Nutrients That Regulate Vitamin and Mineral Notes

 Vitamins are organic compounds essential for life, needed in small amounts to regulate body processes.

 They assist in releasing energy from food  They assist in tissue maintenance  They assist normal digestion  They assist in infection resistance

 They have no calories (cannot be used for energy)  Vitamins were named as they were discovered (alphabetically)  A compound must be essential to life to humans in order to be classed as a vitamin

 There are 13 known vitamins  It’s possible that all vitamins have not been discovered  *There are two classifications of vitamins; fat soluble and water soluble

ADEKADEK

C HARACTERISTICS OF FAT SOLUBLE VITAMINS Non-Soluble (broken down and stored) in fat (more difficult to dissolve) Easily stored in body, can use emergency reserves if low. Greater potential for toxicity if consumed in large quantities.

 B- Vitamins (riboflavin, thiamin, niacin, panothenic acid, folic acid, B-12,and B-6)  Vitamin C

C HARACTERISTICS OF WATER SOLUBLE VITAMINS Soluble.. Easily dissolved by water. Not readily stored Excesses of vitamin are excreted in urine.

C HARACTERISTICS OF WATER SOLUBLE VITAMINS C ONT. Less potential for toxicity since the levels don’t build up in the body. More likely to see deficiencies in these vitamins. Must be consumed daily.

 Compounds that are not vitamins but are converted into vitamins once consumed.  Example= Beta carotene becomes Vitamin A

 A lack of one or more vitamins may cause symptoms that may be mild or severe depending on the vitamin and the period of deficiency. Vitamin deficiency may be associated with inadequate dietary intake or with certain conditions such as alcoholism and malabsorption syndromes where the body is unable to efficiently absorb vitamins from the food that has been eaten.

Vitamin A Deficiency Blindness in children Night Blindness Dry, scaly skin

Vitamin D Deficiency Without Vitamin D the bones cannot absorb Calcium Rickets Osteomalacia

Rickets

Thiamin Deficiency – Beri Beri “I can’t, I can’t” Weakness/Nerve damage Shaking and trembling Can be caused by severe alcoholism (malabsorption)

Niacin Deficiency- Pellagra The four D’s Dry, flaky skin Dermatitis Dementia Death Symptoms= Poor appetite, weight loss and weakness

Pellagra Images

Vitamin C Deficiency- Scurvy Vitamin C deficiency is seen in diets low in fruits and vegetables. Symptoms include: Tiredness and weakness Bleeding gums Burst blood vessels

Scurvy

Folic Acid- Deficiency (Spina Bifida) Folic acid is found in green, leafy vegetables. Folate helps to synthesize DNA. A lack o folate is associated with neural tube birth defects like spina bifida

Spina Bifida

 Mineral are inorganic elements needed in tiny amounts to regulate body processes.

 Components of the body structure  Regulate acid-base balance in cells  Regulate fluid balance  Assist in many chemical reactions  Promote nerve function and muscle contractions

 They have no calories (cannot be used for energy)  They are inorganic  Found on the periodic table of elements  There are two classifications of minerals: Macro and Micro minerals  Macro-minerals or Major minerals are needed in larger amounts (100 or more milligrams)  Micro-minerals or trace minerals are needed in minute amounts (less than 100 milligrams)

 Calcium  Phosphorous  Magnesium  Sulfur  Potassium  Chlorine

 Iron  Zinc  Iodine  Selenium  Copper  Chromium  Manganese

 Inadequate diet can lead to mineral deficiency, or at least to insufficient minerals. Some of the more common deficiencies are: iron deficiency, iodine deficiency, and calcium deficiency.iron deficiency iodine deficiencycalcium deficiency

Iron Deficiency (Anemia) Iron deficiency anemia occurs when your body doesn't have enough iron. Your body needs iron to make hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a substance in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the cells throughout the body. Without enough iron, the body produces fewer and smaller red blood cells. As a result, less hemoglobin is available, and your body’s cells do not get enough oxygen..hemoglobinred blood cells

Iodine Deficiency Iodine is needed by the thyroid gland for healthy functioning. Lack of iodine can lead to goitre, a swollen neck due to a swollen thyroid gland. However, iodine deficiency is much less common in industrialized nations due to the addition of iodine to table salt. thyroid glandgoitre

Goiters

Calcium Deficiency A deficiency of the mineral calcium in the diet. Calcium is essential for maintaining health bone and teeth but the body also uses calcium in other parts of the body such as in nerve and muscle functioning and blood clotting. Insufficient calcium can lead to osteoporosis in the elderly as well as a number of other conditions.

Osteoporosis

Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) Caused by too much sodium coupled with and a high fat (saturated fat) high cholesterol diet