THE FORGOTTEN NUTRIENTS

Have you ever wondered why the sequence of B-vitamins skips many of the numbers? What happened to vitamin B4? Or vitamin B8?

In this thread I'll be going through some of these "forgotten" nutrients and their various functions in the body

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Note: I won't be answering any question asking for dose suggestions for any of the compounds listed here, if you want to supplement any of these on your own please do your own research

Now to start off I want to mention the definition of a true vitamin:

"any compound that is essential and required for normal human growth/function, and must be obtained from the diet because they can't be manufactured by the human body"

Each species can have slightly different required nutrients, for example for cats taurine is a required nutrient but vitamin C is not, while in humans the reverse is true

For this reason the definition of a vitamin refers only to nutrients that humans have to get from their diet

Many of these "forgotten" nutrients are all still beneficial compounds that can and should be consumed if possible, either in food or supplement form, the main difference is their consumption is no longer considered essential for survival

Now without further ado let's begin...

Vitamin B4 - Adenine

One of the fundamental nucleobases used in life, adenine is used to synthesize ATP, along with a number of cofactors used in cells and mitochondria like NAD+ and FAD+

It's no longer considered a vitamin because it was found to be synthesized in the body

Vitamin B8 - Inositol

Inositol is a simple sugar used in brain and cell signalling, it can powerfully balance GABA and serotonin, and promotes insulin sensitivity

It can be supplemented or found in food (mostly dairy, fruit, and grain), though food sources are poorly absorbed

Inositol can also synthesized in the body from glucose, something like 4g per day is made this way

Unfortunately there are still many studies showing inositol depletion being associated with suicide/OCD/depression, so it look like the body's production can still be deficient

Vitamin B10 - PABA

Para-aminobenzoic acid, or PABA, is a cofactor used in the creation of folate in plants, fungi, and bacteria

It was originally considered a vitamin, but no symptoms of deficiency of it have ever been observed, and it's thought to be made by the microbiome

Today PABA is often used in supplements or topically for skin issues, hair health, and even as a sunscreen due to its UV absorption properties

From what I've found the research for its benefits for most of these conditions is weak, so I haven't bothered with it myself

Vitamin B11 - Salicyclic acid

Salicyclic acid is best known for its topical use in skincare, but it was originally thought to be a vitamin

It is used in various animals, and possibly in humans, in different stages of growth and development, it may work with B12 in DNA synthesis

Salicyclic acid modulates inflammation by reducing the activity of COX-2, it's derivative aspirin uses the same mechanism, this may be why it was thought to be a vitamin

Salicyclic acid has been found to be synthesizes in the body and no deficiency symptoms are known

Vitamin B13 - Orotic acid

Orotic acid is a cofactor used in cells and mitochondria, it acts as a carrier that helps transport across cell membranes, and acts as a precursor to beta-alanine

It can be synthesized by the human body, or found in supplements like magnesium orotate

Vitamin B16 - Dimethylglycine

DMG is a factor used in the methylation cycle in the human body, it can be converted into trimethylglycine, or betaine, and used to regenerate SAMe

DMG was originally speculated to be a vitamin, but it was discovered to be synthesized in the body

Vitamin B20 - Carnitine

Carnitine is another factor similar to inositol that is normally made in the body, but can still provide benefits when taken as a supplement, it has been researched quite extensively

It is essential in mitochondrial function, especially fat metabolism

Choline

Choline is one of the most important "conditionally essential" nutrients in the body, meaning that getting enough from food shows benefits in studies, but it can also be made by the body

Variation in the PEMT gene cause some people to not be able to synthesize choline

Choline is used primarily in cell membranes as phosphatidylcholine, in the brain as the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, and in the methylation cycle as betaine

The best food sources of choline are liver, eggs, and meat/seafood

Lipoic acid

Lipoic acid is another acid cofactor made by the human body, it acts as a cofactor in the TCA cycle in mitochondria

Lipoic acid contains two sulfhydryl groups that are thought to allow it to act as an antioxidant, though research on this topic is controversial

Lipoic acid in the form alpha-lipoic acid is often used as a supplement

ALA has some positive research, but should be used carefully as it will compete with vitamins B5 and B7 for absorption, and has been reported to stir up metals like mercury in those with heavy metal toxicity

Vitamin Pc - Bioflavonoids

When scurvy was a prevalent issue before vitamin C was isolated it was thought that the flavonoids found in citrus fruits were what prevented it

It was though that a flavonoid nutrient would eventually be discovered, but it turned out to be vitamin C

Coenzyme Q10

CoQ10 is a mitochondrial factor also found in the human diet, it should be made in the body but many genetic variations can cause levels to be low similar to choline

CoQ10 is essential in mitochondria because it acts as an either one or two electron carrier

CoQ10 is most abundant in the heart, and research shows many benefits related to cardiovascular and mitochondrial function

The highest dietary sources of CoQ10 are organ meats, muscle meat, and seafood, many grain oils also contain it but I don't recommend consuming them

There were more speculated vitamins, but those not listed were either never isolated or showed no positive function in the human body

I hope you all enjoyed this thread, this was a fascinating topic for me to explore

If anyone has further questions feel free to reply below