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A vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by our body. It is a molecule that helps you and your body to react in a certain way to other influences. The only way that you can get vitamins is from energy as in the sun, or from food and nutritional sources. The value of eating certain foods to maintain health was recognized long before vitamins were identified. The ancient Egyptians knew that feeding a patient liver would help cure night blindness, an illness now known to be caused by a vitamin A deficiency. The advancement of ocean voyage during the Renaissance resulted in prolonged periods without access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and made illnesses from vitamin deficiency common among ship's crew.

Vitamins are essential for the normal growth and development of our body. Using the genetic blueprint inherited from its parents, a fetus begins to develop, at the moment of conception, from the nutrients it absorbs. It requires certain vitamins and minerals to be present at certain times. These nutrients facilitate the chemical reactions that produce among other things, skin, bone, and muscle. If there is serious deficiency in one or more of these nutrients, a child may develop a deficiency disease. Even minor deficiencies may cause permanent damage.

Vitamins are actually divided into two very distinct groups, those that are water-soluble and those that are fat-soluble. Water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin B, vitamin C and biotin can be dissolved in water and thus it is very difficult to achieve too high a level of these vitamins as they can be passed out of the body rather easily. With fat-soluble vitamins on the other hand, it is possible to take too much of them as they are more likely to be retained in the body whether or not they are needed.

There are 13 vitamins: 4 fat-soluble (A, D, E and K) and 9 water-soluble (8 B vitamins and vitamin C).

You need the right amounts of vitamins to help to maintain your natural bodily processes. The best way to make sure that you have a good supply of vitamins and minerals available for your body is to eat a good healthy diet containing all the essential ingredients such as fresh fruit, vegetables, grains and proteins.

Vitamin generic descriptor name	Vitamer chemical name(s)	Solubility	Recommended dietary allowances (male, age 19–70)	Deficiency disease	Upper Intake Level (UL/day)
Vitamin A	Retinoids (retinol, retinoids and carotenoids)	Fat	900 µg	Night-blindness and Keratomalacia	3,000 µg
Vitamin B	Thiamine	Water	1.2 mg	Beriberi	N/D
Vitamin B2	Riboflavin	Water	1.3 mg	Ariboflavinosis	N/D
Vitamin B3	Niacin, niacinamide	Water	16.0 mg	Pellagra	35.0 mg
Vitamin B5	Pantothenic acid	Water	5.0 mg	Paresthesia	N/D
Vitamin B6	Pyridoxine, pyridoxamine, pyridoxal	Water	1.3-1.7 mg	Anaemia	100 mg
Vitamin B7	Biotin	Water	30.0 µg	Dermatitis, enteritis	N/D
Vitamin B9	Folic acid, folinic acid	Water	400 µg	Deficiency during pregnancy is associated with birth defects, such as neural tube defects	1,000 µg
Vitamin B12	Cyanocobalamin, hydroxycobalamin, methylcobalamin	Water	2.4 µg	Megaloblastic anaemia	N/D
Vitamin C	Ascorbic acid	Water	90.0 mg	Scurvy	2,000 mg
Vitamin D	Ergocalciferol, cholecalciferol	Fat	5.0 µg-10 µg	Rickets and Osteomalacia	50 µg
Vitamin E	Tocopherols, tocotrienols	Fat	15.0 mg	Deficiency is very rare; mild hemolytic anemia in newborn infants.	1,000 mg
Vitamin K	phylloquinone, menaquinones	Fat	120 µg	Bleeding diathesis	N/D

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