I love to quote Wikipedia. On vitamins, wiki says that a vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism. Organism. That's me. Compare me to a bug... is what that sounds like. Ouuu, creepy, crawly, slimy. [Yuk] But there's more about this...
An organic chemical compound (or related set of compounds) is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by me, a human, and must be obtained from my diet [this refers to the food I eat. Thus, the term is conditional both on the circumstances and on my own eating habits.
For example, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is a vitamin for humans. Biotin and vitamin D are required to be added to my diet only in certain circumstances. I might need a vitamin one day, but not the next. Hmmm. How does that work?
By convention, the term vitamin does not include other essential nutrients such as dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, or essential amino acids (which are needed in larger amounts than vitamins), nor does it encompass the large number of other nutrients that promote health but are otherwise required less often.
Thirteen vitamins are presently universally recognized. BTW, the value of eating a certain food to maintain health was recognized long before vitamins were identified. The ancient Egyptians knew that feeding liver to a patient would help cure night blindness, an illness now known to be caused by a vitamin A deficiency. Who knew? Liver?
I digress. In us humans, there are 13 vitamins: 4 fat-soluble (A, D, E, and K) and 9 water-soluble (8 B vitamins and vitamin C). Water-soluble vitamins dissolve easily in water and, in general, are readily excreted from the body, to the degree that urinary output is a strong predictor of vitamin consumption. Because they are not readily stored, consistent daily intake is important. [so reports the wiki]
I must confess that my use of over-the-counter vitamins is hit-and-miss. I drive the sometimes trek. Spurts. Flourish. Bow. I swallow the hype. I subscribe to the reports. I want health but I am not a good menu eater. I don't think I can rely solely on the food I eat so I turn to vitamins. Multis. B12. Benefiber the brand. Should I label myself a health nut? Far from it. Maybe I should be. Maybe not.
Good health for me does involve nutrients and if that means vitamins, okay, yeah, I'll buy in. But good health is far from only stuffing the right food in your mouth. It's also about being active… and that my dear blog is a conversation for another day. [smile]