Why we need vitamins

Although vitamins contain no calories, they are essential for normal growth and development, and many chemical reactions in the body. Vitamins are necessary for the body to use the calories provided by the food that we eat and help process proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Vitamins are also involved in building cells, tissues, and organs - vitamin C, for example, helps produce healthy skin.

Vitamins are classified as fat-soluble or water-soluble based on how they are absorbed by the body. Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat soluble, while the water-soluble vitamins include vitamin c and the B-complex vitamins (thiamine (B1), ribonflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), vitamin B6, vitmain B12, biotin and folate.

Reasearch has shown that foods rich in antioxidants are particularly beneficial for health. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals. A buildup of free radicals can damage body cells and tissues, resulting in disease. Studies have shown that diets rich in vegetables and fruits result in a lower incidence of some diseases, including certain cancers.

Vitamin deficiencies

Deficiencies of vitamins are either primary or secondary. A primary deficiency occurs because you do not get enough of the vitamin in the food you eat. A secondary deficiency may be due to a lifestyle factor, such as smoking, excessive alchohol consumption, or the use of certain medications that interfere with the absorption or the body's use of the vitmain. Prolonged use of antibiotics will kill off the useful gut flora that make vitamin K. Vitamin deficiencies may also be due to an underlying problem, such as an intestinal disorder, that prevents or limits the absorption or use of the vitamin.

Well-known vitamin deficiencies are thiamine (beriberi), niacin (pellagra), vitamin C (scurvy) and Vitamin D (rickets). In north America today, however, such deficiencies are rare due to an adequate food supply for most people, and food fortification programs that add vitamins and minerals to common foods.

Scientists now have shifted their focus to discovering ways in which vitamins can promote health, prevent disease, boost the body's protection against infection and even slow down the aging process. At the same time, public interest in vitamins has heightened. This has been prompted by headlines in the media andwidespread advertising by the manufacturers of nutrient supplements.

Analgesics

An analgesic (colloquially known as a painkiller) is any member of the diverse group of drugs used to relieve pain and to achieve analgesia. This derives from Greek an-, "without", and -algia, "pain". Analgesic drugs act in various ways on the peripheral and central nervous system; they include paracetamol (acetaminophen), the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as the salicylates, narcotic drugs such as morphine, synthetic drugs with narcotic properties such as tramadol, and various others. Some other classes of drugs not normally considered analgesics are used to treat neuropathic pain syndromes; these include tricyclic antidepressants and anticonvulsants.