For the duration of the past century, since the great Polish Scientist Casimir Funk created his list of Vital-Amines1 and coined the term in 1912, there has been tremendous controversy about what actually constitutes a “vitamin.” The definition of the very word “vitamin” has been conflated to simply mean a “pill “or “capsule” that contains some nutritional components, but this is not accurate.
There are, however, nutrients that are called vitamins that are not necessarily “vitamins” under the modern, conventional definition while still being vital to human chemistry. What I aim to do here is to create a rather new method of delineating between the various “vital” chemicals needed by the human host organism. I call these “Vital Chemicals” biomolecules2 and there are three categories these chemicals fall into:
- Essential Biomolecules
- Conditionally Essential Biomolecules
- Non-/essential Biomolecules
Essential Biomolecules: These are nutrients that are essential to human chemistry but are not synthesized directly by the human body and must be consumed in some way, making them essential nutrients. Examples would be the “b-complex” vitamins like B1, B2, B5, B6, etc. as well as Vitamin A, E, and so on. Niacin, however, would not be included in this because some niacin is converted from the essential amino acid tryptophan. Even though it is evidenced that niacin is not converted effectively or in the amounts needed, it would be considered a conditionally Essential Biomolecule. Vitamin C, though, is typically made by 99.99% of all mammals, but not by humans, so human beings must get Vitamin C through consumption.
Minerals could be considered Essential Biomolecules because they are, in effect, the chemical building blocks of all life and, of course, humans cannot synthesize minerals. These nutrients like Magnesium and Calcium, etc. need to be consumed in somewhat larger amounts while trace minerals such as Zinc, Copper, and Manganese need to be consumed in smaller amounts.
The Macronutrients would also be considered “essential”, because they are, in effect, what we call “food.” They must be consumed because the human body cannot produce these nutrients.
Conditionally Essential Biomolecules: Just as the aforementioned Niacin, Omega 3 fatty acids are synthesized by the human body but not efficiently or in physiological amounts. So, just as niacin, these nutrients must be consumed in order to meet the biological demand. Unfortunately, Omega 3 fatty acids have been mislabeled as “essential,” which is technically incorrect because Omega 3’s are converted from dietary Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA) in the human liver, via a very slow and laborious conversion process that often does not meet biological demands. Are Omega 3’s vital nutrients? Of course! But we need to have a clear definition so we can understand how to properly correct Omega 3 deficiency and meet those individual biological demands. While Omega 3 fatty acids are essential to the biological process, and need to be consumed to meet the demands of that process, they are not “essential” in the sense that they can only be acquired through consumption and not from the conversion process, no matter how inefficient it may be.
Other biomolecules that could be considered conditionally essential could include Coenzyme Q10, Alpha Lipoic Acid, and Glutathione. The body makes these chemicals but in some cases not enough to meet biological demand, so consuming them in order to meet that demand may be necessary.
Conditionally Essential Biomolecules are dependent on conversion cofactors in order for them to be part of functioning human chemistry. Niacin is a good example of this, where there must be the presence of adequate amounts of both Vitamin C and Vitamin B6 to convert Niacin from the amino acid Tryptophan. If this conversion doesn’t happen or doesn’t result in enough Niacin to meet biological demand, a deficiency disease called pellagra sets in and a variety of deteriorating symptoms arise3. However, if this conversion does happen in any appreciable amount, then the onset of pellagra can be avoided yet it still might not meet the biological demand for optimal functionality. Hence, Niacin meets the criteria of a true Conditionally Essential biomolecule because even if it is converted it still is not enough to meet demand and must be consumed.
Carnitine is considered a Conditionally Essential Amino Acid, because it is synthesized by the body via two hydroxylase enzymes, albeit very inefficiently, and is responsible for the transport of fatty acids into mitochondria as part of the energy production cycle. Vitamin C plays a crucial and very specific role as a cofactor for the hydroxylase enzymes responsible for carnitine synthesis and function. Iron must be present at the active enzyme sites for carnitine to work properly, and Vitamin C is needed to stabilize iron so it remains “in the right state” for it to interact with the enzyme. This is an excellent example of how a conditionally essential biomolecule can be dependent on essential biomolecules for its formation and function.
As we can see here, the Conditionally Essential Biomolecules is the greatest gray-area of these three categories. It takes some investigation and exploration to discover the nature of the “conditions” in other exploratory methods are all useful tools of investigation and should be used in concert with one another to discover what the individual need may be.
Non-essential Biomolecules: These are chemicals that while vital to human chemistry, are synthesized or converted from nutrients that are already present in the body through consumption or conversion. Examples of this would be non-essential amino acids, hormones, and Vitamin D.
It may seem shocking for me to state that Vitamin D is “non-essential,” but technically it is produced by the body from cholesterol and in the presence of Vitamin C, magnesium, and sunlight conversion cofactors; Vitamin D can be synthesized in amounts needed for biological functionality. Megadosing Vitamin D3 supplements does not always result in actual bioavailability of active D3, but the presence of the conversion cofactors does. Vitamin D can be considered a Conditionally Essential Biomolecule in cases of extreme deficiency; however, these cases are in reality the result of deficiencies of essential nutrients like Vitamin C and Magnesium that are essential to the conversion of Vitamin D to its bioactive form.
It is important to remember that even non-essential Biomolecules can be deficient if there are conversion factors missing or a problem with the conversion mechanism due to trauma or organ damage or other issues. A hysterectomy or menopause would be an example of this, and bioidentical hormone replacement (BHRT) would be necessary in those cases to restore biochemical balance to the body. The missing hormones would now be considered essential and would need to be taken to replace what is now missing.
Perhaps the new nomenclature of Biomolecules is needed to describe chemicals needed for human biochemistry, in light of the most updated research as well as classical research from the early 20th century. Calling such things “Vitamin” D4, “Vitamin” B34, “Vitamin” B124, and so on, may not be efficient or effective in conveying the purpose and function of such biological chemicals. Defining these things more accurately and classifying them more specifically will lead to greater understanding of them by practitioners, scientists, and product developers, and will then lead to more effective use with patients. If we expanded on Funk’s original line of thinking behind his Vital-Amines, we’d collectively make greater progress to understanding how and why we need these vital and crucial biochemicals for long term functional health and effective healing.
1 Funk theorized there were four distinct “vital amines”: Anti-beri-beri factor: (Later classified as Vitamin B1 or Thiamine) Anti-scorbutic factor: (Later classified as Vitamin C, or Ascorbic Acid) Anti-pellagric factor: (Later classified as Vitamin B3 or Niacin aka Nicotinic Acid) Anti-rachitic factor: (Later classified as Vitamin D) He also contributed to the discovery of Vitamin B2, or Riboflavin
2 Referencing Tom Levy’s mention and use of this term in several of his lectures and writings. Credit goes to him for coining the term; I’m just elaborating on it, expanding it, and codifying it. We must build off the work of others if we are to advance science. I’m “old school” like that.
3 Pellagra symptoms include the classical 4 “D’s”, Dementia, Dermatitis, Diarrhea, and eventually, Death. Also included are the acute symptoms of severe memory loss, confusion, tremors, hallucinations, delirium, fatigue, apathy, anxiety, and depression, which have been reported throughout the ages as major symptoms of acute Pellagra. However, it is strange and somewhat suspect that if one enters these acute symptoms all at once into a search engine or AI, it inexplicably makes no mention of pellagra, even though when one looks up Pellagra specifically, these acute symptoms are included. This is an example of how disconnected modern medicine is from actual disease causation and how AI can be manipulated to present inaccurate, incomplete, or flat out false information.
4 Vitamin D is a steroidal hormone, specifically a secosteroid and not a vitamin; Vitamin B3, or nicotinic acid aka Niacin, is not, in my opinion, a Vitamin as the body does in fact make it but not enough, and the exogenous or dietary requirements far exceed that of what would constitute the convention definition of “vitamin” in that B3 is required in gram-amounts or very close to it, which true vitamins are considered to be needed in smaller quantities; B12 is a very strange nutrient and in my opinion should be classified as something other than a vitamin, hence it could fall under the category of Essential or Conditionally Essential, as it is synthesized by microbes in the gut and a certain protein is necessary for its uptake, called Intrinsic Factor. Its form and function are hyper-dependent on other factors, and these things need to be considered so we have a better understanding on how to normalize intake and uptake. One can see why classifying all these vital nutrients under one arbitrary category can lead to confusion and misunderstanding.
