A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient which an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrients cannot be synthesized in the organism, either at all or not in sufficient quantities, and therefore must be obtained through the diet. Vitamin C can be synthesized by some species but not by others; it is not a vitamin in the first instance but is in the second. The term vitamin does not include the three other groups of essential nutrients: minerals, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids. 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. Some sources list fourteen vitamins, by including choline, but major health organizations list thirteen: vitamin A (as all-trans-retinol, all-trans-retinyl-esters, as well as all-trans-beta-carotene and other provitamin A carotenoids), vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin B7 (biotin), vitamin B9 (folic acid or folate), vitamin B12 (cobalamins), vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin D (calciferols), vitamin E (tocopherols and tocotrienols), and vitamin K (phylloquinone and menaquinones).
A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order to increase the quantity of their consumption. The class of nutrient compounds includes vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, and amino acids. Dietary supplements can also contain substances that have not been confirmed as being essential to life, but are marketed as having a beneficial biological effect, such as plant pigments or polyphenols. Animals can also be a source of supplement ingredients, such as collagen from chickens or fish for example. These are also sold individually and in combination, and may be combined with nutrient ingredients. The European Commission has also established harmonized rules to help insure that food supplements are safe and appropriately labeled.
A multivitamin is a preparation intended to serve as a dietary supplement with vitamins, dietary minerals, and other nutritional elements. Such preparations are available in the form of tablets, capsules, pastilles, powders, liquids, or injectable formulations. Other than injectable formulations, which are only available and administered under medical supervision, multivitamins are recognized by the Codex Alimentarius Commission as a category of food.
Special K is an American brand of breakfast cereal and meal bars manufactured by Kellogg's. The cereal was introduced to the United States in 1955. It is made primarily from grains such as lightly toasted rice, wheat and barley. Special K used to be marketed primarily as a low-fat cereal that can be eaten to help one lose weight.
GNC Holdings, Inc. is a company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It specializes in health and nutrition related products, including vitamins, supplements, minerals, herbs, sports nutrition, diet, and energy products.
A health food store is a type of grocery store that primarily sells health foods, organic foods, local produce, and often nutritional supplements. Health food stores typically offer a wider or more specialized selection of foods than conventional grocery stores for their customers, for example people with special dietary needs, such as people who are allergic to the gluten in wheat or some other substance, and for people who observe vegetarian, vegan, raw food, organic, or other alternative diets.
Airborne is an American brand of dietary supplement containing herbal extracts, amino acids, antioxidants, electrolytes, vitamins, and other ingredients originally marketed as preventing the common cold and improving immune function.
Emergen-C is an effervescent, powdered drink mix vitamin supplement manufactured by Alacer Corp. The Emergen-C product line was introduced in 1978. Alacer was established as a private company in 1972, focusing on vitamin supplements containing vitamin C. The company was acquired by Pfizer in 2012. In 2019, Pfizer consumer healthcare entered a joint venture with GlaxoSmithKline.
Biggby Coffee is an American coffeehouse chain based in Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1995 in the city of East Lansing, Michigan by Bob Fish and Mary Roszel as Beaner's Coffee. By the end of the 1990s, the company had three locations in Lansing, and began to expand during the 21st century by means of franchising. In 2007 and 2008, the chain was officially renamed Biggby Coffee due to corporate concerns over the meaning of the word "beaner"; the name Biggby was derived from the letter B in the company's logo. As of 2019, the chain has expanded to over 230 locations throughout the United States.
Oat milk is a plant milk derived from whole oat grains by extracting the plant material with water. Oat milk has a creamy texture and mild oatmeal-like flavor, and is manufactured in various flavors, such as sweetened, unsweetened, vanilla, and chocolate.
John Earl Shoaff was an American entrepreneur and motivational speaker. Shoaff was President and Board Chairman of the Nutri-Bio Corporation, a direct sales organization which sold vitamin, mineral, and protein dietary food supplements.
ConsumerLab.com, LLC. is a privately held American company registered in White Plains, NY. It is a publisher of test results on health, wellness, and nutrition products. Consumer Labs is not a laboratory, but contracts studies to outside laboratories. It purchases supplement products and other consumer goods directly from public storefronts and publishes reports based on the results. It primarily derives revenue from the sale of subscriptions to its online publications. Other sources of revenue include a proprietary certification program, licensing fees, contents re-publication license fees and advertising.
The Vitamin Shoppe is an American, New Jersey-based retailer of nutritional supplements. It also operated three stores in Canada under the name VitaPath from January 2013 until March 2016. The company provides approximately 7,000 different SKUs of supplements through its retail stores and over 17,000 different SKUs of supplements through its retail websites.
A meal replacement is a drink, bar, soup, etc. intended as a substitute for a solid food, usually with controlled quantities of calories and nutrients. Some drinks come in powdered form or pre-mixed health shakes that can be cheaper than solid foods with identical health qualities. Medically prescribed meal replacement drinks include the body's necessary vitamins and minerals. Bodybuilders sometimes use meal replacements, not formulated for weight loss, to save food preparation time when eating 5-6 meals a day.
A drink mix or powdered drink mix is a processed-food product, a powder designed to mix usually with water to produce a beverage resembling fruit juice or soda in flavor. Another type of drink mix is represented by products that are mixed into milk.
HVMN, previously known as Nootrobox, is an American company that manufactures and sells a ketone ester drink, products supporting a ketogenic diet, and nootropic supplements. The company is headquartered in San Francisco. HVMN stands for "Health Via Modern Nutrition."
Alembic Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Vadodara. It is involved in manufacture of pharmaceutical products, pharmaceutical substances and intermediates. It is also termed to be a market leader in macrolides segment of anti-infective drugs in India.
Sido Muncul is a publicly listed herbal medicine and food products company based in Semarang, Indonesia, established in 1940. It produces and markets a variety of consumer products related to herbal medication, such as the jamu Tolak Angin.
