Vitamins and Deficiency Diseases Notes for SSC Exams

Vitamins and their deficiency diseases are among the most repeated topics of Biology in SSC General Science. Almost every paper asks "Deficiency of which vitamin causes scurvy?" or "Which vitamin is also called ascorbic acid?". These vitamins and deficiency diseases notes for SSC give every vitamin with its chemical name, source and disease in one table, along with minerals, memory tricks and practice questions.

What Are Vitamins?

• Vitamins are organic compounds that the body needs in very small amounts for normal growth and health.
• The body cannot make most vitamins, so we get them from food.
• Vitamins do not give energy, but they help the body use the energy from carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
• The word vitamin was given by Casimir Funk in 1912.

Fat-Soluble and Water-Soluble Vitamins

Vitamin Table: Name, Source and Disease

Important Facts About Some Vitamins

• Vitamin A is needed for good eyesight and healthy skin.
• Vitamin B12 is the only vitamin that contains a metal, cobalt.
• Vitamin C is destroyed by heat and cooking, and its deficiency causes bleeding gums and slow healing of wounds.
• Vitamin D is made in the skin in sunlight, so it is called the sunshine vitamin.
• Vitamin K helps in blood clotting, and bacteria in the intestine also make it.
• Vitamin E is an antioxidant that protects the cells.

Minerals and Deficiency Diseases

Diseases of Protein and Calorie Deficiency

• Kwashiorkor: Caused by a severe lack of protein; the child has swollen belly and thin limbs.
• Marasmus: Caused by a lack of both proteins and calories; the child is very thin and weak.

Memory Tricks

• Fat-soluble vitamins: remember "KADE" (K, A, D, E).
• Night blindness is linked to A, scurvy to C, rickets to D and beri-beri to B1.
• Link each disease with the part of the body: eyes (A), mouth and tongue (B2), skin (B3), bones (D), blood (B12 and K).

Quick Tips

• Make a flash card for each vitamin with the chemical name, source and disease.
• Learn the water-soluble and fat-soluble groups first, because the question is often only about the group.
• Do not confuse rickets (children) with osteomalacia (adults) because both belong to Vitamin D.
• Revise iodine, iron and calcium with their diseases, since minerals are also asked in the same question.

Quick Revision Points

• Vitamin A deficiency causes night blindness.
• Vitamin B1 deficiency causes beri-beri.
• Vitamin C is ascorbic acid, and its deficiency causes scurvy.
• Vitamin D deficiency causes rickets, and it is made in the skin in sunlight.
• Vitamin B12 is cobalamin and contains cobalt.

Practice Questions With Answers

1. Deficiency of which vitamin causes scurvy?
   Answer: Vitamin C
2. Which vitamin deficiency causes night blindness?
   Answer: Vitamin A
3. Which vitamin is called the sunshine vitamin?
   Answer: Vitamin D
4. Beri-beri is caused by the deficiency of which vitamin?
   Answer: Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)
5. Which vitamin contains cobalt?
   Answer: Vitamin B12
6. Which vitamin helps in blood clotting?
   Answer: Vitamin K
7. Pellagra is caused by the deficiency of which vitamin?
   Answer: Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
8. Which disease is caused by iodine deficiency?
   Answer: Goitre
9. Which are the fat-soluble vitamins?
   Answer: A, D, E and K
10. Which disease is caused by lack of protein in children?
    Answer: Kwashiorkor

How to Practise This Chapter

Learn the vitamin table in parts: first A, B1, C and D, and then the rest. Test yourself with ten questions daily from the practice papers and the free SSC quizzes, and check the pattern on the previous year papers page. Read the next chapter, Human Digestive System, and see all topics on the General Science notes page. For other sections, read the General Awareness notes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are vitamins?

Vitamins are organic substances needed in small amounts for growth and health. Most of them are not made by the body, so they come from food.

How many vitamins are there?

There are 13 main vitamins: A, C, D, E, K and the eight B vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9 and B12).

Which vitamin deficiency causes scurvy?

Scurvy is caused by the deficiency of Vitamin C (ascorbic acid). The symptoms are bleeding gums and slow wound healing.

Which vitamin is made by sunlight?

Vitamin D is made in the skin when it is exposed to sunlight, so it is called the sunshine vitamin.

Which vitamin deficiency causes night blindness?

Vitamin A deficiency causes night blindness, which is difficulty in seeing in dim light.

What is the difference between rickets and osteomalacia?

Both are caused by Vitamin D deficiency. Rickets affects children and bends the bones, while osteomalacia affects adults and softens the bones.

Which vitamin contains a metal?

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is the only vitamin that contains a metal, which is cobalt.

Which are fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins?

Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble, and the B-complex vitamins and Vitamin C are water-soluble.

Which disease is caused by iodine deficiency?

Iodine deficiency causes goitre, which is the swelling of the thyroid gland in the neck.

What is the difference between kwashiorkor and marasmus?

Kwashiorkor is caused by a lack of protein and gives a swollen belly. Marasmus is caused by a lack of both protein and calories and makes the child very thin.

How can I remember vitamins and diseases easily?

Use a table with the vitamin, source and disease, learn the main four first, and revise with a quiz every week.

How many questions come from vitamins in SSC exams?

Usually one question comes from vitamins and diseases in SSC General Science papers, but the number changes from year to year.