Nutrition Handbook: Part 12 - Vitamins are Cofactors for Health

Vitamins are essential nutrients that are carbon-based organic compounds which are utilized as metabolic cofactors for maintaining health, promoting vitality, supporting healing, and for the generation and regeneration of tissues. Vitamins are required for life and must be acquired through a complete balanced diet since they cannot be manufactured by the body.

Humans require sixteen essential vitamins for optimal functioning of all the systems, tissues, organs, and glands of the body, as well as maintaining DNA and RNA telomeres, delaying natural cell death, and extending life.

Vitamin Categories

• Water Soluble
• Fat Soluble
• Bioflavonoids

Most vitamins can be eaten when someone includes a variety of fruits and vegetables in three balanced balanced complete meals per day. Choose a different fruit and/or vegetable in each meal to add variety. Be sure to include green leafy vegetables in the daily diet for the all important vitamin folic acid.

An imbalanced diet that includes restrictive meal plans, fasting, dieting, abstaining from certain food groups, and a lack of fruits and vegetable variety will cause someone to eat less than optimal amounts of vitamins. Underconsumption of vitamins generally causes lacking energy, poor mental health, delayed growth, and slow tissue regeneration.

Additionally, someone lacking variety in fruits and vegetables within the daily diet may cause a relative deficiency of other vitamins; by having too much of only a few vitamins and too little of other vitamins. The underconsumption of a few vitamins will impair overall health, but can easily be remedied by a multivitamin-mineral supplement commonly available for purchase from many different companies. Ensure your multivitamin-mineral supplement contains all 16 essential vitamins for ease-of-use and inclusion of all vitamins into the diet on a daily basis.

Overconsumption of vitamins is very difficult when eating a balanced complete diet.

Overconsumption of vitamins occurs when someone takes too much of only a few essential vitamins and not enough of the other essential vitamins. There is no reason to only purchase one or two vitamins in supplement form as this will only cause a relative deficiency of other vitamins not in the supplement.

For example: the entire B-complex of vitamins work together as part of energy metabolism, so only taking one or two b vitamins will only promote the functions of one or two b vitamins and reduce the comparative functions of the vitamins not taken. Choose a supplement that contains all vitamins in balance for ease-of-use and inclusion of all vitamins in the diet on a daily basis for best results and success with supplementation.