VITAMINS AND MINERALS

- Are essential nutrients because they perform hundreds of roles in the body
- Eating healthy diet remains the best way to get sufficient amounts of the vitamins and mineral you need
- Are often called micronutrients because your body needs only tiny amount of them;
- Yet failing to get even those small quantities virtually guarantees disease

 3 CHARACTERISTICS
- They’re natural components of foods; usually present in very small amounts
- They’re essential for normal physiologic function (eg., growth, reproduction, etc.)
- When absent from the diet, they will cause a specific deficiency

 Ex: DISEASES | VITAMIN DEFICIENCIES

 SCURVY – insufficient vitamin C in the body, causes the bleeding gums and listlessness od scurvy
 Blindness – vitamin A deficiency
 Rickets – vitamin D deficiency, soft, weak bones that can lead to skeletal deformities such as bowed
legs

 SOME EXAMPLES OF BENEFIT OF VITAMINS

 STRONG BONES – VITAMIN D, K, MAGNESIUM, AND PHOSPHORUS
 PREVENTS BIRTH DEFECT – FOLIC ACID SUPPLEMENTS : prevent brain and spinal birth defect in
offspring
 HEALTHY TEETH – MINERAL FLOURIDE
 RELEASE ENERYGY – VITAMIN B
 PRODUCE ENERGY – THIAMIN, RIBOFLAVIN, NIACIN, PANTOTHENIC ACID, AND BIOTIN
 BUILD PROTEINS AND CELLS – VITAMIN B6, B12, AND FOLIC ACID
 MAKE COLLAGEN – VITAMIN C

Vitamins

- Organic and can be broken down by heat, air, or acid

- Complex substances that regulate body processes
- Coenzymes (partners) with enzymes in reactions
- No calories, thus no energy

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 CATEGORIES
Fat-soluble Water-soluble
Dissolve in fat Dissolve in water
Can be stored Carried in bloodstream, not stored

A, D, E, K C and B-complex vitamins

A and D excess can be harmful Excess amounts may cause extra

E and K usually not work on kidneys

 VITAMIN A & CAROTENOIDS

FUNCTIONS
- Normal vision
- Protects from infections
- Regulates immune system
- Antioxidant (carotenoids)

FOOD SOURCES

- Liver
- Fish oil
- Eggs
- Fortified milk or other foods
- Red, yellow, orange, and dark green veggies (carotenoids)

 VITAMIN D : THE SUNSHINE VITAMIN

FUNCTIONS
- Promotes absorption of calcium and phosphorus
- Helps deposit those in bones/teeth
- Regulates cell growth
- Plays role in immunity

SOURCES
- Sunlight (10 – 15 mins 2x a week)
- Salmon with bones
- Milk
- Orange juice (fortified)
- Fortified cereals

 VITAMIN E

FUNCTION
- Antioxidant, may lower risk for heart disease and stroke, some types of cancers

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- Protects fatty acids and vitamin A

SOURCES
- Vegetable oils
- Foods made from oil (salad dressing, margarine)
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Wheat germ
- Green, leafy veggies

 VITAMIN K

FUNCTIONS
- Helps blood clot
- Helps body make some other proteins

SOURCES
- Body can produce on its own (from bacteria in intestines)
- Green, leafy veggies
- Some fruits, other veggies, and nuts

 THIAMIN (B1)

FUNCTIONS
- Helps produce energy from carbs

SOURCES
- Whole-grain and enriched grain products
- Pork
- Liver

 RIBOFLAVIN

FUNCTIONS
- Produce energy
- Changes tryptophan (amino acid) into niacin

SOURCES
- Liver
- Yogurt and milk
- Enriched grains
- Eggs
- Green, leafy veggies

 NIACIN

FUNCTIONS
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- Helps body use sugars/fatty acids
- Helps enzymes function normally
- Produces energy

SOURCES
- Foods high in protein typically (poultry, fish, beef, peanut butter, legumes)
- Enriched and fortified grains

 PYRIDOXINE (B6)

FUNCTIONS
- Helps body make non-essential amino acids
- Helps turn tryptophan into niacin and serotonin
- Help produce body chemicals (insulin, hemoglobin, etc)

SOURCES
- Chicken
- Fish
- Pork
- Liver
- Whole grains
- Nuts
- Legumes

 FOLATE (FOLIC ACID)

FUNCTIONS
- Produces DNA and RNA, making new body cells
- Works with vitamin B12 to form hemoglobin
- May protect against heart disease
- Lowers risk of neural tube defects in babies
- Controls plasma homocystine levels (related to heart disease)

SOURCES
- Fortified and enriched grains and breakfast cereals
- Orange juice
- Legumes
- Green, leafy veggies
- Peanuts
- Avacados

 COBALAMIN (B12)

FUNCTIONS
- Works with folate to make RBC’s
- In many body chemicals and cells
- Helps body use fatty acids/amino acids

SOURCES
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- Animal products
- Meat
- Fish
- Poultry
- Eggs
- Milk, other dairy

 BIOTIN

FUNCTIONS
- Produces energy
- Helps body use proteins, carbs, and fats from foods

SOURCES
- Wide variety of foods
- Eggs
- Liver
- Wheat germ
- Peanuts
- Cottage cheese
- Whole grain bread

 PANTHOTENIC ACID

FUNCTIONS
- Helps produce energy
- Helps the body use proteins, fat, and carbs from food

SOURCES
- Found in almost all foods
- Meat, poultry, fish
- Whole grain cereals
- Legumes
- Milk
- Fruits, veggies

 VITAMIN C

FUNCTIONS
- Helps produce collagen (connective tissue in bones, muscles, etc)
- Keeps capillary walls, blood vessels firm
- Helps body absorb iron and folate
- Healthy gums
- Heals cuts and wounds
- Protects from infection, boosts immunity
- Antioxidant

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 SOURCES
- Citrus fruits
- Other fruits, veggies

 DEFICIENCIES
- Rickets (children and vitamin D)
- Osteoporosis/osteomalacia (vitamin D)
- Scurvy (vitamin C)
- Night blindness (vitamin A)
- Beriberi (thiamin)

Minerals

- Inorganic and hold on to their chemical structure

- Regulate body processes
- Give structure to things in the body
- No calories (energy)
- Cannot be destroyed by heat

 CATEGORIES OF MINERALS

 MAJOR MINERALS
- Calcium
- Phosphorus
- Magnesium
- Electrolytes (sodium, chloride, potassium)

 TRACE MINERALS
- Chromium
- Copper
- Flouride
- Iodine
- Iron
- Manganese
- Selenium
- Zinc

CALCIUM
- Bone building
- Muscle contraction
- Heart rate
- Nerve function
- Helps blood clot

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 PHOPHORUS
- Generates energy
- Regulate energy metabolism
- Component of bones, teeth
- Part of DNA, RNA (cell growth, repair)
- Almost all foods, especially protein-rich foods, contain phosphorus

MAGNESIUM
- Part of 300 enzymes (regulates body functions)
- Maintains cells in nerves, muscles
- Component of bones
- Best sources are legumes, nuts, and whole grains

ELECTROLYTES
 Chloride:
 Fluid balance
 Digestion of food, transmits nerve impulses
 Potassium
 Maintains blood pressure
 Nerve impulses and muscle contraction
 Sodium
 Fluid balance
 Muscles relax, transmit nerve impulses
 Regulates blood pressure

 Sources:
 Salt (sodium chloride)
 Fruits, veggies, milk, beans, fish, chicken, nuts (potassium)

IRON
- Part of hemoglobin, carries oxygen
- Brain development
- Healthy immune system

 Sources:
 Animals (heme) vs. plants (non-heme)
 Better absorbed from heme
 Consume vitamin C with non-heme
 Fortified cereals, beans, eggs, etc.

ANTIOXIDANTS
- Slow or prevent damage to body cells
- May improve immune function and lower risk for infection and cancer
- Carotenoids – beta carotene (familiar)
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Found in colorful fruits/veggies and grains

PHYTONUTRIENTS
- Phyto – plant
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 - “Spark” body processes that may fight, or reduce risk for some diseases
- Fruits/veggies
- Examples:
- Carotenoids
- Lutein
- Lycopene
- Flavanols
- Prebiotics/probiotics
- Soybeans

 FUNCTIONAL FOODS
- Foods that provide benefits beyond basic nutrition
- Phytonutrients
- Prebiotics/probiotics
- Fatty fish/omega 3’s
- Soy protein
- Oats (heart-healthy)
- Flaxseed

 FOOD LABELS
- Must list vitamins A, C, calcium, iron
- May list others (potassium, folate, riboflavin, etc.)

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