

Vitamins are needed to sustain life. Without them, you would not survive. They are essential for your health and well-being. Vitamins are substances that are found in the food that you eat. They are either not produced in the body or, for those that the body does produce naturally, produced in too small a quantity to ensure survival.

Vitamins are called organic substances because they are made from carbon molecules. Each vitamin is chemically unrelated to other vitamins.

There are generally two categories of vitamins. There are those that are soluble in water and those that are soluble in fat.

Here are a list of the most common vitamins: Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Biotin, Folic acid, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin K. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat soluble. They don’t dissolve in water and require minerals and body fats. They are processed and stored in the liver. All other vitamins are water soluble. They are easily dissolved in to the body, and any excess vitamin is excreted in urine. As these vitamins are not stored in the body, they need to be readily and regularly replenished.

Vitamins serve a wide variety of functions and an adequate intake of vitamins effects every organ in the body. Each vitamin has its own function but some vitamins provide health benefits that overlap. Vitamins help with things like energy production, digestion, mental alertness and help with overall health and wellbeing.

Vitamins are not just about overall health and disease prevention. Many vitamins can help therapeutically. Some examples of this include:

Vitamin B3- Vitamin B3 is often recommended as a treatment for lowering cholesterol.
Vitamin A- Vitamins A is sometimes recommended as a treatment for acne.

You need to ensure that you have an adequate intake of all vitamins. They are all beneficial and can help in treating cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, nerve degeneration and other chronic health problems.

Whilst most people will never have too many vitamins, there are some possible serious side-effects from the excess consumption of vitamins. Many of these side effects will stop once excess consumption of the particular vitamin has stopped and any excess stored in the body has been processed.