Why “Vitamin” is being discussed
The most recent Hacker News stories and comments contributing to this topic's mentions.
> Do people in Europe have brittle bones? And, now you've discovered why Europeans have light skin [1]! And, why supplementation is suggested for those with dark skin [2] living…
by nomel · Sep 25, 2026
Indeed, but they neither explain nor cite what they mean for it to be "highly regulated" or how/why that means toxicity is largely impossible. If you take "the cleavage of…
by jodrellblank · Sep 25, 2026
The entire paragraph containing your first quote: > "Dietary vitamin A is obtained from preformed vitamin A (ie, retinyl esters from animal foods, fortified foods, and pharmaceu…
by yorwba · Sep 25, 2026
I'm past the comment edit window, but incidentally these two Harvard pages[1,2] say that: - the recommended daily vitamin C is 90mcg for men and 75 for women, the upper limit is…
by jodrellblank · Sep 25, 2026
At least for isotretinoin, that would look like: dry skin, chapped lips, dry eyes, dry nostrils, dry mouth, photosensitivity, body aches in the morning. It can also raise liver…
by cj · Sep 25, 2026
Your Wikipedia page references a paper in footnote 21 which says: > " In developing nations, however, 70–90% of vitamin A is obtained from provitamin A carotenoids in plant food…
by jodrellblank · Sep 25, 2026
Interest
Proportion of Hacker News items mentioning "vitamin" over time.
Mentions
Total number of Hacker News items mentioning "vitamin" over time.
Vitamins are organic molecules that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolic function. These essential nutrients cannot be synthesized in the organism in sufficient quantities for survival, and therefore must be obtained through consumption. For example, vitamin C can be synthesized by some species but not by others; it is not considered a vitamin in the first instance but is in the second. Most vitamins are not single molecules, but groups of related molecules called vitamers. For example, there are eight vitamers of vitamin E: four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Read more on Wikipedia