To understand why we need vitamins, it’s best to first understand what vitamins are.  Vitamins are compounds which are necessary for our normal growth and function, which we cannot make within our bodies, and so we must obtain them from our foods.

Most of the compounds needed for our body cells to function for our health, can be made by our cells from other nutrients.  For some reason, we evolved without the ability to make the small number that we call vitamins.  They were present in ample amounts in ordinary foods throughout evolution, so we did not need to make them.  We only need tiny amounts of vitamins, and they are still present in ample amounts in many foods, but it is possible to become deficient in vitamins, and that damages health.

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