Vitamins Essential For Our Bodies

Our bodies need an adequate amount of vitamins and minerals for its proper functioning, growth and development.

However, there are several people who suffer from a deficiency of one or more vitamins because of their lack of a balanced diet. For such people, Vitamin supplements serve as an alternative to natural vitamin sources. But it is best to improve your eating habits so that you consume the right amount of vitamins required by your bodies.

Vitamins can be divided into two broad categories - water soluble vitamins and fat soluble vitamins.

Water-soluble vitamins cannot be stored in the body. They travel through your bloodstream and since they get flushed out of our bodies through urine, we need to replace such vitamins on a daily basis. B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), niacin, B6 (pyridoxine), folic acid, B12 (cobalamine), biotin and pantothenic acid are all water soluble vitamins.

On the other hand, fat soluble vitamins are absorbed by the body from the intestinal tract .Once these vitamins are absorbed, the body stores them and utilizes them as and when the need arises. If you consume fats or oils that cannot be easily digested, there can be a shortage of fat-soluble vitamins in the body. Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble vitamins.

And whether it is a developing fetus in Mother’s womb or a grown up adult looking after his daily chores, lack of even a single kind of vitamin can cause Deficiency diseases. These deficiencies can be classified as :

Primary Deficiency- Primary deficiency occurs due to an inadequate intake of vitamins in your diet.

Secondary Deficiency- Secondary deficiency may result because of some disorder preventing or limiting the absorption or use of vitamins in the body.

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