Vitamins are an essential part of health and the ability of the body to function. Though they don’t provide the body with energy, they are critical for its ability to extract energy from the foods that are consumed. They are also important for a number of other functions such as the conversion of fats and carbs into energy, the regulation of the metabolism, and the support of the formation of tissue and bone.
Other than Vitamin D (which is produced by the skin when it is exposed to sunlight), vitamins are not produced by the body and must therefore be consumed in food or received through supplementation.
Each vitamin has a different minimum dose required in order to maintain proper health. That said, the human body doesn’t actually need that much of them in order to avoid deficiencies. That said, there are times when the body requires more vitamins than normal, such as at times of physical stress, mental strain, or during and after an illness. Healing and stress can require the body to burn through more vitamins so that a larger number need to be replaced in order to maintain health.
Though the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) has been created in order to help people better understand their vitamin intakes and needs, there is a great deal of confusion regarding what those numbers represent. The RDA is designed not to show how much of each vitamin is needed on a daily basis. Instead, it suggests a minimum amount that would be needed in order to prevent a healthy person with normal absorption from experiencing a deficiency (a lacking of the vitamin that is adequately severe that the body cannot function properly) when maintaining normal nutrition.
This means that in exceptional circumstances, such as when you are under stress, ill, or recovering from illness, the RDA’s suggestions are lower than what you may require. This should not be used as your own personal nutritional guide. Instead, if you wish to know how much you need of each vitamin, it is important to speak with a doctor, nutritionist, or dietician.
There are 13 different vitamins needed by the human body to maintain health. These are divided into two primary categories, which are fat-soluble and water soluble. Fat soluble vitamins include A, D, E, and K. Water soluble vitamins include vitamin C, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, Biotin, Folate, and Pantothenic acid.