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Author:
Tyler Falls

Vitamins & Minerals are essential to sustain life. Its what keeps us alive and healthy. Among many other things, they help us digest food, burn energy, grow hair, re-build muscel fibers, strenghten cells, and its what keeps our skin smooth. Since our bodies are made out of these certain vitamins and minerals, we need to consume these nutrients daily to replenish our bodys useages.

Minerals and vitamins are macronutrients. A macronutrient is something that our body needs in small amounts. This is different than nutrients that we need in larger amounts like proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Not only are vitamins and minerals macronutrients, but they are considered coenzymes as well. This is because they assist the enzymes in the body to carry out all of the daily activities as efficiently as possible.

The major vitamins are divided into two categories. One category is “water soluble vitamins” and the other is “oil soluble vitamins.” Water soluble vitamins must be taken daily because they are not stored in the body, but are excreted quickly. Examples of water soluble vitamins are Vitamin C and Vitamin B (B-Complex Vitamins). Oil soluble vitamins are stored longer in the body’s fatty tissue and in the liver. Oil soluble vitamins include Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E and Vitamin K. Both water and oil soluble vitamins are considered essential as the body needs them to function properly.

Have a question about vitamins? Try posting it on these Vitamin Forums

Tyler D Falls is the author of other health articles and helps run a vitamin resource site called Vitamin-Spot.

| Article Keywords: Nutrient Basics

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Nutrient Basics... Natural Health And Beauty - The Truth About Vitamin E Whilst skin care products generally won't deliver nutrients deep into the actual living cells beneath the superficial layers of the skin, the vitamin E in many products is actually useful. Scientists have found that by applying antioxidants to the skin, free radical damage that would normally occur through exposure to UV light (say, from the sun), can be prevented or at least minimized. Vitamin E is a popular ingredient in many skin care creams. The scientists found that the protective effects of vitamin E from that period of UV exposure were apparent 2 and 3 days later. The group of people who had vitamin E cream applied to their skin had less signs of inflammation than the group who were given the lotion without vitamin E. Inflammation is a sign of cell damage, and was measured in this study by the amount of blood flow to that area as compared to normal. This was a placebo controlled, double blind study, which means that some people received the lotion with vitamin E, some didn't and neither group knew which it was getting. The conclusions these scientists made were that vitamin E was effective at preventing the visible signs of aging on skin. Whilst vitamin E in creams and lotions will benefit the skin, there is strong doubt on whether it can help in some of the beauty products it is in. For example, when vitamin E is advertised as being of benefit to strengthen or thicken eyelashes, this is something of a misnomer, and is not supported by science. Paula Begoun, the 'cosmetic cop' writes that there isn't a product out there that will strengthen and thicken eyelashes. The best you can do in this instance is to apply an eyelash primer and mascara to make eyelashes appear thicker. Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and the research...