Tidbit: Vitamin G is an old term for riboflavin.

Tidbit:Vitamin H3 was once listed in the Merck Index for para- aminobenzoyldiethylaminoethanol hudrochloride. This was based on the work of a Rumanian scientist, Dr. Ana Aslan who used procaine preparations as a youth drug. Her drug was very popular in the 60's, and research still goes on today. Her preparations break down into para-aminobenzoic acid (B-complex factor) and DEAE (related to choline precursors), and thus produced vitamin-like properties. A few researchers postulated that there was a unique vitamin property to the original substance as well. Her drug, called Gerovital-H3, thus became listed in the Merck Index as "vitamin H3". This terminology has since been dropped, and the hypothesis is rejected by most doctors in the United States.
RDA: Not established

What they're good for: Making thyroid hormones that control metabolism.
Where you get it: Lobster, shrimp, bread, milk and iodized salt.
Standard Process™ Supplements: Allorganic Trace Minerals B12®, Cataplex® F Tablets, Iodomere®, Organic Iodine.
RDA: 150 mcg for adults.

What they're good for: Making hemoglobin in blood and myoglobin in muscle, which supply oxygen to cells. Iron is a A MINERAL that is essential not only to good health but also to life itself. The bulk of the iron in the human body is in the red blood cells' hemoglobin; in fact, it is what makes blood red. Hemoglobin shuttles oxygen from the lungs to every body cell, and without iron, hemoglobin cannot do its job. Another compound, myoglobin, grabs iron from hemoglobin and stores it in muscles where it's crucial to proper muscle function. On hemoglobin's trip to the lungs, its iron carries carbon dioxide, which we then expel as we exhale. And that's not all. Iron is part of the chemical makeup of several vital enzymes and proteins and plays a major role in energy metabolism.
All dietary iron, however, is not created equal. There are two basic types: heme iron, the easily absorbable form that accounts for 40 percent of the iron in meats, and nonheme iron, the not-so-easily assimilable form present in vegetables. How well the body absorbs it depends on many things — whether there's sufficient VITAMIN C, whether antacids, high-FIBER or oxalate-rich foods, or coffee or tea are also present. Each of them can thwart the body's ability to absorb iron.
Sometimes hemochromatosis, a possibly inherited inability to metabolize iron, is responsible for an iron buildup. Overloads of iron can damage the liver and pancreas, leading in some cases to diabetes.
Where you get it: Molasses (especially blackstrap), calf's liver, dried beans, dried prunes and prune juice, whole-wheat and enriched bread, meat and poultry, eggs, broccoli, beet greens, kale and, yes, green leafy vegetables like Popeye's spinach.
Standard Process™ Supplements: Chlorophyll Complex Perles Fat Soluble, Ferrofood®.
RDA: Between 10 to 12 mg for men and 12 to 15 mg for women.
Deficiency Symptoms: Children deficient in iron often display many of the symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder — restlessness, disruptiveness, inability to concentrate — and these may appear long before blood tests show any lack of iron. The reason is that a child's brain reacts to an iron deficit early on. Adults deficient in iron, on the other hand, tire easily, become apathetic, unmotivated — and usually before anemia develops.
An iron deficiency is usually defined as dwindling reserves of iron in the body in general. Anemia, on the other hand, refers specifically to reduced levels of hemoglobin. With less iron present, the blood cells can't ferry sufficient oxygen from the lungs to body tissues. Symptoms of anemia include extreme fatigue, overall weakness, headaches, apathy and pallor.
Watch out: Iron supplements even in small amounts can be toxic to young children. Keep iron and multis with iron out of reach. Some two thousand American children suffer from iron poisoning every year, mostly because they've gobbled powerful iron supplements that were carelessly left within their reach (all it takes to kill a 22-pound toddler are five 110-milligram iron pills).
If the body is to absorb iron properly, it needs vitamin C. Certain other compounds block the body's ability to absorb iron: antacids, dietary fiber, coffee, tea, PHOSPHATES salts such as calcium phosphate, and phytates (substances found in whole grains and soy products).

Tidbit:Vitamin I is an old term for biotin. The term "vitamin I" was also used as an old term for vitamin B7. The term "vitamin I" was proposed for an undiscovered substance composed of vitamins A and E that was formed internally in the body. This was based on observations that both vitamins have many similar effects. Later, this theory was dropped. The similar effects noted for these and other vitamins may have been the antioxidant activity, which is exhibited by many substances. The term "vitamin I" was also used by a few researchers to denote biotin.)
RDA: Not established

Tidbit:Vitamin J is an old term for choline. The term "vitamin J" was also used by some researchers to denote vitamin C2, chatechol (flavin), a bioflavinoid.
RDA: Not established

What they're good for: Helps blood clot.
Where you get it: Green beans, green leafy vegetables, dairy products, eggs, meats, cereals, fruits and vegetables.
Standard Process™ Supplements: Chlorophyll Complex Perles Fat Soluble.
RDA: Between 60 to 65 mcg for women and 70 to 80 mcg for men.

Tidbit:Vitamin L1 is anthranilic acid or ortho-aminobenzoic acid, a vitamin required for lactation in human females.
RDA: Not established

Tidbit:Vitamin L2 is adenyl thiomethylpentose, an alternate form of vitamin L.
RDA: Not established

What they're good for: Enzyme activation, nerve and muscle function, and bone growth.
Where you get it: Nuts, meats, leafy vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes.
Standard Process™ Supplements: Calcium Lactate, Cal Ma Plus®, Chlorophyll Complex Perles Fat Soluble, Magnesium Lactate, Min Tran®.
Tidbit Magnesium supplements may help ward off migraine headaches.
DRI: Between 280 to 300 mg for women, 350 to 400 mg for men.

What they're good for: Essential for reproductive function, physical growth, normal formation of bones and cartilage and normal brain function.
Where you get it: Whole grains and cereals, fruits, vegetables and tea.
Standard Process™ Supplements: Allorganic Trace Minerals B12®, Cataplex® E, E Manganese, Ligaplex® II, Manganese B12.
DRI or RDA: None.

What is it: Inorganic (carbon-free) elements that turn to ash when burned. Of the more than three dozen known minerals, nineteen are necessary for good health. See MACROMINERALS; MICROMINERALS. See also the individual minerals — ARSENIC; CALCIUM; CHLORINE; CHROMIUM; COPPER; FLUORINE; IODINE; IRON; MAGNESIUM; MANGANESE; MOLYBDENUM; NICKEL; PHOSPHORUS; POTASSIUM; SELENIUM; SILICON; SODIUM; SULFUR and ZINC.
Macrominerals are comprised of the seven MINERALS needed by the human body in relatively large amounts: CALCIUM, chlorine (see CHLORIDE), MAGNESIUM, PHOSPHORUS, POTASSIUM, SODIUM and SULFUR.
Microminerals also known as trace elements or trace minerals are the twelve minerals we need in minute quantities for good health: ARSENIC, CHROMIUM, COPPER, FLUORINE, IODINE, IRON, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM, NICKEL, SELENIUM, SILICON and ZINC. Many nutritionists now believe that three others should be added to this list: BORON, TIN and VANADIUM.

For a detailed discussion of the trace minerals go here.

What they're good for: As a component of three different enzymes, it's involved in the metabolism of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) iron and food converts food into energy. Helps breakdown toxic build ups of sulfites in the body. May help prevent cavities.
Where you get it: Milk, lima beans, spinach, breads, liver and cereals.
Standard Process™ Supplements:
DRI or RDA: None.

What they're good for: A nutrient that provides dietary energy without raising cholesterol levels.
Where you get them: Olive oil, canola oil, and peanut oil.
Standard Process™ Supplements:
DRI or RDA: None.

Tidbit:Vitamin N is thioctic acid or alpha-lipoic acid. It acts as an acetate replacing factor and pyruvate oxidation factor in the human body. It is lipid soluble, so is no longer conside. Its deficiency causes decreased ATP production resulting in fatigue and decreased muscle strength. Used by weight lifters and body builders. It is not clear if this is a required nutrient, or if the body can make enough of its own.
RDA: Not established

What its good for: Helps form bones and teeth, builds muscle and is involved in almost all metabolic actions in the body.
Where you get it: Milk, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, whole grains, seeds and nuts.
Standard Process™ Supplements: Calcifood® Wafers, Calsol®, Phosfood® Liquid, Soy Bean Lecithin, Super EFF®.
DRI: 800 mg to 1,200 mg for adults.

What they're good for: A nutrient that provides dietary energy without raising cholesterol levels.
Where you get them: Corn oil, safflower seed oil, sunflower seed oil, sesame oil, soybean oil and fish oil.
Standard Process™ Supplements:
DRI or RDA: None.

What they're good for: Helps keep blood pressure down and aids muscle contractions, aids healthy electrical activity in the heart and rapid transmission of nerve impulses throughout the body.
Where you get it: Dried fruits, most raw vegetables, citrus fruits, molasses, and sunflower seeds.
Standard Process™ Supplements:
DRI or RDA: None.

What they're good for: Keeps the body running, made from different combinations of amino acids. More information can be found here.
Where you get it: Meat, eggs, dairy products, beans, whole grains, and vegetables.
Standard Process™ Supplements:
RDA: Between 46 and 63 g for adults.

Tidbit:Vitamin P denotes the bioflavinoids. Vitamin P1 denots rutin. Vitamin P2 denotes hesperidin. Vitamin P4 denotes troxerutin.
RDA: Not established

Tidbit:Vitamin PP was an old term for niacin.
RDA: Not established

Tidbit:Vitamin Q was a substance announced by a Dr. Quick, who reported that its deficiency caused a lack of blood clotting. Although it was extracted from soy beans, alfalfa and clover, like coenzyme Q10, it was not isolated to a specific substance. It is not clear if the coenzyme Q10 complex is related.
RDA: Not established

Tidbit:Vitamin Q1 through vitamin Q7 denote coenzymes Q1 through Q7, respectively, but cannot be used as precursors to coenzyme Q10 in humans.
RDA: Not established

Tidbit:Vitamin Q8 and vitamin Q9 denote coenzyme Q8 and coenzyme Q9, respectively, and are precursors to coenzyme Q10.
RDA: Not established

Tidbit:Vitamin Q10 denotes coenzyme Q10.
RDA: Not established

Tidbit: Vitamin Q199 was an alternate term for coenzyme Q10.
RDA: Not established

What it is: Nutrient intake recommendations from the Institute of Medicine, an arm of the American Academy of Sciences. RDAs are safe levels of intake for essential nutrients, based on current scientific knowledge. They are set to meet the known nutrient needs or practically all healthy people. RDAs have been around and updated regularly for more than 50 years. RDAs are gradually being replaced by revised guidelines called Dietary Reference Intakes or DRIs.

Tidbit: Vitamin R was an old term for vitamin B10.
RDA: Not established

What it does: Shown to raise cholesterol, associated with a risk of heart disease.
Where you get it: Butter, lard, meat, poultry, whole-milk dairy foods, palm oil, and coconut oil.
DRI or RDA: None.

What they're good for: Works with vitamin E as an antioxidant and binds with toxins in the body, rendering them harmless.
Where you get it: Lobster, clams, crabs, whole grains, Brazil nuts and oysters.
Standard Process™ Supplements:
RDA: 55 mg for women and 70 mg for men.

What is it: Regulates and balances the amount of fluids outside the cells in the body. Aids in muscle contractions and nerve function.
Where you get it: Processed foods and table salt.
DRI or RDA: None.

Tidbit: Vitamin S was an old term for vitamin B11.
RDA: Not established

Tidbit: Vitamin T is Goetsch's vitamin in the form of mycoine or penicin.
RDA: Not established

Tidbit:Vitamin U was originally an old term for folic acid. The term was later used for an ulcer-preventative factor discovered in cabbage, alfala, celery and cereal grasses. That substance was isolated down to methylmethioninesulfonium chloride.
RDA: Not established

What is it: Essential to life, these thirteen organic compounds perform dozens of vital jobs in the body. Vitamin entered our vocabulary only in 1912, when the first one — thiamin or B1 — was isolated. We now know that some of the devastating diseases of the past — beriberi, rickets, scurvy — were nothing more than acute vitamin deficiencies. To prevent future deficiencies, the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences devised recommended dietary allowances, the daily amounts of the different food nutrients considered adequate for healthy individuals. These figures are updated every five to ten years, the last update being 1989. The book on vitamins is far from complete. Research continues and few scientists doubt that new vitamins, even new roles for existing vitamins, will surface. There are 13 vitamins now known: VITAMIN A, vitamin B1, VITAMIN B2 (riboflavin), NIACIN, VITAMIN B6 (pyridoxine), VITAMIN B12 (cobalamin), FOLIC ACID, PANTOTHENIC ACID, BIOTIN, VITAMIN C, VITAMIN D, VITAMIN E and VITAMIN K.

Tidbit:Vitamin V is possibly nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide/NAD. Its deficiency causes developmental problems in chicks. The term "vitamin V" was also used by some researchers to denote para-aminobenzoic acid.
RDA: Not established

Tidbit: Vitamin W is being researched, but may turn out to be biotin, because it has similar properties.
RDA: Not established

Tidbit: Vitamin X is a term that has been used for almost every undiscovered vitamin until its true chemical nature was identified. Most notably, it was during the search for vitamin B12, the search for vitamin E, and the isolation of biotin.
RDA: Not established

Tidbit: Vitamin Y is being researched, but may turn out to be vitamin B6, because it has similar properties.
RDA: Not established

What its good for: Essential for normal growth, development and immunity. Helps maintain skin, hair and bones. Keeps reproductive organs functioning and helps in the perception of taste and the ability to see at night.
Where you get it: Beef, poultry, liver, oysters, eggs and dairy products.
Standard Process™ Supplements:
RDA: Between 12 to 15 mg for women and 15 mg for men.

Tidbit: Strangely enough, there has never been a vitamin with the name of "Z".

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