nutrition student who is learning that a balanced diet involves consuming diverse foods that have a variety of vitamins in them every day. Why is it advisable to consume vitamins in the form of whole foods every day

Answered below.

Explanation:

Vitamins are one of the food nutrients required for a balanced diet. This is because vitamins play a vital role in the functionality and the structural development of our body systems. Vitamins are sometimes referred to as micronutrients because they are needed in smaller amounts by the body.

Vitamins are classified into essential and non-essential vitamins. The non-essential vitamins are readily produced by the body and do not require taking them from external sources while the essential vitamins must be taken in as the body does not either produce them, or doesn't produce them to the amounts it actually need.

The essential vitamins include;

Vitamins A, D, E, K, C and the B vitamins which include vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9 and B12.

These vitamins are further divided into fat-soluble (ADEK) and water-soluble (B vitamins and C)

It is advisable to take at least the recommended dietary allowance of these vitamins in our foods, everyday as they are not synthesized in the body to required amounts. These vitamins are needed for the many metabolic processes occurring in the body and a deficiency of them lead to various diseases examples being;

Scurvy from vitamin C deficiency.

Anemia from folate deficiency.

Night blindness from vitamin A deficiency.

Muscle weakness and fatigue from vitamin D deficiency and many more.