Your Skin and Vitamins

What is the Vitamin?

A vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism.

1. A compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet. Thus, the term is conditional both on the circumstances and the particular organism. For example, ascorbic acid functions as vitamin C for some animals but not others, and vitamins D and K are required in the human diet only in certain circumstances.

2. The term vitamin does not include other essential nutrients such as dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, or essential amino acids, nor does it encompass the large number of other nutrients that promote health but are otherwise required less often.

3.Vitamins are classified by their biological and chemical activity, not their structure. Thus, each "vitamin" may refer to several vitamer compounds that all show the biological activity associated with a particular vitamin. Such a set of chemicals are grouped under an alphabetized vitamin " generic descriptor "title, such as" vitamin A, "which includes the compounds retinal, retinol, and many carotenoids.

4. Vitamers are often inter-converted in the body.

Vitamins have diverse biochemical functions, including function as hormones (eg vitamin D), antioxidants (eg vitamin E), and mediators of cell signaling and regulators of cell and tissue growth and differentiation (eg vitamin A).

5. The largest number of vitamins (eg B complex vitamins) function as precursors for enzyme cofactor bio-molecules (coenzymes), that help act as catalysts and substrates in metabolism. When acting as part of a catalyst, vitamins are bound to enzymes and are called prosthetic groups. For example, biotin is part of enzymes involved in making fatty acids. Vitamins also act as coenzymes to carry chemical groups between enzymes. For example, folic acid carries various forms of carbon group - methyl, formyl and methylene - in the cell. Although these roles in assisting enzyme reactions are vitamins' best-known function, the other vitamin functions are equally important.

6.Until the 1900s, vitamins were obtained solely through food intake, and changes in diet (which, for example, could occur during a particular growing season) can alter the types and amounts of vitamins ingested. Vitamins have been produced as commodity chemicals and made widely available as inexpensive pills for several decades,

7. allowing supplementation of the dietary intake.



I think I will say that thanks for posting this article. Its very true that skin needs it's vitamins too...Anti-oxidants are also wonderful for younger and healthier skin.


Vitamins and Your Skin
Should you take 'em, wear 'em--or both?

By Brooke Eastburn , Brooke Eastbrun lives in Los Angeles with her husband and is a freelance writer for Prevention, Glamour, More and Brides.
You've probably noticed vitamins in facial creams and as skin-friendly supplements. So which vitamin supplements should you wear and which ones should you swallow for great skin care?


Read on for answers.

V. E
Orally: Taking 400 IU of vitamin E daily can reduce wrinkles and improve skin texture. Look for "natural" or "d-alpha tocopherol" on labels. Topically: Preliminary studies suggest that E reduces chronic UV-induced skin damage. Bottom line: Take it now, wear it later. Pills are the way to go, but E creams are showing promise.


V. C
Orally: Taking vitamin C counteracts the effects of sun exposure by reducing free-radical damage, which can lead to wrinkles and cancer. Topically: It can decrease sun damage and enhance collagen production if it's in an effective, stable form; look for "L-ascorbic acid," "ascorbic palmitate," or "magnesium ascorbyl phosphate" on labels. Bottom line: Take it and wear it. Pop 500 to 2,000 mg a day and use a C cream. Try SkinCeuticals C+E.

V. B
Orally: Unless you suffer from a deficiency, supplements won't noticeably improve your skin. Topically: Research shows that panthenol (B5) and niacinamide (B3), added to skin care products, help hydrate skin and even out tone. Bottom line: Wear it. You can find it in the Olay Total Effects line.


V. A
Orally: Most people get enough in their diets to make supplements unnecessary, and getting more than 5,000 IU a day may up the risk of hip fracture. Topically: It's been shown to clear up acne and reduce the appearance of fine lines and pores. Bottom line: Wear it. Vitamin A is most effective in prescription form. A less potent option, retinol, is available in OTC creams. Try the RoC Retinol Actif Pur line.


Speaking for myself but perhaps also for others, the problem is this: I doubt my diet is balanced.

And while I am fairly successful at avoiding bad things in my diet — e.g., excessive bad fat and excessive sodium, I doubt I am getting enough of the good things. So it seems harmless and perhaps beneficial to take a few supplements in modest amounts. The problem then becomes finding supplements available in modest amounts instead of mega-amounts. And most of the multi-vitamins are simply too potent. So I take small supplements of B-complex, a little more of folic acid, zinc, omega-e oils, and, at a doctor’s direction, potassium. Maybe occasionally a time-released C, but not dfaily. But, except for the potassium, all of these things in much smaller amounts than one would find in the typical multi-vitamin.