A Complete Guide To Vitamins & Its Importance For Human Body

Introduction

When we discuss ways to improve our health, we mostly talk about lifestyle changes and the need to exercise regularly. While these are pro-tips and can really turn your health around, what we often overlook is the importance of a special group of nutrients. We are referring to VITAMINS!

Vitamins are a bunch of organic compounds. They are found naturally in plants and animals. They function the same way as minerals, with the main difference being minerals are inorganic matter that we source from the earth and water. 

Vitamins are absolutely crucial for the growth and the maintenance of good health. In this context, let us share a fun fact – The word ‘Vitamin’ is derived from 2 Latin words – ‘Vita’ means Life and ‘Amine’ means amino acid (initially vitamins were incorrectly thought to be amino acids). 

Let us explore these wondrous nutrients.

Vitamin H, more commonly known as biotin, is part of the B complex group of vitamins. Vitamin H is needed for healthy skin, hair, nails. They also help the nervous system function properly.

Dr. M.G. Kartheeka, MBBS, MD(Pediatrics)

Types Of Vitamins, Their Sources and Deficiency Symptoms

We know of 13 types of vitamins. Let’s learn more about them:

Vitamin A

• Sources: Cheese, eggs, oily fish, milk, and yoghurt.
• Functions: Maintenance of bones, eyesight, and immune function.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Dry skin and eyes, night blindness, throat and chest infections.

Vitamin C

• Sources: Citrus fruits, berries, peppers, broccoli, and potatoes.
• Functions: Acts as an antioxidant, helps in iron absorption, keeps skin healthy, and aids in wound healing.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Weakness and bleeding gums.

Vitamin D

• Sources: Sunlight, egg yolk, oily fish, and red meat.
• Functions: Needed for calcium utilization and maintaining calcium and phosphorus balance.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Muscle and bone pain, bony deformities in children, and mental health issues.

Vitamin E

• Sources: Plant seed oil, almonds, peanuts, peanut butter, wheat germ, egg yolk, pumpkin, and red bell pepper.
• Functions: Acts as an antioxidant and helps in immune function.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Rare – muscle and nerve damage, inability to control muscle movements, and loss of sensation in limbs.

Vitamin K

• Sources: Leafy green vegetables, whole grains, and vegetable oils.
• Functions: Helps in the formation of blood clots to prevent haemorrhage.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Frequent bruising, heavy menstrual flow, and excessive bleeding from wounds.

Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)

• Sources: Whole grains, peas, bananas, oranges, liver, and nuts.
• Functions: Helps transform carbohydrates into energy.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Loss of appetite, irritability, muscle weakness, and blurry vision.

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)

• Sources: Milk, eggs, mushrooms, and yoghurt.
• Functions: Aids in vitamin collaboration and helps keep RBCs healthy.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Swelling of mouth and throat, swollen lips, hair loss, and skin disorders.

Vitamin B3 (Niacin)

• Sources: Saltwater fish, liver, turkey, and chicken.
• Functions: Helps in protein and fat utilization, also keeps skin and hair healthy.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Scaly skin, rashes, headache, diarrhoea, and vomiting.

Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid)

• Sources: Mushrooms, avocados, broccoli, peanuts, chickpeas, eggs, milk, and sunflower seeds.
• Functions: Acts as an anti-inflammatory and helps in wound healing.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Insomnia, vomiting, stomach pain, and depression.

Vitamin B7 (Biotin)

• Sources: Sweet potatoes, avocado, salmon, eggs, seeds, and nuts.
• Functions: Helps produce vital enzymes for metabolism.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Scaly skin, hair loss, conjunctivitis, and lethargy.

Vitamin B6

• Sources: Bananas, oats, peanuts, and chicken.
• Functions: Crucial for brain growth and function.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Seizures, compromised immunity, confusion, and depression.

Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin)

• Sources: Milk, cheese, eggs, and meat.
• Functions: Helps in red blood cell formation and nervous system function.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Tingling in hands and feet, yellow skin, swollen tongue, mouth ulcers, anaemia, and depression.

Folate (Vitamin B9)

• Sources: Spinach, beet, asparagus, turnip, beans, whole grains, and cereals.
• Functions: Important for cell division and blood cell maturation.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Fatigue, lethargy, pallor, and anaemia.

These types of vitamins can be further classified as:

• Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the fatty tissues of our bodies. Vitamins A, D, E and K are the 4 fat-soluble vitamins.
• Water-soluble vitamins cannot be stored in the body for long and need to be consumed daily. Any leftovers are expelled from the body through urine. The other nine vitamins are water-soluble. Vitamin B12 is an exception to the rule. Our liver can store it for years. 

There are two more compounds that resemble and act like vitamins without being labelled as vitamins:

• Choline
• Carnitine

The Need For Vitamin Supplements

There could be several reasons why people do not consume the right proportions of all the different vitamins:

• They could be fussy eaters who avoid certain foods that they do not like the taste of.
• Vegetarians often miss out on many vital vitamins that are present in meat, fowl or eggs.
• They could be too busy to carefully plan their meals.
• Some health conditions may lead to poor absorption of certain vitamins despite adequate dietary intake.
• While some vitamin deficiencies require a specific amount of vitamin intake which cannot be fulfilled by dietary sources.
• This is where vitamin supplements come in. They are carefully formulated to make up for the shortfall of vitamins in your body. Speak with a doctor and start taking vitamin supplements at his/her recommendation.

Vitamins B6, C and E along with micronutrients like zinc, selenium, iron and copper are important for maintaining a healthy immune system in an individual, repeated infections could be a warning sign of deficiency of these vitamins and micronutrients.

Dr. Ashish Bajaj, M.B.B.S., M.D. in Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology

Precautions With Vitamin Supplements

Taking multivitamins should always be done in dialogue with your doctor or nutritionist. Sometimes, vitamin supplements can cause side effects when consumed in excess or even if your body reacts badly to the ingredients of a particular supplement. Constipation and stomach pain may occur initially (usually it goes away after a few days). Read the ingredient list for any supplement you take to ensure that you are not allergic to anything in it. Also, inform your doctor about any existing medical conditions you have before you start taking a new multivitamin supplement.

How To Measure Vitamin Levels

If you think you may be experiencing symptoms of vitamin deficiency and wondering how to check vitamin levels,  you can opt for these tests:

• Vitamin D test
• Vitamin B12 test
• Comprehensive Full Body Checkup with Vitamin D and B12
• Master Full Body Checkup with Vitamins

How to interpret test results

Test results are easy to interpret. Usually, reports contain columns for expected levels of the vitamins for which you got tested and the actual levels in your system as revealed by the test. This can tell you if your level is lower, higher or at par with the normal level.

For further clarity, you can ask your doctor to go over the reports.

Why is it important to test the vitamin levels? 

It is important to keep a tab on your vitamin levels whether you are taking supplements or not. Sometimes symptoms don’t show up until very late and a test is like a preventive healthcare check. It will tell you if you need to increase the intake of specific vitamins.

Similarly, even if you are taking vitamin supplements, vitamin level checks are just as important to ensure that there isn’t too much of a particular vitamin in your system because that leads to toxicity.

Tips To Maintain Good Vitamin Levels and What To Do If You Are Deficient

Methods of preventing and treating vitamin deficiencies are practically the same:

1. Your diet should comprise:

• Whole grains
• Soy products
• Vegetables of all colours
• Fruits 
• Seeds and nuts
• Poultry, fish and meat 

2. Lifestyle changes:

• Get some sunshine

People with deficiencies can also take vitamin supplements but only on being recommended by their doctors.

Be mindful of your diet. A proper diet is more than enough to meet your daily requirement of the different vitamins. Paired with a few healthy lifestyle choices, you can easily avert major disorders.

Eat and maintain good levels of vitamins and keep a tab on the same with timely tests.

Disclaimer: The information provided here is for educational/awareness purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment by a healthcare professional and should not be relied upon to diagnose or treat any medical condition. The reader should consult a registered medical practitioner to determine the appropriateness of the information and before consuming any medication. PharmEasy does not provide any guarantee or warranty (express or implied) regarding the accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability or usefulness of the information; and disclaims any liability arising thereof.

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