The importance of vitamins
Until the beginning of twentieth century, it was thought that a diet containing proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals and water was adequate to maintain life. But research conducted in the early part of that century proved that some vital factor was missing from the diet.
This vital factor was given the name vitamin. Later it was found that there were more than one factor involved.
Now we know that vitamins are one of the six classes of nutrients supplied by food. They are required for normal growth and maintenance of all animal life.
Vitamins are important for their regulatory and protective functions. Unlike most other nutrients, they are required in very small amounts. But it is necessary to provide these in the diet because many of them cannot be manufactured by the body.
The lack of vitamins results in definite deficiency disorders which are specific of each particular vitamin.
These are essential for the maintenance of good health as they catalyses various body processes, which help to utilize all the nutrients supplied and regulate a number of functions in the body.
Vitamins are conveniently classified into two groups on the basis of their solubility (in fat or in water) into fat soluble and water soluble vitamins. Fat soluble vitamins include A, D, E and K, and water soluble vitamins include the B-group and vitamin C, Foods differ greatly in the amount and kinds of the vitamins they supply.
For further reading: The Vitamin
