Health & Fitness Blog

Vitamins and Minerals and What they do – more details

In the last post, we saw that there are thirteen Vitamins, and sixteen (or more) minerals currently recognized by science.   We learned that, of these 13 Vitamins, there are two basic groups – Fat Soluble and Water Soluble.

This time I’d like to give a bit of detail as to what each Vitamin can do for you, and how much you should aim to get, in order to be sure that you have a healthy diet.

Let’s start with the Fat Soluble Vitamins:

Vitamin A

Vitamin D

Vitamin E

Vitamin K

Vitamin A: (Also called Retinol)

Functions:

• Vitamin A is called the “anti-infective” vitamin because the human immune system cannot function without it. Vitamin A plays a central role in the development of lymphocytes – the white blood cells that play critical roles in the immune response.
• Vitamin A keeps skin flexible.
• It increases mucous secretion.
• It helps Night vision – carrots really are good for your eyes, just like your Mother used to tell you !
• Vitamin A is necessary for the growth and repair of body tissue
• Beta carotene (Pro Vitamin A) is a powerful antioxidant.

Sources: Colored fruits and vegetables are generally high in vitamin A. Spinach, Carrots, Broccoli, eggs, and other dairy products are some of the excellent sources of vitamin A

RDA: 2333 IU for adult women and 3000 IU for adult men.

Degradation: Vitamin A is reduced by heat, light, and oxygen.

Vitamin D (Also called the “Sunshine Vitamin” )

Functions:

• Vitamin D is essential for keeping your bones and your immune system healthy
• Vitamin D regulates the Calcium absorption and thus helps in building strong and healthy bones (and warding off osteoporosis) and keeping your teeth strong and healthy.
• Vitamin D can help prevent certain forms of cancer

Sources: Sunshine is the  healthiest source of Vitamin D, Milk Products, Salmon etc.

RDA: The RDA, for men and women, 25 to 50 years old, is 5 mcg per day.

Vitamin E (Also called Tocopherol)

Main Functions:

• Vitamin E is special because it’s especially good at protecting your cell membranes against free radicals – it’s what is known as an anti-oxidant.
• Vitamin E also teams up with Vitamin A, beta carotene, and Vitamin C, the other major antioxidant vitamins, to give you extra protection
• Vitamin E, when added to creams and lotions, can help in reducing the natural effects of aging on your skin.
• Vitamin E helps in the treatment of some skin diseases such as psoriasis and excema.

Sources: almonds, sunflower seeds, and cold pressed oils, wheat germ, and whole grain products.

RDA: adolescents and adults, 22.5 IU (15 mg); children, 6–16 IU (4–11 mg).

Degradation: can be oxidized during food preparation or storage.

Vitamin K (Also called the “Green Leafy Vitamin”)

Functions:

Vitamin K helps the clotting of blood and the healing of wounds. This vitamin can be obtained from green vegetables, milk products, cod-liver oil, apricots and whole grains.

Vitamin K is also produced by the natural healthy bacteria that are found in your large intestine.   These “friendly” bacteria are killed off if you’re taking a course of antibiotics for some infection, and this will reduce your levels of naturally -produced Vitamin K.   It will also reduce the levels of the other Vitamins which you absorb from your food, because the temporary lack of these “friendly” bacteria will weaken your digestion which in turn will reduce your system’s ability to process and absorb the nutrients in your food.

Vitamins and Minerals and What they do

The Basics

We all have heard of vitamins and minerals and their importance in our daily diet for good health.

The sheer variety of vitamins and minerals that is available in health shops and supermarkets may seem confusing and even a little scary – what to buy, and for what benefit ??

Vitamins are a fundamentally important part of the human diet, and in order to take the best care of your health and well being,  it’s useful to understand what each vitamin does – and why you need them. Once you understand the  basics and functions of each of the vitamins and minerals, then you’ll be able to shop wisely and choose food, and vitamin supplements, that will help improve your health and well being.

It’s not necessarily the pills containing the highest quantities of vitamins that are the best, and the more expensive ones aren’t necessarily better than the cheaper brands.

Given that most food today is highly processed, it is recommended that you check to see that you are getting your daily requirement of vitamins and minerals from your daily diet.   If  you’re not, then it’s worth making up the lack by taking supplements.

Some vitamins are actually produced by the body rather than being absorbed from food, but even then certain conditions are required to make this happen.   Vitamin D, for example, is produced from exposure to sunlight, and so our vitamin D levels fall in the Winter, and can be low if you work indoors.

What are Vitamins and Minerals?

Vitamins and Minerals are micro-nutrients which are required for the normal functioning of the body. Though they have no energy or calories, the body needs vitamins and minerals because of their various functions, and the chemical reactions they enable in the body and brain.

For example -

• Some Vitamins, including the B-group vitamins, convert food into energy, and help strengthen your nervous system – good if you’re overworked or stressed-out !.
• Vitamins are required to make enzymes and hormones.   Hormones are important substances used by the body and the brain to perform a number of essential functions
• Vitamins promote normal growth by aiding metabolism and helping to build protection against germs and viruses.
• Vitamins are very important for normal growth and development in children
• Vitamins and Minerals help in healthy bones and teeth
• These micro-nutrients are good for healthy skin, hair and nails and keeps you mentally strong

Vitamins D and K are INTERESTING IN THAT THEY ARE ACTUALLY produced naturally by the body. Vitamin D can be formed in the skin, given adequate exposure to sunlight, while vitamin K is normally produced by our natural healthy intestinal bacteria. However, it’s necessary to supplement the naturally-produced amounts of these two Vitamins because, partly due to the conditions of modern life, they are generally not produced in adequate amounts for your on-going needs.

So How Many Different Vitamins and Minerals Are There ?

There are thirteen Vitamins, and sixteen (or more) minerals currently recognized by science.  Of these 13 Vitamins, there are two basic groups – Fat Soluble and Water Soluble.

Fat-Soluble Vitamins

Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the fatty tissues in the body and in the liver. Vitamins A, E, D and K are fat-soluble – that is, they dissolve in fat, but not water.  Since these vitamins are stored in the body, it’s important not to take too high a quantity of them in a healthy diet.   Because the body stores them, their levels will build up in your body if you get too much of them, and in excess quantities they can be toxic and even cause health problems.

Water-Soluble Vitamins

The other group of Vitamins are the water-soluble vitamins. These Vitamins pass into the water in your body and pass out again when you pass water.   Vitamin C, and the B-group Vitamins are water soluble vitamins.   The good news is that, if you take too much of them, the excess is passed out of the body when you visit the toilet.   But the downside is that you need to keep taking them every day for the very same reason.   Also, when you cook your food, especially when boiling food such as vegetables, these vitamins are lost as they leach out into the cooking water.

In my nest post I’ll go into the details of the function that each Vitamin and Mineral plays in the body.   As I said above, once you know the function of each vitamin and mineral – and how much of each one you need – then it’s easy to pick the right combination that will maintain and improve your health.

Vitamins are Famous !

Of all the nutrients a healthy body needs, almost everybody has heard of Vitamins, and while most people have heard that “Vitamin C can help prevent you catching a cold”, most of us don’t know much about these essential micro-nutrients.   Hopefully now you’ve gained a bit of knowledge that will help you know what you’re looking for when you want to make some small changes to your diet that will improve your health.

Next Time

Come back soon, I’ll be going into more detail on what each Vitamin can do for you, and how much you should aim to get, in order to be sure that you have a healthy diet.