Vitamins

What are vitamin.

Vitamins are essential nutrients which enable your body to work properly and to stay healthy.

Most vitamins can be found in the food that we eat or from vitamin supplements.

Role of vitamins

The nutrients that you get from vitamins helps your body to carry out essential functions such as:

1.   Production of skin, bone and muscle

2.   Strengthening of the immune system

3.   Maintenance and repair of cells, tissues and organs

4.   Converting food into energy

There are a wide range of vitamins with most of them having multiple functions. Some of the most commonly known types are: Vitamin B9, B12, C, D and

Fat-Soluble Vitamins

Fat-soluble vitamin are stored in the fatty tissue of the body and the liver. Vitamin A,D,E and K are fat soluble Vitamine. these are the easier to the stored than water soluble vitamin. And they can stay in the body as reserves for days, and sometime months. 

Vitamin-A

Vitamin A is a group of unsaturated nutritional organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal, retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids (most notably beta-carotene). Vitamin A has multiple functions: it is important for growth and development, for the maintenance of the immune system, and for good vision.

 

Chemical name : retinol

Daily Requirement : Adult - 600 to 700 ug

                                 Infant – 350 to 400 mcg                                                           

Good sources of vitamin : green and yellow vegetable ,milk, butter, cheese egg yolk, liver oils.                 

·      Function : essential for normal vision .                                                                                   

·      Maintain healthy epithelialand glandular.                                          

·      Anti-infective role.                                                                       

Deficiency : may  cause night – blindness and   Keratomalacia , an eye disorder that results in a dry cornea.

 Vitamin : D

 

           Chemical name :  Calciferol                                                  

Daily Requirement : 

·       Adult- 100 i.u

·       Infant- 200 i.u

·       Children- 200 i.u

·       Pregnancy- 400 i.u

·       Lactation- 400 i.u

Sources :

·       Most important sources of sunlight.

·       Liver, egg yolk butter and cheese.

Functions:

·       Promotes intestinal absorption of calcium and phosphorous.

·       Maintenance of healthy bones and teeth.

Deficiency :

·       In children rickets.

·       In adult osteomalacia.

What IS Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a vitamin that dissolves in fat. It is found in many foods including vegetable oils, cereals, meat, poultry, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and wheat germ oil. It is also available as a supplemen.

                                                                         

Chemical name : Tocopherols

Sources:  egg, yolk, butter, green vegetable and nuts.

Function :

·       antioxidants

·       Promotes immune function

Deficiency :

·       Anemia

·       Visual disturbance

 

Vitamin k  : vitamin k refers to a fat soluble                                                                    

Vitamin that play a role in blood clotting , bone. Metabolism and regulating blood calcium levels. The body needs vitamin k to produce prothrombin , a protein and clotting factor that is important in blood clotting and bone metabolism.

Chemical name : Phylloquinone

Daily requirement : 0.03 mg/kg body weight for adults.

Sources: cow’s milk, fish, leafy vegetables and fruit and liver .

Function : helpful in blood clotting.

Deficiency :

·      Slow blood clotting

·      Hemorrhage in new born.

                      

Structure

At least two naturally-occuring forms of vitamin K have been identified, and these are designated vitamins K₁ and K₂. Both are quinone derivatives. The structure of vitamin K₁ is depicted below.

 

Water-soluble vitamins are:

• Vitamin C
• the B Vitamins
• Thiamin (Vitamin B1)
• Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)
• Niacin (Vitamin B3)
• Pantothenic Acid 
• Vitamin B6
• Folic Acid
• Vitamin B12

What are B vitamin :  vitamin are important for making sure the body ‘s cells are functioning properly. They help the body convert food into energy (metabloism) create new blood cells, and maintain helthy skin cells ,brain cell, and other body tissue.

There are the eight type of vitamin B .

·       Thiamin (vitamin  B-1)

·       Riboflavin (vitamin B-2)

·       Niacin (vitamin B-3)

·       Pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5)

·       Vitamin B6

·       Biotin (vitamin B-7)

·       Folate (vitamin B-9)

·       Viyamin B-12

Vitamin B-1 : the hearts, liver, kidney, and brain all contain high amounts of thiamin.the body needs thiamin for :

·       Breaking down sugar (carbohydrate) molecules froms food.

·       Creating certain neurotransmitters (brain chemial).

·       Producing fatting acids.

·       Synthesizing certain hormones.

Deficiency :
Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (vitamin B₁). A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. There are two main types in adults: wet beriberi, and dry beriberi. Wernicke  encephalopathy and Korsakoff syndrome are forms of dry beriberi.

Symptoms: : Wet: Fast heart rate, shortness of ...

Other names: Beriberi, vitamin B1 deficiency, t...

Types: Wet, dry, gastrointestinal

Causes: Not enough thiamine

 

Sources of Thiamine

Meats, especially pork and liver are rich in thiamine and account for about one fourth of the average intake. Rice, Dry beans, peanuts and egg are good sources. Enriched and whole grain breads and cereals supply about one third of the daily thiamine intake.

 

Requirements of Thiamine

The requirement of thiamine depends on energy expenditure as it is needed to make ATP.

 

Vitamin B-2 : vitamin B2 is a water-soluble vitamin, so it dissolves in water. All vitamins are either water soluble or fat soluble. Water-soluble vitamins are carried through the bloodstream, and whatever is not needed passes out of the body in urine.

Sources of riboflavin

About half of the intake of riboflavin daily is furnished by milk alone and cheese is a good source. Other sources include mushrooms, Almonds, Leafy vegetables, Lean meat and eggs.

  

Requirement of riboflavin

 

The requirement of riboflavin depends on normalization activity of the red cell enzyme (glutathione reductase) which is a flavoprotein. Its activity is sensitive to riboflavin nutritional status. The following is the requirement of riboflavin,

 

Vitamin B-3 : vitamin B-3 also know as niacin, plays a key role in skin, digestive, and mental health and supports the function of more than 200 enzymes in the body.

Vitamin b-3 combination of two chemical :nicotinic acid and nicotinamide. The body break these chemical down to produce two additional chemical: NAD and NADP.

Good Sources:

Good sources of vitamin B3 (niacin) include yeast, meat, poultry, red fish (e.g., tuna, salmon), cereals, legumes, and seeds. Milk, green leafy vegetables, coffee, and tea also provide some niacin .

 

Pantothenic acid : pantothenic acid also called vitamin B5 is a water-soluble vitamin. Pantothenic acid is an essential nutrients. Animals require pantothenic acid in order to synthesize-A (coA) as wellas to synthesize and metabolize proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. The anion is called pantothenate.

What is vitamin B5?

Vitamin B5, also called pantothenic acid, is one of the most important vitamins for human life. It’s necessary for making blood cells, and it helps you convert the food you eat into energy.

Vitamin B5 is one of eight B vitamins. All B vitamins help you convert the protein, carbohydrates, and fats you eat into energy. B vitamins are also needed for:

• healthy skin, hair, and eyes
• proper functioning of the nervous system and liver
• healthy digestive tract
• making red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body
• making sex and stress-related hormones in the adrenal glands.

Food Sources Of Vitamin B5

Sources include:

·       Meat: pork, chicken, turkey duck, beef, and specially animal organs such as liver and kidney.

·       Fish: salmon, lobster, and shellfish.

·       Daily products: egg yolk, milk, yogurt, and milk products.

·       Legumes: lentils, split peas, and soybeans.

·       Vegetables: mushrooms, avocado, broccoli, sweet potatoes, corn, cauliflower, kale, and tomatoes.