What are vitamins? Detailed answer

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What are vitamins? Detailed answer

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What are vitamins?

The word "vita" means life. Vitamins are substances needed to sustain life. They are produced by plants or animals and must be ingested in microscopic quantities to continue life processes.

Until the end of the 100th century, a strange and dangerous disease called "scurvy" often seriously affected ship crews around the world. As early as the end of the XNUMXth century, it was discovered that with the help of fresh fruits and vegetables, the disease was cured. It took scientists XNUMX years to discover the cause of this phenomenon: it turns out that fresh foods contained vitamins!

Since scientists at the time did not know the exact chemical nature of vitamins, they did not give them names, but simply named them alphabetically A, B, C, D, etc. Consider why some of them are necessary for good health.

Vitamin A is always associated with fat in the animal body. It is formed in plants and passes to animals that feed on these plants. Vitamin A helps prevent infection. It is found in milk, egg yolk, liver, fish oil, as well as lettuce, carrots and spinach.

Vitamin B, or the "B-complex" as it is now known, was for many years considered a single vitamin. It is now known that there are at least six different vitamins that are modifications of vitamin B. They are called B1, B12, etc. Vitamin B1 is necessary for the prevention of certain nervous diseases. In addition, its absence causes the disease "avitaminosis". Vitamin B1 is found in milk, fresh fruits and vegetables, and all cereals. It must be constantly replenished in the body.

Another important vitamin is C. Lack of it causes scurvy, in which joints ossify, teeth loosen, bones weaken. Rich in vitamin C oranges, zucchini, tomatoes. The body cannot store vitamin C, so it needs to be replenished regularly.

Vitamin D is important for the proper development of bones and teeth in babies. This vitamin is found in large quantities in fish oil, liver and egg yolk. Sunlight also provides our bodies with vitamin D. If you eat the right foods, you're probably getting enough of the vitamins you need.

Author: Likum A.

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Random news from the Archive

Soda flavor 27.08.2013

Scientists have found that it is not gas bubbles that are responsible for the specific “biting” taste of carbonated drinks, but acid.

A new study by scientists at the Monell Center shows that carbon dioxide bubbles are not needed to experience the unique taste of tongue-tingling sodas. Bubbles only enhance the taste of the drink, affecting our sense of touch.

Soda is an integral part of a huge number of foods consumed around the world. Until now, it was believed that the refreshing taste of soda is based on bubbles of carbon dioxide dissolved in liquid under high pressure. This process is also found in nature, for example, in spring ponds or fermented drinks such as beer. Carbon dioxide is added to carbonated drinks through appropriate manufacturing processes. But it turns out that it is not the gas bubbles that are responsible for the specific taste of carbonated water.

When a bottle of soda is opened, the pressure in it drops sharply and carbon dioxide escapes from the solution in the form of bubbles. After a sip of the drink, enzymes in the mouth convert the remaining carbon dioxide into carbonic acid. It is she who activates sensitive nerve endings that signal a slight irritation of the oral cavity, which we feel like a specific taste of soda. In this case, the bubbles only enhance the taste, increasing the chemical irritation caused by carbon dioxide.

It was possible to discover the source of the taste of soda with the help of 11 volunteers who drank soda in a pressure chamber. The fact is that at elevated atmospheric pressure, bubbles are formed in a smaller amount, and at a reduced one, in a larger amount. Thus, in theory, the taste of the drink should have changed. But even at elevated pressure, equivalent to an immersion depth of 10 m, the taste of soda remained practically unchanged.

This research is very important for the huge soft drink market, which has long been in need of refreshing flavors that are healthier than current recipes.

Moreover, pain in some types of cancer also depends on the formation of acid in the tissues. Understanding how carbon dioxide works on receptors can help reduce patient suffering.

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