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Listen and fill the gaps.

Many jobs must be done with two people. One person takes the lead. The other helps. It is this cooperation that brings success.

So it is with the …………….. Much of our good health depends on the cooperation between ……………. When they work together, ………….. take place smoothly. ……………….. are kept....................

Some of the most important helpers in the job of good health are the substances we call ………………...

The word "vitamin" dates back to Polish scientist Casimir Funk in nineteen-twelve. He was studying a substance in the ……….. that covers rice. This substance was believed to cure a ………….. called beriberi.

Funk believed the substance belonged to a group of …………. known as amines. He added the Latin word "vita," meaning life. So he called the substance a "vitamine" -- an amine necessary for life.

Funk was not able to …………. the anti-berberi substance from the rice hulls; it was later shown to be thiamine. Other studies found that not all vitamines were amines. So the name was shortened to vitamin. But Funk was correct in recognizing their importance.

Scientists have discovered fourteen kinds of vitamins. They are known as vitamins A, the B group, C, D, E and K. Scientists say vitamins help to carry out …………… within ……. If we do not get enough of the vitamins we need in ……….., we are at risk of developing a number of …………...

This brings us back to Casimir Funk. His studies of …… were part of a long search for ………. that could …….. disease.

One of the first people involved in that ………. was James Lind of Scotland. In the seventeen-forties, Lind was a doctor for the British Navy. He was …………….. a problem that had existed in the …………. for many years.

The problem was the ………….. scurvy. So many sailors had ……… that the Navy's fighting strength was very low. The ………… were weak from …………… inside their bodies. Even the smallest wound would not ……….. Doctor Lind thought the sailors were getting ………. because they failed to eat some ………………… when they were at sea for many months.

Doctor Lind separated ……………….. who had scurvy into two groups. He gave each group different ……………. One group got ………… and …………. The other did not. The men who ate the fruit began to ………… within seven days. The other men got ………... Doctor Lind was correct. Eating …………….. prevents ……………

Other doctors looked for foods …………………….. rickets and pellagra. They did not yet understand that they were seeing the problem from the …………………. That is, it is better to eat ………………………. to prevent disease instead of eating them ……………………… after it has ……………………..

Which foods should be eaten …………………………..? Let us look at some important vitamins for these answers.

Vitamin A helps ……………. skin and other tissues from …………………. It is also needed to make a light-sensitive substance in the ………. People who do not get enough vitamin A cannot …………………………….. They may develop a ………………. that dries the eyes. This can result in …………………. and lead to …………….

Vitamin A is found in …………………. It also is in the ………………. Sweet potatoes, ………….. and other darkly colored ………………… contain ……………… that the body can change into ………………….

Vitamin B-one is also called thiamine. …………… changes ……………. into …………... It also helps the ………. and …………… work smoothly. Without it, we would be ……….. and would not ………….. We also might develop …………….

Thiamine is found not just in …………….. like brown rice, but also in other foods. These include ………… and ……….., ………, and ……… and ………….

Another B-vitamin is niacin. It helps …….. use …………. It also prevents pellagra - a disease that causes ……….., ………… and ……………………. Niacin is found in ………., ………… and ………………………...

Vitamin B-twelve is needed so folic acid can do its work. Together, they help produce ……………………. Vitamin B-twelve is found naturally in foods like ………, ………., ……….. and …………………. Folic acid has been shown to prevent …………………………. in babies when taken by their mothers during …………………...

Vitamin B-twelve is found in …………………………… and other foods, like ……………. and ……………………... In some countries, it is added to products like …………..

In two thousand three, Japanese ……………. identified a new member of the B-vitamin group. It is a substance known as pyrroloquinoline quinone or PQQ.

The researchers found that …… is important in the ………………. and …………. systems of mice. They said the substance is similarly important for people. PQQ is found in fermented ……………….. and also in ………., …………., ………………. and …………………...

Vitamin C is needed for ……………… and ……….., and for healthy ………. passages. It also helps ………… heal quickly. The body stores little vitamin C. So we must get it every day in foods such as ………………, ………….. and uncooked ………….

Vitamin D increases levels of the element …………. in the ………….. Calcium is needed for ………… and ……………….. to work normally. It also is needed to build ……………………..

Vitamin D prevents the children's ……………….. rickets. Ultraviolet light from the sun changes a substance in the ………… into ………….. Fish liver oil also contains vitamin D. In some countries, …………………… add vitamin D to milk so children will get enough.

Vitamin K is needed for healthy blood. It thickens the blood around a …… to stop …………. Bacteria in the intestines normally produce ………... It can also be found in ………………., ……… and in …………… like …………., kale and …………….

Experts agree that everyone needs vitamins so that their bodies can ………………….. In general, a ………………… should ………….. all the vitamins a …………….. in their …………………... In addition, many foods and ……………….. now have ……………………… and ……………….. added.

Some people fear they do not ……………………… from the …………. they eat. So they take …………. with large amounts of vitamins. They think these products, called …………………….., will …………. their health and …………. against disease. Many …………… now take vitamin supplements every day.

In two thousand six, medical experts gathered near Washington, D.C. to discuss ………… about vitamin ……………….. The experts found little evidence that most supplements do anything to ………….. or ………….. health. But they noted that some do help to ………………….

The experts said women who wish to …………………. should take ………….. to prevent problems in their babies. And, they said ………………………… and calcium can …………. the bones of older women.

The …………………… agreed with doctors who say that people who know they lack a vitamin should take …………………………... Some older adults, for example, may not ……………….. vitamin B-twelve. That is because, as people ……………., the body ………….. its ability to take it ………………..

The experts also noted that ……………….. of some vitamins can be ……………... They said people should be sure to ……………. what vitamins …………. with their ……………..

Several studies have not been able to show that ………………………………. in addition to a …………….. helps to prevent ………………. One study found that older Americans do not ……………… Vitamin C and …………………... The study involved more than ………………… individuals. More than half of them took vitamin supplements.

Vitamins are important to ……………….. A lack of …………….. can lead to …………………….

Different vitamins are found in different foods - …………………….., ……….. and ………, ……… and ………….. And even foods that contain the same vitamins may have them in …………………... Experts say this is why it is important to eat a ……………………. every day, to ………………… of the vitamins our ……………...

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Brianna Blake. I'm Faith Lapidus. And I'm Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.