# Would aspirin qualify as a vitamin? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 30, 2000, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174 "2000-04-30T16:51:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tshirts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@tshirts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tshirts)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/1 "2000-04-30T16:51:59Z")
Would aspirin qualify as a vitamin? It seems to be similar to other ones. It occurs naturally (in willow trees), has specific uses in the body (keeping arthritis at bay, stopping heart clots, etc.), and is sold over the counter at both herbal shops and hospital pharmacies. What more is required, a letter? How about M, is there already a vitamin M? Seriously: what are the rules to get into the alphabet club and would aspirin qualify? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/2 "2000-04-30T17:14:05Z")
A vitamin is supposed to be an essential nutrient, not any naturally occurring chemical. Lack of a vitamin usually results in some deficiency disease (scurvey, beriberi, ricketts, night blindness, etc.). Asprin isn’t essential. ---
**Author:** ![tshirts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@tshirts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tshirts)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/3 "2000-04-30T17:57:13Z")
Most vitamins, especially the B’s, have just vague deficiency symptoms. And some only appear in strange vegetables that weren’t available in all the continents supporting humans. Did the Maori have broccoli? Not bloody likely. But they do have arthritis, headaches, and blood clots. Time for willow tea.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@Jois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jois)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/4 "2000-04-30T19:52:42Z")
tshirts, most of the Maori probably were dead before they could get arthritis, headaches, and blood clots. However if they got past that stage they’d pick up the B complex in LIVER. Aren’t you glad you aren’t a Maori? How did you get this into Great Debates? ---
**Author:** ![Jois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@Jois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jois)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/5 "2000-04-30T19:54:03Z")
Oops! “Confoozled!” ---
**Author:** ![tshirts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@tshirts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tshirts)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/6 "2000-04-30T20:14:29Z")
See, that’s what happens when you forget your vitamins.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MissMonica7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@MissMonica7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissMonica7)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/7 "2000-04-30T23:38:58Z")
I’m doing a talk on vitamins (they push these wonderful tasks onto us interns) tomorrow night, so I’ll post what I’m reading… “Vitamins are non-caloric, organic, chemical compounds occuring in minute quantities in foods. They are needed in very small amounts in the diet. They act with each other and other nutrients in coordinating body functions necessary for life and growth.” Although I don’t completely agree with the first statement(as not all vitamins are easily obtained from foods, such as Vitamin D, obtained mainly from the sun and _fortified_ milk, this is basically what vitamins are and do. Aspirin is not necessary for life and growth. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/8 "2000-05-01T00:03:41Z")
IIRC the word “vitamin” comes from “vital amines” and all amines have a nitrogen atom; aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid and contains no nitrogen. ---
**Author:** ![Zor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/848f3c/32.png) [@Zor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zor)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/9 "2000-05-01T01:22:15Z")
Excerpt from an [article](http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/0/0,5716,77533+1+75545,00.html) at the [Encyclopedia Britannica](http://www.britannica.com): > [@](#): > > Then, in 1912, the chemist Casimir Funk identified that the antiberiberi substance in unpolished rice was an amine (a type of nitrogen-containing compound), so Funk proposed that it be named vitamine–i.e., vital amine. This term soon came to be applied to the “accessory factors” in general, all of which were originally thought to be closely related. It was later discovered that different vitamins have different chemical properties and different functions and that many of them do not contain amines at all. Because of its wide currency, Funk’s term continued to be used, but the final e was dropped. I believe vitamins are just loosely defined as organic compounds that are essential to human life right now. Aspirin is certainly not essential for human life, so that throws it out of the category right there. Most vitamins cannot be produced within the body, with exception of vitamin D and K. These two are still called vitamins because they are not always generated in sufficient quantities and must be supplemented through diet. See the Encyclopedia Britannica article above for more details. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/10 "2000-05-01T01:46:24Z")
I guess a little research doesn’t hurt, now and then. Thank you, Zor. ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/11 "2000-05-01T08:25:14Z")
If aspirin gets to be vitamin M, then toothpaste should be vitamin N. ---
**Author:** ![LabRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/898d66/32.png) [@LabRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LabRat)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/12 "2000-05-01T16:01:30Z")
T-Shirts, B complex deficiencies can be very serious. Look up Pellagra on a search engine. It’s a condition that comes about from Niacin deficiency and causes schizophrenia-like symptoms and death. LabRat ---
**Author:** ![LabRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/898d66/32.png) [@LabRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LabRat)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/13 "2000-05-01T16:03:14Z")
Zor, You skipped Biotin. LabRat ---
**Author:** ![mrblue92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@mrblue92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrblue92)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/14 "2000-05-01T16:21:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Vitamin D, obtained mainly from the sun… Huh?!? Can’t say I’ve heard that one before… Could you elaborate? ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/15 "2000-05-01T17:41:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Vitamin D, obtained mainly from the sun… > > Huh?!? Can’t say I’ve heard that one before… Could you elaborate? > \*\* Sunlight on your skin will metabolize [vitamin D.](http://www.phys.com/b_nutrition/03encyclopedia/02terms/d/vitam_d.html). ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/16 "2000-05-01T18:18:39Z")
I’ve often wondered how long it’ll take before an new variety of Homo Sapiens evolves that requires caffeine as much as it requires ascorbic acid. It’s such a common part of our diet (at least in my part of the world), and regular users get such violent reactions to the lack, that it isn’t hard to forsee a time when it isn’t just an addictive substance, it’s a new vitamin. As I’m here in Seattle, it seems like we could call it vitamin S (for Starbuck’s). ---
**Author:** ![jayron\_32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/41988e/32.png) [@jayron\_32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayron_32)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/17 "2000-05-01T19:44:11Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve often wondered how long it’ll take before an new variety of Homo Sapiens evolves that requires caffeine as much as it requires ascorbic acid. It’s such a common part of our diet It would never occur, since vitamins serve primarily metabolic function, while caffein operates by increasing the bodie’s sensitivity to certain neurotransmitter. While vitamins serve a observable, quantifiable metabolic function, caffein serves a purely neurological one, and thus would always be classified as a drug. Caffein doesn’t give you more energy, it merely makes you think you have more energy Sorry to particpate in this hijacking, you may return to your regularly scheduled discussion ---
**Author:** ![Zor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/848f3c/32.png) [@Zor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zor)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/18 "2000-05-01T20:02:01Z")
Biotin belongs in the vitamin B family, **LabRat** 😉 ---
**Author:** ![tshirts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@tshirts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tshirts)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/19 "2000-05-01T21:18:32Z")
This is great! Now we have 3 new vitamins, aspirin, toothpaste, and caffeine. I don’t know about you, but I can’t live without caffeine. Doing so gives me headaches. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tshirtz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@tshirtz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tshirtz)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174/20 "2000-05-01T23:41:34Z")
I have to agree with tshirts. Too bad he was banned for trying to make aspirin a vitamin! Go figure. This is great! Now we have 3 new vitamins, aspirin, toothpaste, and caffeine. I don’t know about you, but I can’t live without caffeine. Doing so gives me headaches. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-aspirin-qualify-as-a-vitamin/18174.md?page=2)