Vitamin Deficiences...
Below are our articles on the subject of Vitamin Deficiences. If you can't see what you are looking for our other categories are displayed on the left under 'Our Quick Links'...
Are Vitamin Enriched Soft Drinks Worth the Money?
Many drinks are advertised as 'vitamin enriched', which makes them seem healthier. But are they healthier or just more expensive, and are they really worth the extra money, or is it just a marketing r...
Are Vitamin Enriched Sweets and Snacks Worth the Money?
Increasing numbers of manufacturers are adding vitamin to snack foods, including savoury snacks and sweets. Do these added vitamins really turn junk food into something that is healthier?...
Are Vitamins in Food Better Than Supplements?
Vitamins are essential compounds that cannot be made by the body so must come from the diet.
People should get enough vitamins from eating a balanced diet. But when can supplements be useful?...
Beri Beri and Pellagra: Deficiency of Vitamins B1, B3
Vitamin B1, also known as thiamine, and vitamin B3, also known as niacin, are both water-soluble vitamins. Deficiencies in vitamin B1 and vitamin B3 are often seen in people with a generally poor diet...
Can a Vitamin D Deficiency Lead to Diabetes?
Initial studies carried out to determine the role of vitamin D and what happens during a deficiency have shown that there may be a link between a deficiency and the incidence of diabetes....
Can Our Bodies Make Our Own Vitamins?
Vitamins are substances needed by everybody in small amounts to stay healthy. People need to get many of the required vitamins from eating a healthy, balanced and varied diet....
Can Vitamin D Prevent Dementia?
Dementia is a disease of older people, and symptoms include confusion, memory loss, distress, depression, and in some cases, psychosis. Researchers are looking at the role of vitamin D in different ty...
Can Vitamin Supplements Damage Your Health?
Research has suggested that taking a high level of supplementary vitamins and minerals may actually damage health instead of benefiting it as many consumers believe....
Can Vitamins Prevent Cancer?
There have been a lot of clinical studies looking at the effects of vitamins and cancer. The results can seem to be rather confusing, but it seems that some vitamins do help protect against cancer but...
Can Vitamins Prevent Colds?
In the 1970s, a scientist called Linus Pauling published a number of books about vitamin C, raising the theory that very high doses (megadoses) of vitamin C can prevent colds. We take a look....
Can Vitamins Prevent Disease?
There is research under way all around the world looking at the role of vitamins in health and disease, and while there is some evidence about where vitamins can and cannot help, some claims are just ...
Children and Vitamins
Why children need vitamins as they grow from babies to children and teenagers, plus a summary of key vitamins and minerals for childhood....
Cooking to Preserve Vitamins
Vitamins come from food but are destroyed by high cooking temperatures combined with long cooking times. Vitamins can also dissolve into the water that fruit and vegetables are cooked in....
Do Animals Need Vitamin Supplements?
Animals can make a number of vitamins, such as vitamin B3, vitamin C and vitamin D in their own bodies, and the bacteria in their gut can make vitamin K, but they require a healthy, balanced diet to m...
Do Babies Need Vitamin Supplements
Babies need a wide range of vitamins for healthy growth, and not getting a sufficient amount can lead to problems with their physical and mental development. The requirements change at different stage...
Do Cosmetics With Added Vitamins Work?
Some ingredients in cosmetic products are vitamins or are derived from vitamins. However, describing them as vitamins can be misleading, as many of these ingredients are not there to improve the healt...
Do Our Vitamin Requirements Change as We Age?
The vitamin requirements for people change as they get older, and the requirements generally increase from birth to old age....
Do We Need to Buy Vitamin-enriched Cereals?
Many breakfast cereals are enriched with extra vitamins and minerals, and this can be a boon for busy parents, or people concerned that they are not getting enough vitamins in their diet. However, not...
Do You Need More Vitamins When You Are Ill?
Eating a healthy and balanced diet is important when people are ill. Taking drugs when ill can also affect the levels of vitamins that people's bodies need....
Essential Vitamins For Winter Health
A summary of the benefits of vitamins in winter and how vitamins boost the immune system and improve winter health...
Folic Acid-Why Do We Need It & Where is it Found?
Folic acid is a naturally occuring vitamin that is important for healthy cell production and maintenance. It is also extremely important in the early stages of pregnancy to help prevent spina bifida a...
Fun Facts: Which Foods Have the Most Vitamins?
Different foods have varying levels of different vitamins....
Getting a Balanced Diet on a Low Income
It’s important for long-term health, especially for children, to eat a balanced and healthy diet. This can seem a lot harder on a low income, but it is possible with careful shopping and cooking....
Getting the Right Amount of Vitamin C
A summary of the importance and functions of vitamin C including sources of vitamin C from food....
Hints and Tips for a Vitamin Rich Diet
Keeping healthy includes getting all the right vitamins in the right amounts, and the best way to get these is through diet rather than vitamin supplements. Here are some hints and tips to help mainta...
How Drugs and Foods Interact With Vitamins
Drugs and vitamins can interact with each other, and certain foods can interact with vitamins....
How Were Vitamins Discovered?
Vitamins are compounds that are essential to life and health in small amounts. Vitamins were discovered through research over many years....
Nightblindness and Xerophthalmia: Vitamin A Deficiency
Healthy people who eat a normal diet are unlikely to have a lack of vitamin A, also known as retinol. Vitamin A deficiencies are seen in malnourished people in the developing world. According to the W...
Other Vitamins
A summary of vitamin A, B complex or B vitamins, vitamin D and vitamin K: their health benefits and good sources of vitamins....
Preventing Anaemia
Anaemia is caused because of a lack of red blood cells. This deficiency may be caused by dietary factors, bleeding or because of certain immune system illnesses....
Pros and Cons of Vitamin Supplements
A summary of the pros and cons of taking vitamin supplements including how to take vitamins, potential vitamin overdose and benefits of vitamins....
Q & A: Which Foods Prevent These Deficiencies?
Lack of certain foods can cause deficiencies in vitamins, and these cause diseases. Check out this Q and A to see what you know....
The Effect of Caffeine on Vitamin Absorption
Caffeine is a substance present in many food and drink items that are consumed around the world every day. If taken in large quantities it can be damaging to health and inhibit the absorption of some ...
The Importance of B Vitamins
A summary of the B vitamins and their importance for health....
The Importance of Vitamins As We Age
A summary of the importance of vitamins for older people and the effect vitamins have as we grow older....
The Myths About Vitamins
Vitamins are compounds that are needed by the body for good health. There are a lot of myths about vitamins, so what's true and what's a myth?...
The Role of Vitamins and Rickets
Caused by a deficiency of vitamin D and to a lesser degree calcium, rickets can be easily avoided by having small amounts of exposure to natural day light along with inclusion of some dietary sources....
The Role of Vitamins and Scurvy
Most of us are aware of the importance of vitmains and minerals and their role in preventing illness and disease caused by deficiency....
Vitamin B6 and PMS
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS - also know as Premenstrual Tension or PMT) is a set of symptoms that occur in the week or two leading up to menstruation. Vitamin B6 may help some of these symptoms....
Vitamin D
A summary of what vitamin D does for you body, plus food sources of vitamin D and vitamin D from exposure to sunlight....
Vitamin E
A summary of the functions and importance of vitamin E and the foods rich in vitamin E, including vitamin E as an antioxidant, for the skin and for Alzheimer’s disease....
Vitamin E Rich Diet: Reduce Risk of Alzheimer's?
Alzheimer's disease is a form of dementia, and leads to increasing levels of confusion and memory loss. Studies have shown that diets rich in vitamin E, may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease...
Vitamins and Dairy Products
Dairy products that contain vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B12, vitamin B2 and calcium and how dairy fits into a healthy, balanced diet....
Vitamins and Fruit
A summary of the importance of fruit in our daily vitamin intake, including fruits rich in vitamin C and vitamins in dried fruit....
Vitamins and Meat
A summary of which vitamins can be found in meat and how to eat a healthy, balanced diet that includes meat....
Vitamins and Vegetables
A summary of how to cook and store vegetables for maximum nutrition and which vitamins are in which vegetables....
Vitamins and Vegetarians
Finding your vitamins in plant-based foods, for vegans and vegetarians....
Vitamins and Your Eyes
A summary of the way antioxidant vitamins, vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E work to protect our eyes, eyesight and vision....
Vitamins and Your Hair
A summary of which vitamins are good for the health and appearance of hair, and for battling hair loss, baldness and greying of the hair....
Vitamins and Your Heart
A summary of which vitamins help to maintain a healthy heart, including vitamins B6 and B12, vitamin C and vitamin E....
Vitamins and Your Skin
A summary of which vitamins are good for the skin, vitamins in beauty products and anti-ageing products and traditional beauty methods and vitamins....
Vitamins for Dieters
Can extra vitamins help people with weight loss, and does dieting mean always missing out on important vitamins and minerals?...
Vitamins for Men
Vitamins and men
We often read about the vitamins we should be taking to ensure optimum fitness and health. But does your gender make a difference? Are there any vital vitamin facts specifically for ...
Vitamins for Stronger Teeth and Bones
Vitamins A, C, D and K are all essential for the formation of strong teeth and bones in children, and to keep teeth and bones healthy in adults....
Vitamins for Teenagers
Teenagers are still growing, and need to have a healthy diet, including the right levels of vitamins and minerals....
Vitamins for Vegans
Vegans eat no animal or animal-derived products at all, so as well as choosing not to eat meat or fish, they will not eat milk, eggs or honey. So how do they absorb the right vitamins?...
Vitamins for Women
A summary of the health benefits of vitamins for women including vitamins during pregnancy and vitamins for beauty....
Vitamins in Your Diet
A summary of finding vitamins in your daily diet, including vitamins from fruit and vegetables and vitamins from other foods....
What a Vitamin Deficiency Can Mean to Your Health
Vitamin deficiency can lead to some very unpleasant illnesses and disorders or may put you at risk of developing serious diseases. It can also contribute to poor mental development or impair your exis...
What are Antioxidants?
A summary of the importance of anti-oxidant (antioxidant) vitamins: vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E and their use in defending against free radical damage....
What Are Fat Soluble Vitamins?
Vitamins can be divided into two types - fat-soluble and water-soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins, vitamins A, D, E and K, are found in meat (especially liver), dairy products, eggs, oily fish, nuts, seeds...
What are Superfruits?
Due to their high content of anti-oxidants and vitamins, superfruits are now being more widely consumed and are more easily available....
What are Vitamins?
Vitamins
What are vitamins
RDA
Recommended daily amount
Vitamin A
B1
Thiamine
B2
Riboflavin
B3
Niacin
B6
Pyridoxine
B12
Cyanocobalamin
Folic acid
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
Vit...
What Does Vitamin A do?
A summary of the sources of vitamin A and what vitamin A does for your body including vitamin A as an antioxidant....
What is an RDA?
What RDA, or recommended daily allowance, means including what happens if you exceed the RDA of certain vitamins....
What is the RDA?
The RDA (recommended dietary [or daily] allowance) is the amount of each vitamin that people need every day. So how much of each vitamin do we need?...
Which are the Most Nutrient Rich Foods?
A summary of some key vitamins and the foods that give significant amounts of vitamin nutrients....
Which Foods Provide These Vitamins?
How much do you know about vitamins? Try this quiz!...
Why Do Flour and Margarine Have Added Vitamins?
Products containing flour and margarine make up a large part of many people's diets - flour in bread and cakes, and margarine on toast, in sandwiches, and in a lot of cooked food. Flour and margarine ...
Why Do We Need Vitamins
Vitamins are compounds that are essential for staying healthy, and that cannot be made in the body so must come from food or other sources (some vitamin D is made in skin exposed to sunlight, and some...