Part 4/9:
Vitamins, organic compounds necessary for metabolic functioning, must be acquired through diet as they cannot be sufficiently synthesized by organisms. Examples of essential nutrients include vitamin C, which some species can synthesize while others cannot, thereby defining it as a vitamin only for those that cannot make it.
Minerals, on the other hand, are chemical elements vital for life processes. The primary structural elements of the human body include oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen, which represent about 96% of body weight. It’s essential to differentiate minerals—often referred to as macro-minerals and trace elements—from the various vitamins.