Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Vitamins

Vitamins are natural substances found in plants and animals and known as Essential nutrients for human beings. The name vitamin is obtained from "vital amines" as it was originally thought that these substances were all amines. Human body uses these substances to stay healthy and support its many functions. There are two types of vitamins: water-soluble and fat-soluble. The body needs vitamins to stay healthy and a varied diet usually gives you all the vitamins you need. Vitamins do not provide energy (calories) directly, but they do help regulate energy-producing processes. With the exception of vitamin D and K, vitamins cannot be synthesized by the human body and must be obtained from the diet. Vitamins have to come from food because they are not manufactured or formed by the body. There are 13 essential vitamins and each one has a special role to play within the body, helping to regulate the processes such as cell growth and repair, reproduction and digestion. Vitamin B-6, Niacin, Natural Vitamin E and Zinc: Support sexual function in men.

Types of Vitamins

Vitamins, one of the most essential nutrients required by the body and can be broadly classified into two main categories i.e., water-soluble vitamins and fat-soluble vitamins.

Fat-soluble vitamins

The fat-soluble vitamins include vitamins A, D, E and K - since they are soluble in fat and are absorbed by the body from the intestinal tract. The human body has to use bile acids to absorb fat-soluble vitamins. Once these vitamins are absorbed, the body stores them in body fat. When you need them, your body takes them out of storage to be used. Eating fats or oils that are not digested can cause shortages of fat-soluble vitamins. Fat soluble vitamins should not be consumed in excess as they are stored in the body and an excess can result in side effects. An excess of vitamin A may result in irritability, weight loss, dry itchy skin in children and nausea, headache, diarrhea in adults.

Water-soluble vitamins

Water-soluble vitamins cannot be stored in the body, so you need to get them from food every day. They can be destroyed by overcooking. These are easily absorbed by the body. Human body doesn't store large amounts of water-soluble vitamins. B-complex vitamins and vitamin C are water-soluble vitamins that are not stored in the body and must be replaced each day. These vitamins are easily destroyed or washed out during food storage and preparation. They are eliminated in urine so, body need a continuous supply of them in diets. Proper storage and preparation of food can minimize vitamin loss. To reduce vitamin loss, refrigerate fresh produce, keep milk and grains away from strong light, and use the cooking water from vegetables to prepare soups. An excess of water soluble vitamins should not result in any side effects as they will disperse in the body fluids and voided in the urine. Nine of the water-soluble vitamins are known as the B-complex group: Thiamin (vitamin B1), Riboflavin (vitamin B2), Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin B12, Biotin, Pantothenic acid and Vitamin C. These vitamins are widely distributed in foods.

Why We Need Vitamins?

Have you ever tried to find out the root cause of problems instead of running to a doctor every time you suffer? If No, then you must know that you are running through vitamin deficiency problem. So as you know that prevention is better than cure, it's better to intake proper vitamins in right time to check the problem from growing gruesome.
First of all vitamin is that component of a balanced diet which the human body generally cannot manufacture on its own. So you must consume vitamin directly in the form of food or through supplements as tonic or pills. The whole process of assimilation of vitamins depends on ingestion of food. Once you have it as a part of your meal, say for tomatoes, lemon, spinach and other stuffs, it is more helpful. Moreover you don't feel that you are a patient and need to have medicines for cure. But if the deficit of a particular vitamin is high, then supplementary dose of vitamins have to be given to the body for a particular period. The body's metabolism is also dependent on vitamins as on carbohydrates, fats, minerals and other basic components of a complete diet. But before adding the vitamin list to our routine diet, let's understand the importance of vitamins in life.

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