Vitamins and your Health

1
Unit 20

• Vitamins and your Health

2
True or False

• The only documented benefit of consuming
  sufficient amounts of vitamins is protection
  against deficiency diseases.
• False. For many vitamins, intake levels above
  those known to prevent disease help protect us
  from certain cancers, heart disease, and other
  disorders.

3
True or False

• Vitamins provide energy.
• False. Only carbs, fats, and proteins provide
  energy. However, some vitamins are needed to
  convert the energy from food into energy the body
  can use.

4
True or False

• Vitamin C is found only in citrus fruits.
• False. Green peppers, collards, broccoli,
  strawberries, and a number of other fruits are
  also a good source of Vitamin C.
• Nearly all cases of illness due to excessive
  intake of vitamins result from the overuse of
  vitamin supplements.
• True.

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What are vitamins?

• Vitamins are chemical substances that perform
  specific functions in the body.
• They are essential nutrients because the body
  cannot produce them.
• If we fail to consume enough of a vitamin, a
  specific deficiency disease will develop.
• 13 vitamins have been discovered so far.

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Bogus Vitamins

• Some substances are called vitamins by quacks,
  misdirected manufacturers of supplements and some
  weight loss and cosmetic product producers but
  they are not.
• They are not required in our diets. They are not
  essential and therefore do not qualify as
  vitamins.

7
Non-vitamins

• Bioflavonoids
• Coenzyme Q10
• Gerovital H-3
• Hesperidin
• Inositol
• Laetril (Vitamin B17)
• Lipoic acid

• Nucleic acids
• Pangamic acid (Vitamin B15)
• Para-amino benzoic acid (PABA)
• Provitamin B5 complex
• Rutin

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Water-soluble vitamins

• Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
• B-complex vitamins
• Thiamin (B1)
• Riboflavin (B2)
• Niacin (B3)

• Vitamin B6
• Folate (folacin, folic acid)
• Vitamin B12
• Biotin
• Pantothenic Acid
• Choline

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Water-soluble vitamins

• Not stored in the body (except B12) excreted in
  urine
• Deficiency symptoms will show up in a few weeks
  or months if not present in the diet.
• Only Niacin, B6 and Vitamin C are known to
  produce ill effects if consumed in excessive
  amounts.

10
Fat-Soluble vitamins

• Vitamin A (retinol)
• Beta carotene is provitamin A
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin K

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Fat-soluble Vitamins

• Stored in body fat, liver and other parts of the
  body
• Deficiencies take longer to develop than
  water-soluble vitamin deficiencies
• Toxicities can develop if taken in large
  quantities

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What do vitamins do?

• B-vitamins are coenzymes
• Enable reactions to take place in the body
• Like the key that unlocks the door
• Very little needed because its not used up in
  the process
• Thiamin, niacin, riboflavin all needed for
  reactions concerning energy release
• B6, folate, B12 all needed for reactions
  concerning building tissues

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What do vitamins do?

• Vitamin C
• Manufacture of collagen
• Fight infections, repair wounds
• Antioxidant
• Increases iron absorption
• Vitamin A
• Maintains mucus membranes
• Needed to see in dim light
• Beta-carotene is an antioxidant

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What do vitamins do?

• Vitamin E
• Antioxidant
• Reduces plaque sticking to arteries
• Vitamin D
• Needed to absorb and utilize calcium and
  phosphorus in bones, muscles, and nerves
• Vitamin K
• Needed to help the blood clot

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What else do vitamins do?

• Vitamin A
• Adequate intake lessens complications from
  measles- given with children in developing
  nations with measles vaccine
• Vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of
  blindness in the world
• Vitamin A is used to treat acne and other skin
  disorders (topical)

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What else do vitamins do?

• Vitamin C
• May lessen symptoms and duration of a cold
• Doesnt reduce how often colds occur
• Folate
• Adequate intake during early pregnancy prevents
  neural tube defects in babies
• Reduces risk of developing heart disease

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Antioxidants

• Rust preventers in the body
• Oxygen damages cells and causes free radicals-
  may cause cancer and other disorders
• Antioxidants protect cells from oxidation, just
  like painting metal prevents rust
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Beta Carotene (pre-Vitamin A)

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Do you need vitamin supplements?

• Vitamins are readily available from a variety of
  foods (especially fruits and vegetables)