Let's talk about vitamins

The human organism is extremely complex, when we analyze it from a metabolic point of view, to understand it deeply it is necessary to have knowledge of the molecular conformation as well as the different ways in which these microcomponents interact with each other.

One of the most frequently mentioned elements, even quite colloquially, are vitamins. We know that they are good for us, and the lack of any of these in our body often causes some diseases. But not only the deficit of any of these produces diseases but also the excess, and a wide range of diseases can be generated for both reasons.

But What are vitamins? What is their function in our organism?, next you will be able to read information about it.

Our organism is composed of a set of systems that work together to achieve the dynamic balance that keeps our body functioning. In turn, each of these systems is made up of organs, and each one fulfills a function to keep the entire body system functioning.

If we break it down a little further, we find that each organ is made up of various tissues that are closely linked and connected. This connection or communication occurs not only through their intimate contact but also through hormones and other substances produced in each of the tissues.

Tissues are composed of cells. Each type of cell has its own particularity in terms of structure and also in terms of its functioning. This is how we can see a large number of different cells in our body, they are at least about 200 varieties, which are classified based on their structure and function. That is fulfilled by a complex metabolic process, in which many macromolecules, called Enzymes, can interact, it is here where the vitamins participate.

All this introduction that I have done so far, where I hope you can clearly visualize the breakdown that I intended to do from the macro (the whole body) to the minimum functional unit that we have (our cells).

Our body stays healthy and in good working order thanks to the fact that ultrastructurally (at the level of cells and macromolecules) there is a whole set of cellular machinery working, above all we must consider the work of *enzymes.

Let's imagine that there is an industry with many machines working to produce some product, for example, cookies, there are many machines and workers who work on it, some are in charge of the dough, others of giving it the shape, then it is baked. It is worth the comparison to see everything that our organism does molecularly every second.

Pixabay / Author: sutulo

We have enzymes that produce ATP, which is the energy in our body, but before this is produced, oxygen, iron, glucose, among other substances are needed. Enzymes are responsible for all this to be executed, with as that machinery that perform this function.

Well, in house one of the enzymes there is a substance that we call co-enzyme, and that without it the Enzyme cannot work, it is something indispensable so that it can produce what it is destined to produce. The vitamins are those coenzymes, they are those indispensable substances to produce what the body needs at a metabolic level.

That is why when there is a lack of certain vitamins, there is an enzyme group that will not function properly and inevitably the lack of that product that produces a particular enzyme will have repercussions in our body, expressing itself as a disease. I am very clear that this is a simple way of looking at it, but the idea is that those who read this publication can have a vision of what is happening and see it in a way that is easy to understand even for those who do not have great scientific knowledge.

Pixabay / Author: hirowumi

When I started the publication I commented that not only vitamin deficiency can generate disease -and I hope that with the above explanation you can understand why- but also the excess of these can generate diseases.

The amount of vitamins that our body needs is very small, because their function is molecular, which makes us think that when there is an excess of these vitamins our body must get rid of them. But it turns out that it is not always so easy, since the mechanisms of elimination are not always able to purify them completely, in addition to the fact that, and this is the biggest problem, they are usually deposited in some organs generating dysfunction of these.

Disease that receives the name of hypervitaminosis, and I could say that the most frequent is the one that derives from the excessive consumption of vitamin A and vitamin D. But they are not the only ones, of course.

I hope that with this publication you can now have a better vision of the function of vitamins in our organism.

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Links consulted:

• BIOCHEMISTRY OF VITAMINS

• Vitamins: structure and funtions

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