Where do vitamins come from and how are they produced

Eat more of these vitamin-enriched buns and have a snack with a pill

Alice Veselkova, "The Attic"

Spring, sun, vitamin deficiency. True vitamin deficiency, or the complete absence of the necessary vitamins in the diet, is not so common, but hypovitaminosis, insufficient intake of vitamins, is very common. The correspondent of "Attic" asked questions about how to make up for the lack of vitamins, how they are obtained artificially, and went to talk with experts.

Vitamins are complex organic substances. There are 13 of them, and mostly we get them with food. The human body can synthesize only vitamins PP and D. For example, vitamin D3 is synthesized in the human body under the influence of ultraviolet light.

A molecule of a vitamin always has the same structure, whether it is created by nature or artificially. In the body, vitamins most often act as coenzymes or substrates for important enzymes. Their lack leads to malfunctions in the body, the metabolism worsens, and we feel bad.

In total, about 14% of adults and 16.8% of children over the age of four in Russia are provided with all vitamins, Vera Kodentsova, Doctor of Biological Sciences, professor, head of the Laboratory of Vitamins and Minerals of the Federal Research Center for Nutrition and Biotechnology, told "Attic". But the lack of several vitamins at once, or polyhypovitaminosis, is experienced in Russia by 22% of adults and 39.6% of children.

Urban Myth #1
Many people are sure that if you take vitamins in tablets, the body will be "lazy" and it will become worse to absorb them from food. This is a myth, although there is some truth in it. The added vitamins are absorbed better than those contained in the food in the bound state.

"There are special risk groups who, in addition to deficits characteristic of everyone, have deficiencies of other vitamins. Vitamin A – in pregnant women (third trimester), residents of the Russian North, patients with tuberculosis; vitamin E – in workers of industrial enterprises with harmful working conditions, university students; folate (B9, folic acid and its derivatives – approx. "Attic") in students with obesity; vitamin B12 – in vegetarians," says Kodentsova.

A fell, B disappeared

Most often, residents of Russia lack vitamins D, B2 and beta-carotene (a precursor of vitamin A), notes Kodentsova. Vitamin D deficiency is typical for all countries of the Northern Hemisphere – from Russia to North America, says Yulia Ageeva from BASF. Vitamin D deficiency leads to impaired calcium metabolism and osteoporosis. On the contrary, a sufficient number of them increases the body's resistance to diseases, strengthens the immune system, prevents the development of cancer, cardiovascular diseases and even saves from depression and improves mood, says Kodentsova.

"The main source of B vitamins, as a rule, are cereals," Ageeva adds to this, "and since we use premium flour in baking, it is already severely depleted in the composition of vitamins of this group. Each step of cleaning flour reduces the concentration of vitamins of group B. E is also a very important vitamin that is present in all cells of the body, it is a very important antioxidant. Its lack can also be a serious problem. It is in vegetable oil, but if the oil is highly processed, refined, there will be less of it there."

Urban Myth #2
"Eat fruits, they have a lot of vitamins!" We do not dissuade you from apples, pears and other fruits, but remember: vegetables and fruits contain mainly carotene (a precursor of vitamin A), other carotenoids, vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and folates, vitamin K1. But vitamins of groups B and D are found mainly in animal products – dairy, meat, poultry and grain products.

There is also good news: vitamin C is enough for us on average. Its deficiency is experienced by only 1-2% of the population, says Kodentsova. This can be explained by the fact that many of us eat fresh vegetables and fruits all year round, and sauerkraut is a good source of this vitamin.

Of course, not only the northern countries suffer from vitamin hunger. In Africa and Southeast Asia, Ageeva notes, there is a serious deficiency of vitamin A. It is mainly found in animal products (eggs, liver), which residents of these regions often cannot afford because of poverty. Vegetables and fruits contain a precursor of vitamin A – beta-carotene, 6 micrograms of which correspond to 1 microgram of vitamin A. But he can switch to vitamin only under certain conditions.

Everything should be fine

Recommended daily intake of vitamins has been developed in most countries of the world. They are regularly reviewed and updated. The norms adopted in 2008 are currently in force in Russia. Compared to previous norms, they already recommend consuming more vitamins C, E and folic acid. And vitamin A, on the contrary, is less.

The vitamin content in the body can be determined in two ways. First, calculate how many and what foods we consume every day, and, based on this, calculate how many and what vitamins and minerals enter the body. But this is not the most accurate method. The content of vitamins and minerals in the same products may vary even depending on the composition of the soil on which they grew. In addition, the cooking method will also greatly affect. For example, if potatoes are boiled in the peel, they will lose half as much vitamin C as peeled.

Urban Myth #3
Is it possible to stock up on vitamins in the summer for a year ahead? Alas, rather no than yes. For a while, only four fat-soluble vitamins can circulate in the body: A, D (we partly get D3 from the sun), E and K. They can be "stocked up". But the rest of the vitamins are quickly eliminated from the body.

The second and more reliable way to find out what we lack and how much is to assess the content of micronutrients in blood and urine and the state of human health. This is just another blood test, it is "read" just like any other.

All the necessary vitamins can be obtained from food. But, as Kodentsova notes, in order to "eat up" the daily norm, you will most likely have to consume about 3000 kcal (or eat according to a very, very specific diet), which, with the modern lifestyle of most people, can most likely lead to another problem – obesity.

"The lack of vitamins can and should be replenished by taking vitamin complexes containing at least 10 vitamins in doses approaching 100% of the recommended daily intake, which is indicated on the label as a percentage," Kodentsova is sure. "The second way is to include vitamin–enriched foods in the diet: bread, dairy products, breakfast cereals, drinks, – one serving of which contains from 15 to 50% of the recommended daily intake of vitamins."

A useful tablet

So, there are 13 vitamins, they are all different. And they are also artificially obtained in different ways, says Ageeva.

Vitamins A and E are obtained by chemical multistage synthesis from simpler organic molecules.

And the raw material for obtaining vitamin D3 in the form of cholecalciferol is – suddenly – sheep wool. Lanolin is obtained from it, and this nutrient is already chemically synthesized from it.

Microbiologically, only four vitamins are obtained. Firstly, these are vitamins C and B2 (riboflavin), which are "cooked" by yeast-like mushrooms. Vitamin B12 is obtained with the help of producing bacteria using bacterial synthesis. It is natural for these microorganisms to secrete vitamin B12. For example, there are bacteria in a healthy intestine that also synthesize this vitamin, Ageeva notes. And D2 in the form of ergosterol, for example, produce yeast-like fungi.

In a very simplified way, obtaining vitamins in a microbiological way can be imagined as a huge bucket with a stirrer inside, explains Ageeva. Inside, an ideal environment has been created for producers: optimal in gas composition, nutrition and temperature.

"Ideally, the producer microorganism itself secretes the necessary substance. But it happens that the molecule of interest remains inside. Then you have to get it, destroying the cell walls," says Ageeva.

Regardless of the origin of vitamins, the body may not assimilate them. In order for vitamins from both food and tablets to be absorbed, certain conditions must be created. For example, vitamins B and C are water–soluble, and A, D, E and K are fat–soluble. The former are best absorbed with water (vitamin C can often be bought in pharmacies in effervescent tablets), the latter – in a fatty environment. Therefore, carrots (rich in vitamin A precursor) are really useful to eat boiled and with sour cream.

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