Understanding Vitamins
Vitamins do not contain calories and therefore are not sources of energy. They do help convert our sources of energy (CHOs, fats and proteins) into energy by acting as coenzymes (in collaboration with enzymes). Many biochemical processes and metabolic reactions depend on vitamins to function.
- Vitamins are assistants in metabolism;
- they are not part of our body structure or tissues:
- they are co-factors that are essential for metabolism to occur.
Most water-soluble vitamins are measured in milligrams (mg) or micrograms (mcg), while fat-soluble vitamins are typically measured in international units (IU). International units are an international standard that measures potency, as opposed to weight or volume.
Vitamins depend on food and specific minerals to be absorbed. They are critical to every function including growth, vitality, digestion, elimination, and resistance to disease. Deficiency will result in disorders symptomatic of the particular metabolic pathway that is not functioning properly.