You see them all the time on T.V. and in the grocery, but do you really know why it is important to take your vitamins? I'm sure that most of you all out there really do not believe or understand the importance. I was just the same. I believed like everyone else that vitamins were just some ploy to get me to waste my money. However, this is none of the sort. Vitamins are very important for the daily tasks your body completes everyday, growth, and maintenance ! If your diet is not healthy then you are not getting enough or any vitamins that are crucial for your body to survive. Deficiency in one vitamin can cause profound health problems!
First, what are vitamins? They are not energy sources, but play roles in regulating chemical reactions that allow your body extract energy from nutrients. There are two types of vitamins, water-soluble and fat-soluble. Vitamins B and C are water-soluble vitamins. A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble vitamins. Which means the way the vitamins are absorbed. Below is a list of what each vitamin does to help your body function and repair itself. I will start off with Fat-Soluble Vitamins.
- Fat-soluble vitamins
- vitamin A
- Crucial for growth and reproduction
- Aids in vision and cell differentiation
- Maintains high immunity level, healthy bones, skin, and mucous membranes
- Deficiencies
- Destroys vision and disrupts several normal body functions
- Can lead to night blindness, xerophthalmia, hyper-keratosis, infection and DEATH
- Sources
- Liver, fish liver oil, cod oil
- Milk fat, butter, and other dairy products
- Margarine, fortified breakfast cereals, and reduced fat-milks
- Spinach, carrots, broccoli, squash and sweet potatoes
- Cantaloupes, peaches, apricots, mangoes and tomatoes
- Toxicity
- Can cause DEATH, liver damage, bone fractures, skin disorders, and birth defects in newborns
- vitamin D
- Essential for bone health, may reduce cancer and heart disease risks
- Promotes healthy bone development and growth in children
- Necessary for bone maintenance in adults
- Prevents osteoporosis and fractures in older adults
- Helps reduces risk of fall with proper muscle reaction
- Sources
- Sun ( 9 - 15 minutes a day)
- Fortified foods: milk, breakfast cereals, orange juice, margarine, yogurt, grains, and breads
- Oily Fish: Herring, salmon and sardines
- Cod liver oil and other fish oils
- Egg yolk, butter and liver
- Plants are poor sources
- Deficiency
- Profound effect on skeleton, leads to rickets in children, osteoporosis and osteomalacia in adults
- Toxicity
- Sunlight does not cause toxicity but too much sun can cause sunburn and skin cancer
- Hypercalcemia: excess calcium can cause bone loss and kidney stones
- Excess calcium can leave deposits in bloodstream and other organs
- Can affect the nervous system causing depressive illness, nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite
- vitamin E
- It is an important protector against age related chronic diseases
- Sources
- Plant and animal sources
- Wheat germ oil contains the highest concentration
- Vegetable and seed oils:
- Safflower, cotton seed and sunflower seeds are rich sources
- Corn and soybean oil
- Foods made from vegetable oils:
- Margarine, salad dressings, nuts and seeds
- Strawberries and dark leafy greens
- Animals sources are poor because of what the animal eats
- Deficiency
- Rare in the U.S. because of widespread use of vegetable oils
- Can cause cystic fibrosis
- Premature hemolysis and anemia
- Toxicity
- Relatively safe but over consumption can cause some problems
- vitamin K
- Crucial vitamin for blood clotting = coagulation
- Assists in bone formation
- Sources
- Plants and bacteria living in your colon
- Green leafy vegetables:
- Spinach, broccoli, green turnips and brussel sprouts
- Vegetable oils:
- Soybean oil, cottonseed, canola and olives
- Deficiency
- Without vitamin K for blood clotting a single cut can lead to death by blood loss
- Can cause low bone density which can lead to fractures
- Can cause hemorrhages in women during menstrual cycle
- Toxicity
- Rare but can cause hemolytic anemia
- Can interfere with anticoagulant medications
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