College of Naturopathic Medicine - All 13 Vitamins and their Functions Explained I Free Online Class

Short Summary

Main recommendation: Take the 13 essential vitamins seriously and keep the gut healthy, since vitamins only help the body once they are absorbed in the intestinal tract. The video explains what the vitamins do, why some former "vitamins" were removed from the list, and why phytonutrients are worth considering even though they are not formally essential.

Key Points

• There are 13 essential vitamins, and they support the immune system, gene expression, protein production, the nervous system, hormone regulation, ATP (energy) production, and red blood cell formation.
• Vitamins F, G, H, I, J, and Z are no longer on the list: vitamin F became essential fatty acids, vitamin G became riboflavin (B2), and vitamin H was reclassified as B7 in the B complex.
• Vitamins J and P were dropped because they seemed beneficial in rats but did not meaningfully help human health; a vitamin must be essential for human health to qualify.
• Phytonutrients, the colorful plant pigments, are protective and not formally essential, though the speaker considers them essential for living long without disease.
• The speaker notes Hippocrates said all disease begins in the gut, and says the more we learn about immunity, the more he seems right.

Details Worth Noting

• Concrete instructions: No specific steps, doses, or preparation methods are given in the transcript. The only actionable advice is to keep the gut functioning well, since vitamins must be absorbed there to do their work, and to consider eating colorful plants for phytonutrients if you want to live long without disease.
• The speaker frames the difference as vitamins being needed to survive quickly versus phytonutrients being needed to avoid disease over a longer lifespan.
• Scientists do not formally deem phytonutrients essential because people can survive without them, though the speaker personally considers them essential.
• The gut is described as the interface between the outside world and the blood, so gut health directly affects how well vitamins work.

Bottom Line

The 13 essential vitamins are vital for survival, and their benefits depend on a healthy gut to absorb them, while phytonutrients support long-term health.