Vitamins are the second type of micronutrients; our bodies only need them in small amounts. Vitamins are essential, noncaloric nutrients that are in all of our foods. Vitamin precursors in foods are transformed into active vitamins by the body. The fat-soluble vitamins are vitamins A, D, E, and K; the water-soluble vitamins are vitamin C and the B vitamins.

Before their detailed chemical structures were known, vitamins were named by being given a letter . Vitamin A was discovered before Vitamin B. They are generally still referred to by that letter as well as by their chemical name, for example, vitamin C or ascorbic acid.

There are two main groups of vitamins: fat-soluble vitamins and water-soluble vitamins. The body can store fat-soluble vitamins, but excess water-soluble vitamins can be removed from the body in the urine, so regular intake is necessary.

There are two categories of vitamin supplements that are sold in stores:
1. whole food vitamins made from foods grown in the ground; these vitamins are leeched from foods and made into whole food vitamins. They are absorbed in the body the same as food.

2. Synthetic vitamins  are made from synthetics and made in a lab, and there is no guarantee they are absorbed in the body. The body is not deficient in these lab chemicals!

Before the 19th century, one of the hazards of long sea voyages was a condition called scurvy whose symptoms were loss of hair and teeth, bleeding gums, very slow healing of wounds, and eventually death. Hundreds of sailors and explorers died from scurvy until a Scottish physician, James Lind, in the 1750s discovered that adding a daily portion of citrus fruit to the rations of those at sea could prevent the condition.

Remember, no vitamins or minerals (called supplements) are approved by the FDA. Only prescription drugs are approved by the FDA.

Always get all of your vitamins and minerals from food!