What are vitamins?

Vitamins are chemical compounds that are essential for the correct metabolic functioning of the body. These substances are not produced in the body, so we have to obtain them from the food.

There are many types of vitamins, each one with a specific function that cannot be substituted by any other vitamin.

We can cluster them into two different groups:

• Water-soluble vitamins: the excess of these vitamins is filtered by the kidney and excreted in urine. These vitamins are not a very big problem because we can eliminate the excess.

• Fat-soluble vitamins: the excess cannot be eliminated in urine, so they can be a problem.

Hypervitaminosis

It is the excessive intake of vitamins. It is very rare in a normal diet. It can happen if we take supplements with fat soluble vitamins.

Hipovitaminosis

Is the lack of vitamins in the body.

It is caused by:

• Insufficient intake of vitamins in unbalanced diets.

• Deficiencies in absorption of vitamins in intestine mucosa. It can be produced by gastroenteritis and pancreatic or intestine diseases. • Increase of tissue demand: breastfeeding requires a higher vitamins intake.