The body depends on the daily supply of vitamins with food. Vitamins and their precursors (pro-vitamins) are therefore essential food components.Unlike macronutrients (nutrients), vitamins do not serve as building materials or as energy suppliers, but essentially perform enzymatic (catalytic) and controlling tasks in numerous processes of the human body.
Based on their solubility, vitamins are divided into two groups – hydrophilic (water-soluble) and lipophilic (fat-soluble) vitamins. In the early years of their discovery, vitamins were titled with letters and numbers, and later they were given their familiar names describing their chemical structure. Water-soluble vitamins include vitamin C and the vitamin B complex. The fat-soluble vitamins include vitamins A, D, E, and K.
Caution!According to the data available for the Federal Republic of Germany on the supply situation (see, among others, National Consumption Study II) of women with vitamins, the intake for vitamin D and vitamin E is not optimal.The available data on the supply situation of men indicate a non-optimal intake for vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin D.
