| A vitamin is an organic molecule required
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| | recognize as the water-soluble organic
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| by a living organism in minute amounts
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| | micronutrients were initially referred to
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| for proper health. An organism deprived
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| | as just one entity, "vitamin B".
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| of all sources of a particular vitamin
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| | In humans, there are thirteen vitamins,
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| will eventually suffer from disease
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| | divided into two groups, the four
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| symptoms specific to that vitamin.
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| | fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) and
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| Vitamins can be classified as either
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| | the nine water-soluble vitamins (eight B
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| water soluble, which means they dissolve
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| | vitamins and vitamin C).
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| easily in water, or fat soluble, which
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| | Some of the vitamins are known by other
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| means they are absorbed through the
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| | names in older literature. These names
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| intestinal tract with the help of lipids.
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| | are written after the vitamins in
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| In general, an organism must obtain
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| | brackets. Vitamin B2 is also referred to
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| vitamins or their metabolic precursors
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| | as vitamin G. Vitamin B7, or biotin is
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| from outside the body, most often from
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| | also referred to as "vitamin H." Vitamin
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| the organism's diet. Examples of vitamins
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| | B9, or folic acid and other folates such
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| that the human body can derive from
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| | as "vitamin M" (monkey antianemia factor,
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| precursors include vitamin A, which can
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| | pteryl-tri-glutamic acid) are referred to
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| be produced from beta carotene; niacin
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| | as folicin. Vitamin B3 is also referred
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| from the amino acid tryptophan; and
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| | to as "vitamin PP", a name derived from
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| vitamin D through exposure of skin to
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| | the obsolete term "pellagra-preventing
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| ultraviolet light.
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| | factor". Many other essential dietary
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| The term vitamin does not encompass other
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| | substances were originally called
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| essential nutrients such as dietary
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| | vitamins and are now classified
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| minerals, essential fatty acids, or
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| | differently.
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| essential amino acids, nor is it used for
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| | Other nutrients that are not classified
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| the large number of other nutrients that
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| | as vitamins include carnitine (meat,
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| merely promote health, but are not
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| | fish, dairy), DMAE (fish, eggs, soy,
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| strictly essential.
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| | brains), lipoic acid (liver), folinic
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| The word vitamine was coined by the
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| | acid (liver), bioptrin (fish, liver), PPQ
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| Polish biochemist Casimir Funk in 1912.
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| | (below) and coenzyme Q (meat, yogurt,
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| Vita in Latin is life and the -amine
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| | soy).
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| suffix is for amine; at the time it was
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| | Vitamin deficiency and excess An organism
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| thought that all vitamins were amines.
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| | can survive for some time without
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| This is now known to be incorrect.
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| | vitamins, although prolonged vitamin
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| The value of eating certain foods to
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| | deficit results in a disease state, often
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| maintain health was recognized long
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| | painful and potentially deadly. Body
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| before vitamins were identified. The
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| | stores for different vitamins can vary
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| ancient Egyptians knew that feeding a
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| | widely; an adult may be deficient in
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| patient liver would help cure night
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| | vitamins A or B12 for a year or more
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| blindness, now known to be caused by a
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| | before developing a deficiency condition,
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| vitamin A deficiency. In 1747, the
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| | while vitamin B1 stores may only last a
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| Scottish surgeon James Lind discovered
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| | couple of weeks.
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| that citrus foods helped prevent scurvy,
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| | Fat-soluble vitamins may be stored in the
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| a particularly deadly disease in which
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| | body and can cause toxicity when taken in
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| collagen is not properly formed, and
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| | excess. Water-soluble vitamins are not
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| characterized by poor wound healing,
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| | stored in the body, with the exception of
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| bleeding of the gums, and severe pain. In
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| | vitamin B12, which is stored in the
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| 1753, Lind published his Treatise on the
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| | liver.
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| Scurvy. His recommendation of using
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| | Pseudo-vitamins Vitamin F was the
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| lemons and limes to avoid scurvy was
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| | designation originally given to essential
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| adopted by the British Royal Navy,
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| | fatty acids that the body cannot
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| resulting in the nickname Limey for
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| | manufacture. They were "de-vitaminized"
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| sailors of that organization. His
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| | because they are fatty acids. Fatty acids
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| discovery, however, was not widely
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| | are a major component of fats which, like
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| accepted by individuals; In the Royal
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| | water, are needed by the body in large
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| Navy's Arctic expeditions in the 19th
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| | quantities and thus do not fit the
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| century, for example, it was widely
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| | definition of vitamins which are needed
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| believed that scurvy was prevented by
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| | only in trace amounts.
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| good hygiene on board ship, regular
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| | Herbalists and naturopaths have named
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| exercise, and maintaining the morale of
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| | various therapedic chemicals "vitamins",
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| the crew, rather than by a diet of fresh
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| | even though they are not, including
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| food, so that Navy expeditions took all
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| | vitamin T, S-Methylmethionine (vitamin U)
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| the amenities of 'sophisticated' society,
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| | and vitamin X.
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| like silk sheets, spices, expensive food
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| | Some authorities say that ubiquinone,
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| and drink, and almost nothing of any use
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| | also called coenzyme Q10, is a vitamin.
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| beyond the Arctic Circle. As a result,
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| | Ubiquinone is manufactured in small
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| these expeditions continued to be plagued
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| | amounts by the body, like vitamin D.
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| by scurvy and other deficiency diseases.
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| | Pangamic acid, vitamin B15; the related
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| At the time Robert Falcon Scott made his
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| | substance dimethylglycine is quite
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| two expeditions to the Antarctic in the
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| | wrongly referred to as vitamin B15 but
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| early 20th century, the prevailing
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| | also labeled B16.
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| medical theory was that scurvy was caused
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| | The toxins laetrile and amygdaline are
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| by "tainted" canned food.
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| | sometimes referred to as vitamin B17.
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| In 1881, Russian surgeon Nikolai Lunin
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| | Both pangamic acid and laetrile were
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| fed mice upon an artificial mixture of
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| | first proposed as vitamins by Ernst T.
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| all the separate constituents of milk
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| | Krebs; neither are recognized by the
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| known at that time, namely the proteins,
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| | medical community as vitamins and their
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| fats, carbohydrates, and salts. They
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| | claimed anticancer activities have been
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| died, while the mice fed by milk itself
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| | disproven by many experiments.
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| developed normally. He made a conclusion
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| | Flavonoids are sometimes called vitamin
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| that "a natural food such as milk must
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| | P.
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| therefore contain besides these known
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| | Animal, bird, and bacterial growth
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| principal ingredients small quantities of
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| | factors have been designated vitamins
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| unknown substances essential to life" [1]
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| | such as para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA)
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| However, his conclusion was rejected by
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| | which is the chicken feathering factor
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| other researchers who were unable to
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| | vitamin B10, the folacin (see folic acid)
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| reproduce his results. One difference was
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| | pteryl-heptaglutamic acid is the chicken
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| that he used table sugar (sucrose), while
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| | growth factor vitamin B11 or vitamin
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| other researchers used milk sugar
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| | Bc-conjugate and orotic acid as vitamin
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| (lactose) which still contained small
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| | B13 for rats.
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| amounts of vitamin B.
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| | A few substances were once thought to be
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| In 1905, William Fletcher discovered that
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| | B-complex vitamins and are referred to as
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| eating unpolished rice instead of
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| | B-vitamins in older literature, including
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| polished helped prevent the disease
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| | B4 (adenine) and B8 (adenylic acid), but
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| beriberi. The following year, Frederick
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| | are no longer recognized as such.
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| Hopkins postulated that foods contained
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| | Colloquial usage of the term Vitamin A
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| "accessory factors"—in addition to
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| | and vitamin C are sometimes used as slang
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| proteins, carbohydrates, fats,
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| | terms for alcoholic beverages and
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| etc.—that are necessary to the human
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| | caffeine, respectively.
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| body. When Casimir Funk isolated the
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| | The sedative ketamine is often called
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| water-soluble complex of micronutrients
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| | vitamin K when used as a recreational
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| whose bioactivity Fletcher had
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| | drug.
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| identified, he proposed that it be named
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| | Vitamin Love is mentioned in the Patti
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| "Vitamine". The name soon became
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| | Page song, "I Don't Care if the Sun Don't
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| synonymous with Hopkins' "accessory
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| | Shine", referring to love itself.
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| factors", and by the time it was shown
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| | Vitamin V is a colloquialism for Viagra,
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| that not all vitamins were amines, the
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| | vitamin Z for Zoloft, and vitamin R for
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| word was already ubiquitous. In 1920,
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| | Ritalin (especially when implying that
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| Jack Cecil Drummond proposed that the
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| | these drugs are overprescribed or, as a
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| final "e" be dropped, to deemphasize the
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| | hyperbole, being taken as commonly as
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| "amine" reference, after the discovery
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| | vitamins).
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| that vitamin C had no amine component,
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| | Colloquially, the word vitamin is often
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| and the name has been "vitamin" ever
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| | used to refer to vitamin supplements,
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| since.
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| | products, often in pill form, that
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| The reason the alphabet soup of vitamins
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| | contain one or more purified vitamins
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| seems to skip from E to the
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| | which are used to supplement the vitamin
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| rarely-mentioned K is that most of the
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| | content of a diet.
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| "letters" were reclassified, as with
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| | Vitamin G is used as slang for Guinness.
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| fatty acids, discarded as false leads, or
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| | Vitamin J has been used to refer to
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| renamed because of their relationship to
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| | Jägermeister, which is an herbal liquor
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| "vitamin B", which became a "complex" of
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| | exported from Germany.
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| vitamins. Vitamin G, Riboflavin, for
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| | Vitamin I is sometimes used as a
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| example, is now known as B2.
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| | colloquialism for ibuprofen.
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| Throughout the early 1900s, scientists
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| | Vitamin S is slang for speed-amphetamines
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| were able to isolate and identify a
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| | or steroids (and for semen in japanese
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| number of vitamins by depriving animals
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| | language).
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| of them. Initially, lipid from fish oil
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| | Non-human vitamins Different organisms
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| was used to cure rickets in rats, and the
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| | need different trace organic substances.
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| fat-soluble nutrient was called
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| | Most mammals need, with few exceptions,
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| "antirachitic A". The irony here is that
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| | the same vitamins as humans. One notable
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| the first "vitamin" bioactivity ever
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| | exception is Vitamin C, which can be
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| isolated, which cured rickets, was
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| | synthesized by all other mammals except
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| initially called vitamine A, this
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| | other higher primates and guinea pigs.
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| bioactivity is now called vitamin D,
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| | The less related a species is to mammals,
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| which is subject to the semantic debate
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| | the more different the organisms'
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| that vitamin D is not truly a vitamin
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| | requirements become. For example, some
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| because it is a steroid derivative. What
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| | bacteria need adenine.
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| we now call "vitamin A" was identified in
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| | Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) found in
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| fish oil because it was inactivated by
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| | yogurt was reported as a vitamin for mice
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| ultraviolet light. Most of what we now
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| | in 2003.
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