From Scurvy to Success: How Vitamins Revolutionized Modern Nutrition Science (The Vitamins Part 1)

In today’s episode of Daily Value, we begin a special series called “The Vitamins,” where we’ll dive deep into the discovery, functions, and importance of vitamins in human health. This first episode lays the groundwork by exploring the history of vitamin discovery, from the 19th-century realization that certain diseases were tied to diet, to the revolutionary concept of vitamins and their role in preventing specific deficiency diseases. We’ll also cover key definitions, the defined physiological functions of vitamins, thereby allowing us to better understand how they impact our daily health.

Episode Talking Points:

• The historical context of vitamin discovery and how it changed the course of nutrition science.
• Defining vitamins: their essential role, how they differ from macronutrients, and the five-part definition of what makes a vitamin.
• The functions of vitamins in the body, from acting as coenzymes and antioxidants to influencing gene transcription.

Tune in to gain a deeper understanding of vitamins and their critical role in supporting overall health.