Food contains only minute quantities of the substances called vitamins,but they are vital for good health.For example,if you eat a diet of meat,bread,sugar and fat you may become ill with a disease called scurvy.This is caused by a deficiency in vitamin C,which is found in fruit and vegetables.
About fifty different vitamins have been identified and a deficiency in many of these can lead to illness.Vitamin A is most important for good eyesight,but is also important for general good health.Liver contains a considerable amount of vitamin A but vitamin A is also found in fish,meat,milk,butter,some fruits and vegetables.
Vitamin B in fact consists of twelve different chemicals,which are found in eggs,cheese,butter,wholemeal flour and vegetables.If a person has inadequate amount of vitamin B in his diet,this may affect his whole body,particularly the skin,the nervous system and the heart.Deficiency in vitamin B results in a disease called beri-beri.
Vitamin C prevents scurvy and helps to heal injuries.Some doctors believe that large quantities of vitamin C help people to avoid colds.Fruits and uncooked vegetables are rich in vitamin C,but when they are overcooked,or left for a long time,they lost most of their vitamins.
Vitamin D is essential for the growth of bones and teeth and is found in fish,liver,oil and milk.Vitamin D is the only vitamin which the body can make for itself,but it can only do this if there is sufficient sunlight.Alack of both sunlight and vitamin D can result in a disease called rickets,which causes bones to soften and to be deformed.
Vitamins are only needed in very small quantities.A quantity sufficient for a whole life would weigh only a quarter of a kilogram.Vitamins can be manufactured and are sold as additions to our food,but a well balanced diet provide an adequate amount of vitamins.
