It may seem that the significance of vitamins to nutrition
health has been known for a significant amount of time. However, it wasn't until
the 15th century that scientists began to realize that nutrients found in
various foods could improve health. The classic realization is the one of
sailors who suffered from scurvy and improved their condition by eating citrus
fruits. To discover the exact benefits a particular food would provide,
scientists simulated conditions of nutrient deficiency using animals. These
experiments were carried out by feeding the animals one specific type of food
for an extended period of time. In all cases the animals' health declined; some
became seriously ill and some died. For those that became ill, the scientists
fed them various nutrients until their health improved.
In the early 1900s, British chemist and Nobel Prize winner Frederick Gowland
Hopkins concluded from his research that the human body needed a certain amount
of specific substances to live. Casimir Funk, a biochemist from Poland who
worked closely with Hopkins, conducted an experiment with polished and
unpolished rice. The results of his experiments coupled with what Hopkins
discovered led him to coin the term "vitamin" to represent the crucial
supplemental substances necessary for growth. It would only take thirty years
after their discoveries for chemists to begin synthesizing (commercially
producing) the vitamins that we know today.
Since the early discoveries, there have been many developments in understanding
the value of vitamins. The most recent development is that taking a multivitamin
every day can decrease an individual's risk for conditions such as osteoporosis,
cardiovascular disease, and cancer. The vitamin industry is probably a
multi-billion dollar industry. Just visit any nutrition centre or grocery store
that sells vitamins and you will see shelf after shelf of vitamins. There are
vitamin preparations for just about ever type of health condition and
nutritional need. The reports of the benefits of vitamins are outstanding, but
indicate that there may be more to discover about vitamins and their benefits on
human life.
