Vitamin Basics

What vitamins do you need?

Nature intended for us to be able to consume the right foods and obtain the vitamins and minerals we need from what we consume. Unfortunately nature did not plan for the advent of 40 hour work weeks, fast food and television.

Most people unfortunately are not eating well balanced meals and thus fail to obtain those vitamins and minerals needed to maintain good health and protect against certain diseases.

Vitamins and minerals can play an important role in how you feel on a day-to-day basis. If you are deprived of a necessary vitamin or mineral for an extended period of time, the body will eventually react and send a signal that something is not quite balanced. How many vitamins are there?

To begin with vitamins are sorted into 2 groups, fat soluble vitamins and water soluble vitamins. What is the difference between fat soluble and water soluble?

Fat-soluble vitamins can be stored in the body and the water-soluble vitamins cannot.
Fat-soluble vitamins include:

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin K

Water-soluble vitamins include:

• Vitamin B1
• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
• Vitamin B3 (niacin)
• Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
• Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5)
• Biotin (vitamin H, vitamin B7)
• Folic acid (folate, vitamin B9)
• Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)

Do vitamins contribute to good health?