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An Alphabetical Guide To Vitamins

Vitamins are of main significance in how we live our lives and how we feel. They are an important factor, and without taking them serious health problems can arise. If you overdose on vitamins, that to can cause as many problems as not taking them so a balance has to be found.

In reading this guide you will appreciate the elements for each vitamin and I am hoping to give you a better knowledge of the main 4 vitamins that are a fundamental part of a healthy and prosperous life. It was 1909 when the first vitamin was discovered and the last one to be discovered was back in 1941. There are a total of 13 varities of vitamins, some of these vitamins are water soluble while the others are fat soluble. To tell apart the two, fat soluble vitamins are reserved in the body and only need to be consumed on occasions, whereas water soluble vitamins that are more often than not part of a planned diet as they don't get stored in the body. Below are the main 4 vitamins that most of you will be common with, and here you will understand a bit more on how each vitamin works and what the advantages of taking them are for you.

A History Of Vitamin A

The very first of the vitamins to be revealed was Vitamin A known in some circles as Retinol. Vitamin A was found back as early as 1909 in cod liver oil and can now be found in many food products. Many of these are meat items such as chicken, beef and turkey but if your a vegetarian don't fear! Vitamin A can also be found in the likes of carrots and sweet potatoes. Vitamin A has many benefits that include helping your sight, strengthening your immune system and commonly maintaining and improving your body to a fit and healthy level. Taking in more vitamins than you need can lead to a disease called Hypervitaminosis A which can then lead to dry skin and osteoporosis.

The Ups and Downs of Vitamin C

Vitamin C is another primary vitamin that is an essential part of a human or higher primate's diet. First discovered in 1912 from a source of lemons, Vitamin C is questionably the most renknowned vitamin available with traces in most major fruit products such as grapefruits and raspberries. Vitamin C takes effect internally within your body in defending cells and keeping them in a healthy state, and helping the body soak up iron from the food that you consume. Vitamin C can't be stored in the body and as a result it falls into one of the water soluble vitamins which means you will need to take it regularly.

A History Of Vitamin D

Last but not least is the third of our 4 main vitamins, Vitamin D, which was discovered in the year 1918. Now most people identify this vitamin solely with fish products like salmon and herring. This is true but Vitamin D can also be found in such foods as milk and cereal grains, and can even be absorbed by the suns rays through our body. The up sides of Vitamin D can include a radiant white smile as it controls the calcium and phosphate in your body and in turn this helps to give you strong bones. On the down side a vitamin deficiency can lead to some very serious problems which include the likes of rickets, chronic pain and depression. By taking too much vitamin E you will most likely suffer the same kind of affects as Vitamin A with a disease called Hypervitaminosis D which carries such symptoms as fatigue, anorexia and constipation.

The Ups and Downs of Vitamin E

Vitamin E was discovered in 1922 in wheat germ oil and is the most recent of the top 4 vitamins to be discovered. High levels of vitamin E can be found in food products such as vegetable oils and peanuts. Vitamin E helps protect cell membranes by simply standing in as an antioxidant, as one of the fat soluble vitamins it can be stored in the body and doesn't need to be consumed on a regular basis.