- •Тема 1: our university
- •Тема 2: what is food?
- •Тема 3: carbohydrates
- •Тема 4: fats
- •Тема 5: proteins
- •Тема 6: vitamins
- •Тема 7: minerals
- •Тема 8: cereals and cereal products
- •Тема 9: variety of foods in our diet
- •Тема 10: technology of breadmaking
- •Тема 11: milling
- •Тема 12: sugar in confectionery production
- •Тема 13: ecology in food industry
- •Тема 14: extruding in food processing
- •Тема 15: brewing: raw material and technology
- •Тема 16: some stages in wine making
- •Тема 17: problems of automating food processing plants
- •Тема 18: what process control really offers
- •Тема 19: packaging operations
- •Тема 20: methods of food preservation
- •Тема 21: marketing
- •Тема 22: what is haccp
- •Тема 23: food research and development in the 21st century
- •Тема 24: food industry
- •Тема 25: human diet
Тема 6: vitamins
Active Vocabulary:
vitamin; health; well-being; to expose, exposure; to aid, aid; to constitute, constituent; to destroy, destruction, destructive; available; extent; to exceed; to remain, to recognize, to convert (to transform, to change into, to turn into), to affect (to influence, to act upon, to have effect), to prevent; to occur (to happen, to take place); stable; readily
The food constituents known as vitamins are exceedingly important in nutrition even though they are required only in small amounts. Vitamins are essential for good nutrition and health and for normal growth and development. Those vitamins that are generally recognized as essential, and some of those that may be essential, are considered here. Though many vitamins are available in the form of concentrated or in pure synthetic preparations, or both, foods still remain the best source of these important substances.
Vitamin A was first discovered in butter, egg yolk, fish liver oil, and green vegetables. It stimulates growth and aids in general well-being. Vitamin A occurs as such in animal foods. It occurs in certain vegetables as carotene or provitamin A, a bright yellow pigment which the body changes to vitamin A. This vitamin is stable to heat and, since it is a fat-soluble substance, does not dissolve to any appreciable extent in water. But it is not stable to light, especially ultra-violet light. Foods which are rich in vitamin A are butter, cheese, cream, eggs, fish oil, fruits, liver, milk.
Vitamin D. The antirachitic or “sunshine” vitamin, is really “stored sunshine” in food. This storage is due to the presence of ergosterol, a fat-like substance in food, which is called a provitamin D, and under direct exposure to the sun or to ultraviolet light for short daily periods, this substance is converted into vitamin D within the body. Unlike most of the other vitamins, this one is not easily destroyed and is stable to heat, alkalis1, acids, and oxidation. Vitamin D is essential for the development and maintenance of bones and teeth. Yeast contains ergosterol which can be irradiated by ultraviolet light and thus transformed into vitamin D. Sources of vitamin D are: butter and egg yolk, fish liver oil, oily fish.
Vitamin E affects reproduction and fertility growth, muscle tone and the condition of the nervous system. It has also a function in preventing the destruction of other foods through oxidation. Heat does not dissolve it, but it is easily oxidized. The best sources of vitamin E are the vegetable oils, butter, eggs, green leaves and liver.
Vitamin K is necessary for normal clotting2 of the blood. Heat has little effect upon vitamin K and, like the ether fat-soluble vitamins, it is not soluble in water. Alkalis1, strong acids and sunlight destroy this vitamin. Foods rich in vitamin K are cabbage, cauliflower, fish liver.
Ascorbic acid, known as vitamin C is the least stable of all the vitamins. It oxidizes readily, and in the presence of heat, alkali1, and oxygen, oxidation goes on rapidly. Ascorbic acid is water-soluble. The best sources of this vitamin include: citrus fruits, peppers, strawberries, vegetables, tomatoes.
1 –alkali – щелочь мн.ч. – s/-es
2 - свертывание