A Good Health Guide by Safe Remedies, the Natural Remedies Clinic
and the Chiron Clinic London

Vitamins

The term vitamin is derived from the words vital and amine, because vitamins are required for life and were originally thought to be amines. Although not all vitamins are amines, they are organic compounds required by humans in small amounts from the diet. An organic compound is considered a vitamin if a lack of that compound in the diet results in overt symptoms of deficiency.

If you eat a healthy diet, do you need to take vitamins? Not long ago, the answer from most experts would have been a resounding "no". Today, though, there's good evidence that taking a daily multivitamin makes sense for most adults. What's changed? Not only have scientists determined why we need pyridoxine (vitamin B6), but they are also accumulating evidence that this vitamin and others do much more than ward off the so-called diseases of deficiency, things like scurvy and rickets. Intake of several vitamins above the minimum daily requirement may prevent heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, and other chromic diseases.

The importance of vitamins in the human body has been thoroughly documented in scientific research. Research into vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin C, and in addition vitamins B D F and K has shown a relationship to disease and lack of these valuable and necessary nutrients. Furthermore it has shown that they work in synergistic relationship with one another. In other words many need to be present in order for the others to work properly. That is why lean made isolated chemical vitamins just do not get the job done. Again Prime Directive provides a complete spectrum of all of these vital nutrients in its nutrient saturation formula made from organically grown whole natural foods.

You need only small amounts (that's why they are often referred to as micronutrients) because the body uses them without breaking them down, as happens to carbohydrates and other macronutrients.

So far, 13 compounds have been classified as vitamins. Vitamins A, D, E, and K, the four fat-soluble vitamins, tend to accumulate in the body. Vitamin C and the eight B vitamins-biotin, folate, niacin, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12-dissolve in water, so excess amounts are excreted.

The "letter" vitamins sometimes go by different names.

• Vitamin A = retinol, retinaldehyde, retinoic acid
• Vitamin B1 = thiamin Vitamin
• B2 = riboflavin Vitamin
• B6 = pyridoxine, pyridoxal, pyridoxamine
• Vitamin B12 = cobalamin
• Vitamin C = ascorbic acid
• Vitamin D = calciferol
• Vitamin E = tocopherol, tocotrienol
• Vitamin K = phylloquinone