Everyone at some point or another has either taken a vitamin supplement or at least read about them. This post is not meant to discuss the pros or cons of supplementation of vitamins or minerals, but rather explain what vitamins are and what they do in our bodies. I figured that so many people do take these types of supplements that perhaps it may be wise to know what exactly you are putting in your body, since they can have both positive and negative effects.
A Vitamin is an organic compound that is present in food and is required in small amounts for normal metabolic function. (1) Vitamins are classified into two categories; water soluble and fat soluble.
Water soluble vitamins are as you would guess, easily dissolve in water. Since they dissolve so easily, they are moved through the bloodstream at a rapid rate. They are not as easily stored as their fat soluble companions, so they are excreted very easily through urine. Have you ever taken a multi-vitamin only to notice that your urine is neon yellow shortly after? The high amount of water soluble vitamins you ingested have to go somewhere and the body can only accept so much, thus the excess (which is most of the pill you took) exits through your urine, which is now super saturated with these vitamins. B vitamins (8 in total) and Vitamin C are water soluble.
Fat Soluble vitamins travel through the lymphatic system of the small intestines and into the general blood circulation within the body. (2) Afterwards, they are then stored in the body via fatty tissues and in the liver. These types of vitamins can be dangerous in high amounts due to the fact that, if we store certain amounts of a vitamin, then consume more and more of said vitamin, it could lead to toxicity of a particular vitamin. Fat soluble vitamins include: A,D,E,K
Let's take a look at the major vitamins. I have left out some of the B vitamins, not that they are not important but I want to stick with the more common vitamins. *Please note that I give credit to reference #1 for all the research provided below vitamin wise
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| I grew up watching these two chow down on veggies and for good reason. |
Vitamin A (retinol/retinal/carotenoids): As we discussed A is a fat soluble vitamin that is found in yellow fruits and vegetables, leafy greens and of course carrots. It plays an important role in vision, cell division and immune health. If we fall into a deficiency of vitamin A it could result in night blindness and excessive dry skin among others. (Read more about Vitamin A). If we consume too much Vitamin A, Hypervitaminosis A can occur with sides effects including the ever popular orange tint to the skin.
-B Vitamins play vital roles as co-factors, which they ensure certain chemical and enzymatic reactions are carried out in the body. It should also be known that some B vitamins are usually referred in their chemical form such as: "be sure to take Thiamine" rather than " be sure to take vitamin B1" The food sources listed as "found in" are mere examples as most vitamins have more than two sources.
Read more about B Vitamins
B1 (Thiamine): Thiamine as all other members of the B family are water soluble. It is found in grains, liver and eggs. Deficiency can lead to Wernicke's disease or Beriberi, which can cause vast fatigue and cause complications to various systems in the body. Overdosing thiamine can lead to drowsiness.
B2 (Riboflavin): Riboflavin is found in live, dairy products and bananas. Deficiency of riboflavin can lead to Ariboflavinosis. There is no known overdose symptoms of riboflavin, but remember too much of a good thing can be harmful so I wouldn't push it.
B9 (Folate/ Folic Acid): Folic acid can be found in green leafy vegetables and pastas. It is important in cell production and is especially important to pregnant women. Many birth defects can be linked to folic acid deficiency There are a variety of potential risks from overdosing folic acid which can be found HERE
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| The most well known source of vitamin C. |
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid): Vitamin C is water soluble and is necessary for amino acid synthesis, most notably collagen. It is important for tissue, bone, cartilage and teeth maintenance and repair. Vitamin C is also a antioxidant, which can block harmful free radicals. C is found in many fruits and vegetables. Scurvy is the disease caused from lack of vitamin C, which affected ocean bound travelers for years, with common symptoms of decreased ability to fight infections, gingivitis and anemia. Overdoses of C can lead to diarrhea and upset stomach.
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| Fish may not be everyone's cup o tea, but they have many healthy benefits |
Vitamin D : Vitamin D can be found in fish and eggs. It is necessary for calcium absorption. Two types of bone diseases can be linked to D deficiency: Osteomalacia and Rickets. Rickets, the more talked about of the two is a big problem in children that causes soft and weak bones, which can inhibit their growth. Hypervitaminosis D is caused from too much vitamin D.
Vitamin E : Vitamin E is found in many fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds and even in some edible flowers. It is an antioxidant. Deficiency and overdosing are highly debatable, as no consistent data has provided and answer.
Vitamin K: Vitamin K can be found in green leafy vegetables, especially parsley (see the facebook post). K is useful for making proteins for bone and tissues and for blood clotting. Deficiency of K can lead to Bleeding diathesis, or an unusual case of bleeding and an overdose can cause problems for people on blood medicines.
Now that the class is over lol, you can see why companies try to suggest that taking their product is the best way to get all your vitamins. With so much information presented why not just pop a pill? I'm not saying they cannot be useful, I take a few myself, but for reasons and opinions we'll discuss in the future. Of course I'm going to suggest you get the majority of your vitamins from natural food sources as it is not really that hard to do so. For example, to get our RDI (recommended daily intake) of say vitamin C, which is 60 mg, a medium orange generally contains 70 mg or C, so one orange would take care of the base intake we need to maintain a healthy body. 400 IUs of vitamin D is the RDI, which can easily be attained through 3 oz of most oily fish. Vitamin K's RDI is 80ug. 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley contains roughly 153% of our vitamin K. One cup of whole grain rice contains multiple percentages of our B vitamins.
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| Looks pretty tasty to me. |
So what? All that tells me is I need to eat fruit, veggies and whole grains, I've heard this many times before. Well, lets look at it like this; for lunch if you were to have a nice piece of 3oz cod, with 1/2 cup of brown rice, chopped some parsley and added an orange (mandarin is the traditional) you'd have a delicious and healthy meal, all while getting most of your A,B,D and K vitamins for the day. Getting your vitamins through food sources doesn't have to be too challenging. I think if we all made an effort to cook at least two meals a day keeping in mind the RDI and how important vitamins really are, we would see not only see a healthy America, but it would even begin to tackle the obesity epidemic, getting away from fast foods and back to old fashioned cooking. We don't have to change over night, but rather take baby steps leading to the ultimate goal.
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| Not as appetizing as the real thing. |
If you have any questions or concerns about vitamins, feel free to leave a comment or contact me and I will try to answer any of them to the best of my ability. Thank you for reading!
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1.Powers,S. Howley, E. (2007) Exercise Physiology Theory and Application to Fitness and Performance 6th edition (600-610) NY: McGraw Hill
2. Medlineplus (2011) "Vitamins" http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002399.htm
*I am not a doctor or a licensed physician. I am in no way diagnosing anything and recommend that you speak to your physician before making any medical decisions.
*I am not a registered nutritionist or dietitian. The information presented is for education purposes only.
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