When you go to a pharmacy , one can’t but help notice the hundreds of vitamin bottles lined up on the shelves. But do we really need to takes these vitamin supplements at all ?

That’s a difficult question to answer. Are you taking a well-balanced and healthy diet containing fortified rice and bread, meat, green vegetables, citrus and other fruits and fish ? Are you getting enough sunlight ?

Whether or not you need to take supplements will depend on all these factors, and on your current condition. For example, do you have certain disease, are you pregnant ?

But if you don’t take enough of a certain vitamins, this will lead to vitamin deficiency. The word vitamin was actually coined by a guy called Funk. He called it “vital amine” in 1912, when it was discovered that amine extracted from rice polishing could prevent beriberi.

Since then, vitamins are considered essential organic compound for life, because the human body  cannot synthesize them. Vitamins A, D, E and K are classified as fat-soluble vitamins, whereas B, C and D are classified as water-soluble vitamins. Vitamin A was the first fat-soluble vitamin to be discovered (that is why it is called A) in 1913.

Vitamin A is essential for vision (especially your eyes` adaptation to dark surrounding) , your immune response (where your body mount its defense against infections), cell growth and repair, bone growth, reproduction, maintenance of the surface lining of the eyes, and maintenance of the surface linings of the eyes, and maintaining the lining of your respiratory, urinary and intestinal tracts. 
If you have deficiency of the vitamin, then you’ll get abnormal dark adaptation. When this happens, you will find it difficult to see in the dark. You might have dry skin, dry hair, broken finger-nails, and decrease resistance to infections.

Really bad cases progress to a poor growth rate and bone development in children, especially among the malnourished. In adults, impaired sperm production or increased spontaneous  abortions among pregnant women due to impaired development of the embryo can occur.
Foods that contain plenty of vitamin A include sweat potato, carrots, mangoes, papayas, eggs and raw spinach. There are together eight different types of vitamin B.

Vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency causes beriberi. Beriberi leads to weight loss, emotional disturbances, impaired sensory perception, weakness and pain in the limbs, irregular heartbeat and swelling of the body tissues due to water retention. In severe cases, you may get hearth failure and die.

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) deficiency causes cracks n your lips, high sensitivity to sunlight, inflammation of your tongue (so that it looks very smooth) and seborrheic (oily) dermatitis on the skin (especially the face).

Vitamin B3 (niacin) deficiency, along with a deficiency of tryptophan, causes pellagra. Pellagra causes behavioral aggression, skin inflammation, insomnia, weakness, mental confusion, diarrhea, dementia and death.

Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) deficiency is very uncommon. It can result in acne and tingling in your hands and feet.

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) deficiency may lead to anemia, depression, skin inflammation and high blood pressure.

Vitamin B7 deficiency does not cause symptoms in adults but may lead to impaired growth and nervous disorders in infants.

Vitamin B9 (folic acid) deficiency can be very serious. In pregnant women, it can lead to birth defects.

Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin) deficiency causes pernicious anemia, memory loss and affects other brain dysfunctions. It usually occurs in elderly people due to  declining gut absortion.

Foods that are rich in vitamin B include wheat and oats, seafood poultry and meats,, eggs, milk and leafy green vegetables.

In a 1974 study, it was shown that only a small dose of vitamin C (250 mg a day) was needed to supplement yourself when a cold strikes. Larger amounts haven’t been shown to be more effective, and they may cause diarrhea or other adverse effects.

Nevertheless, vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is important for the growth and repair of your body tissues because it is essential for forming collagen and facilitating the healing of wounds. It is also an antioxidant that blocks damage to the body caused by some of the byproducts of metabolism and toxic chemicals like cigarette smoke.

Vitamin C is deficiency leads to dry and split hairs, inflammation and bleeding of your gums, dry and scaly skin, poor wound healing and an inability to ward off  infection, nosebleeds, as well as swollen and painful joints.

A severe from is scurvy, which used to affect sailors at sea who had no access to fresh fruits.

For food sources of vitamin C, eat citrus fruits and juices(oranges), papayas, mangoes, green peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, pineapples and leafy green.