After covering the vitamins in the last article, it is now time to talk about the vitaminoids.
To view another article of the series, please click the article of interest below:
Micronutrients 1 – What The Body Really Needs
Micronutrients 2 – The Vitamins
The term vitaminoids describes vitamin-like compounds. They show vitamin-like activity, however, the human body is able to synthesize these compounds, in contrast to the vitamins. Thus, vitamin A and D can also be considered as vitaminoids.
The difference between vitamins and vitaminoids
itamins and vitaminoids are both important substances for proper body function. They, hence, do not differ in their necessity. The main difference is, that our body is able to synthesize the vitaminoids, but not the vitamins.
Classes of vitaminoids
There are several compounds, which count as vitaminoids. Some of them can also be defined as amino acids, secondary plant products and prebiotics. Thus, the definition of micronutrients is not always clear. A similar problem is the dose definition for vitaminoids and the evaluation of their health benefits.
Some examples for vitaminoids are:
Coenzyme Q10
L-carnitin
Creatine
Inositol
Amygdalin
Choline
Flavonoids
Vector lipo C
Anthocyan
Phytoestrogens
Effects of vitaminoids and some examples
Lots of vitaminoids act on the energy metabolism, e.g. l-carnitin, while some of them act also as antioxidants, e.g. coenzyme Q10
Coenzyme Q10, or ubiquinone-10, is a molecule that acts as an electron and proton transporter in our metabolism. Thus, coenzyme Q10 helps to generate energy from the food we take in. Our body is able to produce its own Coenzyme Q10, but we do also take some in though nutrition. It is lipo-soluble but not water-soluble and can be found in fish, vegetable oils and pulses.
Coenzyme Q10 deficiency is very rare, but if we lack the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine in our nutrition, we might develop a deficiency, as these are the precursors of coenzyme Q10. Particularly those organs, which are dependent on huge amounts of energy, as the kidneys, the liver and the heart, can be affected by a coenzyme Q10 deficiency. It has also been shown, that a stable energy balance boosts the immune system and makes the body more resistant towards pathogens.
Another important function of coenzyme Q10 is to protect the body from free radicals by acting as an antioxidant. Studies show, that this function is particularly beneficial for the liver. However, food supplementation by using coenzyme Q10 has not yet shown significant and reproducible results in terms of health improvements.
Phytoestrogens
Phytoestrogens are a class of secondary plant products, which are structurally similar to endogenous estrogen. The best known phytoestrogens are isoflavones from soy beans and lignan from flax seed.
Hormone-based cancer development is thought to be strongly related to nutritional behavior. Scientists have, thus, developed a program for dietary cancer prevention (i.e. breast cancer and prostate carcinoma), which includes a daily intake of approximately 50 mg of phytoestrogens, while the normal western diet only provides us with around 3mg per day.
Furthermore, some studies suggest, that an increased daily phytoestrogen intake would relieve climacteric conditions and could improve bone metabolism as well as strengthen the cardiovascular system.
The problem with vitaminoids
The main problem with vitaminoids is, that it is difficult to define their health benefits as a food supplement. Numbers of marketing departments try to aggressively promote their health benefits to make people buy their products. For most vitaminoids it is not entirely clear, if an increased intake provided significant health benefits or not.
The next article in the micronutrients series will cover the topic minerals.
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