Wording of this Handout:
What would we ever do without them?
We would die, of course! But one of the amazing things about vitamins is their size, and the fact that something so small should have such a BIG effect on our lives. Just think, something you can't even see, keeps you in good health, if you eat it!
Vitamins come from the food we eat. As long as we eat a balanced diet, we don't need to even think about them, but it wasn't always this easy. Away back in the 11th century, a disease called scurvy killed or weakened many sailors. lt's cause? Lack of Vitamin C.
It was Captain Cook who noticed that when a ship came into port, with sailors suffering from scurvy, the sickness quickly left them when they ate fresh fruit and vegetables. So Cook always took care of his crew, by stopping as often as he could at places where they could eat fresh food.
In 1112, a British naval surgeon discovered that seamen who were given a regular supply of lime-juice never got scurvy. The Americans called these sailors"limeys" after that.
Vitamins can also cure other diseases, such as beri-beri and rickets.
Here is a healthy child. The boxes show what he needs for different parts of his body. There are other vitamins as well as these, but these are the main ones.
VITAMIN A
for growth, for good eyesight.
VITAMIN B
complex. Good for fighting colds.
Helps to keep ears, mouth and nose healthy.
VITAMIN C
Good for overall health.
VITAMIN D
Good for healthy bones.
VITAMIN E
Good for growth.
Where do they come from?
There is no ONE food which gives everything we need, in the right amounts. We have to eat a little bit of everything to stay healthy. Too much of a good food can be harmful too, so don't think "If a teaspoon of yeast is good, then a whole packet of the stuff will be even better!" It doesn't work that way. Each food needs other foods to work best.
Who designed vitamins?
God designed them.
He designed them as a part of the whole creation.