What are Vitamins?

Vitamins Deficiency diseases such as scurvy and beri-beri are caused by the lack of certain chemical substances in our diet known as vitamins. Vitamins are organic compounds that are not built in a definite pattern like carbohydrates proteins and fats. They are not energy-providing foods nor are they body building foods, yet they are required in small quantities by animals, including humans, for normal health and development. However, both in underdeveloped countries and developed countries, a deficiency of vitamins can arise. How you ask? Because in underdeveloped countries people do not get a balanced diet and so are malnourished resulting in vitamin deficiency. In developed countries, people eat processed foods more and thus vitamin rich raw fruits and vegetables are avoided. The amount of vitamins required by us varies with age. Vitamins can be classified into two types, fat soluble and water soluble. Fat soluble vitamins, as name suggests, are soluble in fat