Vitamins

Vitamins, any of several organic substances that [blank] necessary in small quantities for normal health and growth in higher forms of animal life. Vitamins are distinct in several ways [blank] other biologically important compounds such as proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. Although these latter substances also are indispensable for proper bodily functions, almost all of them can be synthesized [blank] animals in adequate quantities. Vitamins, on the other hand, generally cannot be synthesized in amounts sufficient to meet bodily needs and therefore must be obtained from the diet or from some synthetic source. For this reason, vitamins are called essential nutrients. Vitamins also differ from the other biological compounds [blank] that relatively small quantities are needed to complete their functions. In general these functions are of a catalytic or regulatory nature, facilitating or controlling vital chemical reactions in the body's cells. If a vitamin is absent from the diet or is not properly absorbed by the body, a specific deficiency disease may develop.