3.Vitamins & Minerals

CATEGORY:

•Micro-Nutrient

DEFINITION:

•Vitamins are vital nutrients required in limited amounts...cannot be synthesised so must be ingested as part of nutritional intake

•Minerals (now known as Dietary Elements) are chemical elements required by living organisms...in addition to Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen

FUNCTION:

•Vitamins are an essential nutrient for cell, tissue and organ maintenance

•Dietary Elements serve a structural and functional role, as well as providing electrolytes

ACTION:

•Vitamins (see spreadsheet)...

-Food sourced Vitamins loose a percentage of value depending on their preparation (cutting, cooking)

—Some Vitamins may become more bio-available (usable by the body) when steamed or cooked

•Elements...

-Dietary ingestion of elements, as opposed to supplementation, supports the biochemical reactions of metabolism with the required elemental components

FACTS:

•Vitamins...

-Required in lesser amounts than Minerals, Fatty Acids or Amino Acids

-13 vitamins are classified by their biological and chemical activity

-Sourced mainly from food (K from gut flora, D from sunlight)

-Lifestyle can interfere with the absorption or use of vitamins e.g. smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, medications (Secondary Deficiencies)

-A varied diet renders Primary Deficiency an unlikely scenario which induces disease

•Dietary Elements...

-7 major and 9 trace

-Plants absorb dissolved elements from soil, which are passed up through the food chain

-Some elements require processing by bacteria prior to absorption

-Most minerals are inorganic

-Mineral nutrients refers to the smaller class of minerals that are metabolized for growth, development, and vitality of living organisms

MANIPULATION:

•Vitamins...

-Adipose Tissue is a regulator for Fat-Soluble Vitamins (A, D, E and K)

—Heating fatty foods renders almost all Fat-Soluble vitamins useless

•Minerals...

-Nutrition can meet all the body's chemical element requirements

—Supplements can be used when some requirements are not adequately met by nutritional intake, or when chronic or acute deficiencies arise from pathology, injury, etc

—Altering inorganic mineral compounds (carbonates, oxides, etc.) by reacting them with organic ligands (Amino Acids, organic acids, etc.) improves the bioavailability of the supplemented mineral

DIETING:

•Vitamins & Dietary Elements sources...see images below

•Nutrient depletion leads to various symptoms...

-Sodium = Confusion and poor memory

-Potassium =Apathy and confusion

-Chromium = Depression

-Iron = Confusion, lethargy, and difficulty learning

-Magnesium = Depression, confusion, and change in personality

-Manganese = Seizures

-Selenium = Anxiety and depression

-Zinc = Mood changes

-Vitamin B1 = Mental confusion, personality change, poor appetite, memory loss, mood swings, short attention span, irritability, depression, and fatigue

-Vitamin B2 = Depression

-Niacin, Vitamin B6 = Mood swings, depression, sleeplessness, restlessness, disorientation, and irritability

-Vitamin B12 = Memory loss, confusion, and seniority

Folic acid = Irritability and depression

-Choline = Memory loss

-Vitamin E = Lethargy and depression

-Essential fatty acids = Lethargy, irritability, and depression

Amino Acids (protein) = Mood changes

RELATED TO:

•Macro Nutrients

NOTES:

•Personally I prefer to source Vitamins & Minerals through smart Macro Nutrient choices