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Article: Vitamins
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health: Infancy throughAdolescence
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Thomson Gale. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Vitamins
Definition
Vitamins are organic components in food that are needed in very small amounts for growth and for maintaining good health. The vitamins include vitamins D, E, A, and K (fat-soluble vitamins), and folate (
folic acid
), vitamin B
12
, biotin, vitamin B
6
, niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, and vitamin C (ascorbic acid) (water-soluble vitamins). Vitamins are required in the diet in only tiny amounts, in contrast to the energy components of the diet. The energy components of the diet are sugars, starches, fats, and oils, and these occur in relatively large amounts in the diet.
Most of the vitamins are closely associated with a corresponding vitamin deficiency ...