What Are Vitamins and How Do They Work?
We have known since childhood that vitamins are vital for the body and have a great number of duties. But not everyone still understands how they work and what they are used for. Besides, there are many myths and stereotypes around, invented by pharmacologists or simply by those who have not figured out the correct dosages, and therefore did not see any effect. Vitamins are really irreplaceable for body health. These micronutrients ensure the efficient functioning of metabolic processes, affect the immune system and personal appearance.
Cheap RX Pharmacy in collaboration with Trust Pharmacy collects the main information about how vitamins work, hw they are produced by bodies, whether there is a connection between vitamins and technologies. Let’s consider all these points in detail below.
How vitamins work?
In the course of evolution, nature has deprived people of the ability to synthesize vitamins inside the body. Although some animals still have this skill. For example, goats can produce vitamin C on their own. But humans cannot do this, so we need to get it from proper nutritition. A balanced diet is the foundation of health. Neglecting them, many of our ancestors hundreds of years ago suffered from severe diseases associated with vitamin deficiency. One of these was scurvy – a deficiency of important micronutrients led to large-scale epidemics, as a result of which thousands of people died. It is believed that the modern world is deprived of this. But, as recent studies show, there remains a significant number of people who are deficient in certain substances.
Vitamins and trace elements are an integral part of working enzymes. The very structure of the enzyme is made up of protein. When we take amino acids, they first assemble into a chain, then curl up and form a ternary structure, or, in other words, the same protein that is used in the body as a building material. It is during this process that vitamins come into play: they become the active center of the enzyme, without which the structure cannot work and is subsequently destroyed. Therefore, even such a microscopic part acts as an obligatory link in metabolic processes.
When to start taking vitamins?
Earlier, in the Middle Ages, life expectancy was much lower. Cases have been recorded when people lived to old age, but this was more likely due to their genetic characteristics than to a real health state. Now to live much longer, there is an urgent need to be more attentive to our body. From this point of view, it can be compared to a car: the more carefully the car is used, the longer it will serve its owner.
Eating right and receiving micronutrients is one of the basic principles, and it is important to adhere to them. This is especially true for young people, since they, as a rule, do not keep a “regime” lifestyle: they have a snack on the go, go to bed late, do not always go in for sports, and even less think about food supplements. The paradox is that until about 30 years old they will still feel healthy, but after that a decrease in health will observe: depending on the “initial” data, the body will age either slowly or quickly. Then the issue of nutritional balance will regain its relevance.
Signs and symptoms of vitamin deficiency
Such vitamin deficiency, as it was before, is now practically not observed. Hypoavitaminosis is more often manifested – a pathological condition caused by a deficiency of a group of vitamins in the body. Usually, it is characterized by a decrease in immunity, appetite, mood – signs that are difficult to distinguish from other diseases or simple ailments. Therefore, it is impossible to define the deficit without a special laboratory test. Although when people come to a healthcare specialist, we already know in advance that, according to average estimates, they will be deficient in vitamin D and some B vitamins.
But vitamins E, A and C are less likely to be in deficit. We take them more actively from food, so sometimes we don’t even need to artificially fill in the gaps. It is the peculiarities of human nutrition that often limit the intake of vitamins into the body. In addition, any digestive problems prevent the absorption of beneficial trace elements into the blood, which also creates another artificial barrier. So, any deficiency of substances raises a more serious question: how many of them does a particular person need in order for his body to function properly? Only laboratory examinations help answer this question.
Role of the sun and technology
Vitamin D is most often in deficit. This is due to the peculiarities of its consumption. Nature has come up with a complex mechanism: for the production of this trace element, a person must not only be under the sun with unprotected skin, but also actively move for several hours. When a vitamin is formed in the skin under the influence of ultraviolet radiation, it needs to penetrate the blood flow – this is provided only by physical activity. If we just lie on the beach, vitamin D is also produced, but then it is instantly destroyed, without any benefit.
Everyone knows that being under the sun with unprotected skin for a long time is at least unsafe for your health and, of course, tiring. According to the original idea, people were supposed to populate only the southern areas – there we could produce the necessary amount of vitamin D. From the point of evolution view, 5,000 years is not enough to change this process. Therefore, we have to adjust to it.
What is vitamin D used for?
Vitamin D has over 2,000 different types of receptors found in body tissues. It acts as a neurosteroid and enhances human cognitive abilities – improves the functioning of the nervous system. It also enhances immunity: data show that the incidence in children is reduced by 5-6 times with regular intake of sufficient amounts of vitamin D. This does not mean that a person forever forgets what the flu is and how to treat it. But the duration of the disease is clearly reduced: for example, instead of 15 days, you will have to spend only three at home. In addition, the vitamin is directly related to muscle strength and sex hormones, and it also affects the skin condition and calcium metabolism, strengthening bone tissue.
Is it possible to prescribe vitamins to yourself?
Incorrect dosages can result in an excess of substances in the body, although in the case of vitamin D, this is less likely than with vitamins E or A. First of all, we are talking about the fact that a person incurs unnecessary costs, without which a person can avoid this by knowing the exact amount of a trace element required by a particular patient. In addition, an overdose of vitamin D is dangerous for children – it leads to excessive calcium deposits. But even if there is no acute danger, a chronic overdose may appear, which, according to medical data, can lead to the formation of kidney stones and other diseases. But it is almost impossible to exceed the daily intake of vitamins through food. Most likely, the indicators will continue to remain low, even if you carefully monitor the diet.
To avoid negative consequences, it is best to have tests right away. Tests should be held for both adults and children, and in dynamics – 1-2 times a year, it is necessary to update the results in order to track whether the amount of substance in the blood changes. You can take an analysis for vitamins in a complex, or you can sort it out in stages, researching one by one.
Is it true that fall season requires more vitamins than in summer?
In the modern world, the amount of vitamins in the blood does not depend on the season at all. If we lived in a confined space and ate only our own products grown in the garden, then this theory could have to exist. But there is no difference since we use the same products in both summer and winter, apart from the seasonal fruit period, which lasts only a couple of months. Meat, fish, cereals, vegetables do not differ from each other, whatever the weather outside the window. The time of day also practically does not affect the intake of vitamins. With the exception of some substances, which, in fact, are not vitamins, but still stimulate many processes. For example, magnesium is best taken in the evening for a relaxing effect, and ginseng is best taken in the morning to invigorate. For basic trace elements, there is no specific schedule.
Are there vitamins for beauty?
Hair and skin are built from protein. In order for them to be healthy, it is necessary, first of all, to build up your diet so that the amount of building material is acceptable. It is not difficult to calculate this: for 1 kg of weight per day, you need to consume 1.5 grams of pure protein. In addition, we must not forget about vitamins D and C, since they provide the building of collagen, as well as monitor the level of iron in the blood. Collagen does not need to be consumed separately. In fact, it is a regular protein that is useless if the diet is kept.
Together, these components cover most of the problems that modern girls living in megacities face. However, such a vitamin complex may not be enough if a person has internal problems with the body organs. So, yellowing skin often signals that you need to pay attention to the liver. Questions of this kind are resolved only on an individual examination by a doctor.