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Vitamins and Minerals.

Vitamins are essential substances that cannot be manufactured by the body. We need small amounts of vitamins for growth and development. Without vitamins the body cannot survive.

The term vitamin is derived from the phrase vital anime. There are two types:

• Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) are usually found in meat and products, animal fat and vegetable oils, dairy product and fist. They are transported around the body stores any excess in the liver and fatty tissues. This means you don’t need to get them from food sources every day.

• Water-soluble vitamins (B, C, and folic acid) are found in meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and wholegrains. They are transported around the body in water. This means your body can’t store them because you pass the excess through urine. You need to eat foods containing these vitamins every day. Water-soluble vitamins can be destroyed by cooking – so steam and grill rather then boil.

We all need vitamins to live a long and healthy life, and a varied diet is essential if we to obtain the nutrients we need.

Plenty of foods naturally contain vitamins. Some popular foods, such as breakfast cereals, are fortified with vitamins and minerals.

They say, it is not always easy: fruit and vegetables age (an apple in a bowl loses vitamins hour), and modern processing techniques have considerably reduced the vitamin and mineral contend of many foods.

Most of us get sufficient quantities of vitamins and minerals from our food. It may be necessary for some people to take a vitamin supplement, for example pregnant women and the elderly.

Most vitamin supplements have been extracted from natural foods.

• Vitamin A comes from fish liver oil.

• Vitamin C is often extracted from rosehips.

• Vitamin D is extracted from soy beans or maize.

Try to eat a wide variety of fresh foods. Frozen vegetables are also a good option: they can often contain more vitamins that vegetables stored for a long time at room temperature.

Too little of lust one vitamin may disturb the body’s balance and cause health problems.

Vitamins and minerals are two completely different things: minerals help the vitamins work.

The 10 most important minerals are:

• calcium

• iodine

• iron

• magnesium

• phosphorus

• copper

• manganese

• chromium

• selenium

• zinc

We are at risk of development a number of diseases. Which foods should be eaten to keep us healthy? Let us look at some important vitamins for these answers. Vitamin A helps prevent skin and other tissues from becoming dry. It is also needed to make a light-sensitive substance in the eyes. People who do not get enough vitamin A cannot see well in darkness. This can result in infections and lead to blindness. Vitamin A is found in fish liver oil. It also is in the yellow part of eggs. Sweet potatoes, carrots and other darkly colored fruits and vegetables contain substances that the body can change into vitamin A.

Vitamin B6.

Food sources of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) include beans legumes, nuts, eggs, meats, frish breads and cereals.

Vitamin D.

The body itself makes vitamin D when it is exposed to the sun cheese, butter, margarine fortified milk, fish and fortified cereals, are food sources of vitamin D.

Winter is the time for virus infections, colds and flu and your resistance is especially jaw. Take vitamins A, D, C every day. They are often called winter vitamins. Over dosage of some vitamins may be harmful, so people must take normal doses of vitamins.

Vitamins may also be synthetically manufactured, but synthetic vitamins may not always be as effective as their naturally-derived equivalent.

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/heaith_advice/facts/vitamins.html Adapted by Khoreva Emma