Conclusion
The discovery of the anti-vitamins marks a new chapter in the history of nutrition research. The early study of vitamins established the principle that certain compounds present in trace quantities in the diet had vitalpositive biological functions. The studies outlined in thisReview have now shown that other compounds may have equal significance in anegative direction. These latter compounds exert their effects by interfering with the action of the vitamins themselves. This means that from the point of view of nutrition, one must not think in terms ofabsolute vitamin intake or requirements, but in terms ofnet vitamin availability.
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Reprinted from Borden’s Review of Nutrition Research, Vol. VII, No. 3, October, 1946.
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Woods, R. The anti-vitamins. Jour. D. D. 14, 40–44 (1947). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03001262
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03001262