The word vitamin was introduced by Casimir Funk as a short form of vital amines in 1913 to describe a group of chemical compounds that are essential to life.

But there were a few examples of people unknowingly using vitamins to treat deficiency diseases such as when James Lind treated scuvy using lemons and oranges in 1747.

Once vitamins were discovered and isolated, this led a massive worldwide campaign to prevent and treat deficiencies with things such as food fortification or vitamin supplementation. Taking vitamin supplements is now incredibly common even in healthy people, but does the science support this?

свернуть