Vitamins and Their Roles

Centuries ago, for example, scurvy was a disease common amongst sailors and pirates and was caused by a deficiency of vitamins C. In fact one of the nicknames for the British “Limey’s” came from British ships carrying lots of limes on board for sailors to consume to avoid scurvy!

To this day, a preventable condition called Rickets is still prevalent, especially in developing countries. Rickets is a softening of the bones in children which can potentially lead to fractures and deformity. The predominant cause is a deficiency in vitamin D but a lack of calcium may also cause the disease as well.

Until the 1900s, vitamins were obtained solely through food intake, and changes in diet (which, for example, could occur during a particular growing season) can alter the types and amounts of vitamins ingested. Vitamins have been produced as commodity chemicals and made widely available as inexpensive pills for several decades, allowing supplementation of the dietary intake.

Use the following chart to help you identify vitamins that you could benefit from or that you may not be getting enough of in the diet.