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FEATURED BOOKS ON VITAMINS AT BARNES AND NOBLE.COM?
Vitamin
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One of a group of substances made up partly of carbon that are essential in small amounts for normal bodily functioning and chemical processes in the body to take place. If one does not get enough vitamins in the diet, various types of diseases and deficiencies can occur in the body, specific to the type of vitamin that is lacking. However, when the vitamin that is lacking is administered to a person with a vitamin deficiency, the symptoms associated with the lack of that vitamin usually improve.
Vitamins are present in various types of foods and dietary supplements. We must get vitamins from these sources because the body cannot make them by itself, with few exceptions. Unfortunately, there is no one food source that contains all of the vitamins. Vitamins are classified based on various factors such as: (a) their chemical makeup, (b) their effects on the body, and (c) how readily they dissolve in fat and water. |
Vitamins that dissolve in water are the B complex and C vitamins. Vitamins that dissolve in fat are vitamins A, D, E, and K. Vitamin comes from the Latin word "vita" meaning "life," and the German word "amin" referring to the false notion that these substances all contain amino acids.
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