The Vitamins

• –Organic compounds
• –Vital to life
• –Indispensable to body functions
• –Needed in minute amounts
• –Noncaloric essential nutrients

• A, D, E, K
• -Found in fats and oils of foods
• -Require bile for absorption
• -Stored in liver and fatty tissues until the body needs them
• -In general, absorbed into the lymph
• -Travel in blood in association with protein carriers

• C and B vitamins
• -Absorbed directly into blood stream
• -Travel freely in blood stream
• -Most are not stored to any great extent
• -Excess excreted in urine
• -Lower risk of toxicity than fat-soluble vitamins

• Three forms active in the body
• –Retinol
• Stored in the liver
• Converted to other forms as needed
• –Retinal
• –Retinoic acid
• Plant-derived precursor: beta-carotene
• A Jack of All Trades
• –Vision
• –Maintenance of body linings and skin
• –Immune defenses
• –Growth of bones and the body
• –Normal cell development
• –Reproduction

Sources: Fortified millk, carrots, sweet potato, beef liver, apricots, spinach, bok choy

• Deficieny in this vitamin can cause sight problems.
• Carotene-An orange-yellow to red crystalline pigment that exists in three isomeric forms designated alpha, beta, and gamma; it is converted to vitamin A in the liver and is found in animal tissue and certain plants, such as carrots and squash.

• Functions as a hormone
• Plays a role in the brain, heart, stomach, pancreas, skin, reproductive organs, some cancer cells, stimulates cell maturation (including immune system cells)
• Deficit promotes:
• –High blood pressure, some cancers, type 1 diabetes, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis

• Too Little Vitamin D - A Danger to
• Bones
• –Rickets
• Vitamin D deficiency disease in children
• Characterized by abnormal bone growth
• Bowed, or knock-knees, outward-bowed chest, knobs on ribs

Deficiencies in this vitamin affect bone development.

Sources are Salmon, fortified milk, shrimp, sunlight

• The Extraordinary Bodyguard
• –Antioxidant defending the body against oxidative damage
• –Damage that results when free radicals
• formed during normal metabolism disrupt the structure of cellular lipids, DNA, proteins

Free radical activity may lead to cancer, heart disease, or other diseases

Vitamin E is preferentially oxidized, thus protecting cells

Sources are safflower oil, myonnaise, canola oil, sunflower seeds, wheat germ

Deficiencies in this vitamin can lead to nerve degeneration, difficulty walking, leg cramps

Functions:

–Synthesis of blood clotting proteins

• Does not improve clotting in those with diseases such as hemophilia
• Interferes with function of blood thinners

–Synthesis of normal form of bone proteins that bind minerals to bone

Adequate intake may reduce risk of hip fracture

At birth newborns are given a dose of vitamin K to hold them until vitamin K-producing bacteria establish themselves in their intestinal tract

Sources are cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, canola oil, lettuce, soybeans

Deficienies in this vitamin can cause hemorrhage, blood clotting.

Scurvy

• –Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) deficiency
• –Hazard of long distance seagoing journeys of 200+ years ago
• –To avoid scurvy, British sailors were given lime juice

• Maintenance of connective tissues
• Formation and maintenance of collagen
• –Component of bones, teeth, skin, tendons, scar tissue, capillaries

Sources of this vitamin come from sweet red pepper, orange juice, green peppers, broccoli, strawberries, bok choy,, grapefruit, sweet potato

Deficienies in this vitamin can lead to bleeding gums, loosened teeth

• B vitamins act as part of coenzymes
• –A small molecule that combines with, and activates, an enzyme
• –Metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, and amino acids
• –Thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, and biotin all help release the energy stored in the energy-yielding nutrients
• –Folate prevents spina bifida

A nervous system ailment caused by a thiamine deficiency

• A vitamin deficiency disease most commonly caused by a chronic lack of niacin.
• FLaky skin rash on areas exposed to sun

Uncontrolled cell growth, DNA being oxided

Riboflavin, Niacin, Thiamin, Folate, Biotin, Pantothenic Acid, B₁₂, B₆

Folate aids in spinal cord development and healing