Vitamins
Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating What are vitamins? The Science Vitamins are organic substances, required by your body to perform specific tasks that promote good health. Unlike the energy nutrients, protein, fats and carbohydrates, they do not have calories and are single molecules that are not linked together. They must be obtained from your diet and are, as the name suggests, “vital” for good health. Relatively small amounts are needed to achieve a healthy eating lifestyle.
Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Two categories Scientists generally divide vitamins into two categories—water-soluble and fat-soluble. The water-soluble ones are the B's and Vit C. The fat-soluble ones are Vit A, Vit D, Vit E and Vit K. For specific information on each, please click on the links below. Water-soluble
Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Fat-soluble
Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Precursors Some vitamins are available from your food in the form of a “precursor.” This is an inactive form that can be converted by your body to the active form. An example of this is the beta-carotene found in carrots and other yellow, orange and dark green, leafy vegetables. If needed, your body can convert beta-carotene to Vit A. They can be destroyed Vitamins in foods can be destroyed by light, heat and oxygen. Storage methods and food preparation techniques will affect the amount retained by the foods. To minimize this problem, refrigerate produce in airtight containers, and during preparation, steam or cook vegetables lightly, avoiding high temperatures and extended cooking times whenever possible. Fun Fact: When you add fresh or frozen vegetables to soup or stew, the nutrients go into the broth of the soup rather than being washed down the drain, as is the case when you cook vegetables in water and throw away the cooking water.
Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating The Scoop From the time you were a kid and your mom gave you those cute pills shaped like cartoon characters, you probably realized that you need vitamins to be healthy. In fact, when the subject comes up, many people still think of pills, not food. It is generally agreed that the best way to get nutrients in in your diet is from the foods you eat. Even if you take a supplement, the idea is to do just that—supplement—the foods in your diet, not replace them. The nutrients in food seem to be more accessible to your body, than those from pills because they are not isolated, but surrounded by other substances that work with them to keep you healthy. This is not to say you should not take a supplement; many health experts recommend that you do. However, do not make the mistake of thinking that a pill can replace nutritious whole foods in your diet. Vitamins are found in varying degrees in all of the food groups. Fruits… Vegetables… Cereals… Grains… Meat and other Protein foods… Dairy products… Fats and oils… Fat-soluble or water-soluble vitamins differ in how they are handled in your body. The significance of this to you is that since the fat-soluble ones can be stored for later use, you probably don’t need to worry as much about a deficiency. However, they also can be more toxic because of the very fact that your body does not excrete the excess. Water-soluble vitamins must be obtained almost daily, since your body will excrete the excess each day. By the same token, they are less likely to become toxic, although it is still possible if you take very large doses. In the case of vitamins that can be obtained by your body from precursors such as beta-carotene, your body can convert what is needed and the rest of the precursor can be excreted. In this way, there is also less chance of toxicity.
Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Fun Fact: When a baby eats a lot of yellow vegetables such as squash or sweet potatoes, which they generally like because they are sweeter, their skin, especially on the soles of their feet, can actually take on an orange cast from the beta-carotene in these vegetables. In that case, you may want to push the green beans!
Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Enriched and fortified Many products that we eat are enriched or fortified with nutrients. That is, nutrients are added to the food either to replace those removed in processing or to make the food more nutritious. Most milk has Vit A and/or D added. White flour is enriched with B vitamins, as are many white flour products, such as cereals, bread and pasta. Many juice drinks are fortified with Vit C. 
Fun Fact: When wheat kernels are processed to make white flour, the bran and the germ are removed, leaving only the white center (endosperm). Then, since most of the nutrients are in the parts that were removed, the food company will fortify or add back in, the nutrients that were removed. (The wheat germ and bran are often sold as cattle food, or put in little jars and sold as “health food.”) Unfortunately, the processed flour is still less nutritious than the whole grain, because not all of the missing nutrients, such as fiber, are replaced. What were they thinking when they came up with this idea?
Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating How much do I need? The Science The RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) for vitamins varies based on age and gender, with a separate recommendation for pregnant and lactating women. It is difficult to say exactly how much is needed because there are so many variables besides the obvious ones of age and gender. Each of us is a unique individual, and the availability of nutrients from the foods we eat, or even from a supplement will vary based on individual factors. The amount we absorb can be affected by our overall health and nutritional status. It can also be affected by how the food is stored and prepared and by foods that we eat at the same time. The RDA tries to take all of these factors into account, but it is still, at best, a general guideline.
Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Caveat: If you eat a diet that is too high in fiber, the food will literally race through your digestive system, not allowing much time for absorption of the nutrients you need.
Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating For the specific RDA, please click on the link for that vitamin. The Scoop While the RDA may be useful in a scientific sense, or if you are comparing labels on the foods or supplements you purchase, the best way to insure that you are getting enough, is to eat a variety of nutritious whole foods. Selecting foods from all of the food groups will help ensure that you have all of your bases covered. Having said that, many health experts recommend that you take a daily supplement just to be sure that you are getting enough of these nutrients. Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Caveat: As with anything, you can get too much of a good thing. Don’t overdue on supplements. Your body can handle excess to a point, but beyond that, vitamins can become toxic. Toxicity is not likely to occur if you get your vitamins from food.
Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Why do I need them? You need vitamins to be healthy and to feel good. Together with the other nutrients, Protein, Carbohydrates, Fats, Minerals and Water, they help keep your body working properly. Each vitamin has a significant role to play in the your total good health. What if I don’t get enough? Without enough Vit A, your skin and vision will suffer.
Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating These are some of the things we know about the need for vitamins, but there are probably other important roles that we have yet to discover. Can I get too much? All nutrients, even water, can be toxic if you overdo. In the case of vitamins, because of supplementation with pills, there is a greater potential for getting too much. If you get them from food, toxicity is very rare. If you supplement with pills, be aware of the dose and realize that vitamins can become toxic if taken in mega doses.
Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating The Secret Eat a variety of fresh, whole foods. Store vegetables and fruits properly. If you cook vegetables, cook them lightly whenever possible. Eat foods from all of the food groups daily. Supplement with a good multi-vitamin, from natural sources, to fill in the gaps. It’s as simple as that!
Click here to go from Vitamins page back to Healthy Eating Support home page. Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating How to Use This Site
BOOKMARK this site or add it to your Favorites.
Become an informed eater by clicking on the NUTRITION button and reading the general information there.
Check back whenever you have a question about your diet, meal planning, nutrition, specific foods or any healthy eating issues. Use the SITE SEARCH function to track down your particular concern.
Try some of the free recipes available on the site by clicking on the RECIPES button.
E-mail me if you can’t find what you are looking for, if you feel that any of the information on the site is not accurate, or just to say hello!
Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating
Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating Healthy Eating
script type="text/javascript">var infolink_pid = 46115;
|
