Vitamins in General
Biol 135 Lecture: VI. Structure, Function and Source of Micronutrients.
Vitamins
A vitamin is an organic compound and is a vital nutrient. It is only required in limited amounts
but the human body cannot function properly if it is deficient in any one of the fourteen known
vitamins.
An organic chemical compound is called a vitamin when the organism cannot synthesize the
compound in sufficient quantities, and it must be obtained through the diet; thus, the term
"vitamin" is conditional upon the circumstances and the particular organism. For example,
ascorbic acid (one form of vitamin C) is a vitamin for humans, but not for most other animal
organisms.
What Are Vitamins?
The body requires vitamins (virtually tasteless, organic compounds) in small amounts to
maintain normal metabolic functions. Vitamins help regulate metabolism, convert energy into
ATP, promote growth and reproduction, and help avoid serious conditions related to deficiency.
There are criteria for classifying vitamins: A compound is a vitamin when:1) it cannot be built
in ample amounts by the body; and 2) physical symptoms have been linked to a chronic
deficiency. In addition, replenishment of deficient vitamin removes symptoms of deficiency.
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1. Symptoms of deficiency should resolve when the vitamin has been fully restored in the body,
as long as permanent damage has not resulted.
2.Using these criteria, 13 compounds are classified as vitamins (four fat-soluble vitamins and
nine water-soluble).
The Brief History of Vitamins: They began to be discovered over 100 years ago.
Year of
Discovery
1913
1910
1920
1920
1920
1922
1926
1929
1931
1931
1934
1936
1941
Vitamin
Vitamin A (Retinol)
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)
Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)
Vitamin D (Calciferol)
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
(Vitamin E) (Tocopherol)
Vitamin B12 (Cobalamins)
Vitamin K1 (Phylloquinone)
Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid)
Vitamin B7 (Biotin)
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
Vitamin B9 (Folic acid)
Food
Source
Cod liver oil
Rice bran
Citrus, most fresh foods
Cod liver oil
Meat, dairy products, eggs
Wheat germ oil, unrefined veg oil
Liver, eggs, animal products
Leafy vegetables
Meat, whole grains, many foods
Meat, dairy products, eggs
Meat, dairy products
Meat, grains
Leafy vegetables
All vitamins are organic but differ in structure and function. They all contain carbon, hydrogen,
and oxygen, and in many cases contain nitrogen and in some contain sulfur. The chemical
structure of each vitamin is unique; each performs numerous essential functions in the body.
Provitamins can be converted to active vitamins by the body. Provitamins are substances found
in foods that are not in a form directly usable in the body. The term "previtamin" is a synonym
(means the same thing).Preformedvitamins are already active and do not need to undergo
conversion to be useful to the body.
An example of a provitamin isProvitaminB5, it is called panthenol, which can be converted in the
body to Vitamin B5or Pantothenic Acid.
Another great example is that Beta-Carotene can be viewed as provitamin A, even though there
are several different types of vitamin A; beta-carotene can be converted to an active form of
Retinol (Vitamin A)by normal metabolic processes. As such, both beta-carotene and retinol are
simply considered to be different forms (vitamers) of Vitamin A. Also, the plant form of
provitamin D2 is ergosterol and the animal form of provitamin D3 is 7-dehydrocholesterol.
Unlike dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, or essential amino acids, vitamin are not divided
into essential or non-essential, though all 13 universally recognized vitamins must be
obtained by the diet. Vitamins are classified by their biological and chemical activity, not their
structure – and the two basic categories of vitamins are fat soluble and water soluble.
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Each "vitamin" refers to a number of vitamer compounds that all show the biological activity
associated with a particular vitamin. Such a set of chemicals is grouped under an alphabetized
vitamin "generic descriptor" title, such as "Vitamin A", which includes the compounds retinal,
retinol, and four known carotenoids.
Vitamer sare convertible to the active form of the vitamin in the body, and are sometimes
inter-convertible to one another. The different compounds that make up Vitamin A are an
example; and both niacinamide and nicotinic acid have vitamin B3 activity and are often referred
to as Niacin.
Vitamins have Diverse Biochemical Functions
Some vitamins, like vitamin D, have hormone-like functions as complex regulators of mineral
metabolism. Others,l ike vitamin Aare regulators of cell and tissue growth and differentiation.
Others still, function as antioxidants like vitamin E and vitamin C.
Probably to most common and best-known function of vitamins are their roles in assisting
enzyme-substrate reactions as coenzymes! The largest number of vitamins belongs to the B
complex of vitamins. These function as precursors for enzyme cofactors that help enzymes in
their work as catalysts in metabolism. Without them, the normal physiological processes of the
body cannot function properly.
In the varied and complex role of assisting in energy metabolism, vitamins may be tightly bound
to enzymes as part of the functional groups. For example, biotin is part of enzymes that are
involved in making fatty acids. They may also be less tightly bound to enzyme catalysts as
coenzymes, detachable molecules that function to carry chemical groups or electrons between
molecules. For example, folate may carry methyl, formyl, and methylene groups in the cell. In a
succinct way, we can view co-enzymes as ‘shuttle’s for electrons.
Until the mid-1930s, when the first commercial yeast-extract vitamin B complex and semisynthetic vitamin C supplement tablets were sold, vitamins were obtained solely through food
intake, and changes in diet (which, for example, could occur during a particular growing season)
usually greatly altered the types and amounts of vitamins ingested. However, vitamins have been
produced as commodity chemicals and made widely available as inexpensive semi-synthetic and
synthetic-source multivitamin dietary and food supplements and additives, since the middle of
the 20th century. The study of structural activity, function and the role of vitamins in maintaining
health is called as vitaminology.
Vitamins are essential for the normal growth and development of a multicellular organism. Using
the genetic blueprint inherited from its parents, a fetus begins to develop, at the moment of
conception, from the nutrients it absorbs. It requires certain vitamins and minerals to be present
at certain times. These nutrients facilitate the chemical reactions that produce among other
things, skin, bone, and muscle. If there is a serious deficiency in one or more of these nutrients, a
child may develop a deficiency disease. Even minor deficiencies may cause permanent damage.
For the most part, vitamins are contained in foods and obtained from eating those foods, but a
few are obtained by other means. For example, microorganisms in the intestine — commonly
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known as "gut flora" — produce vitamin K and biotin, and vitamin D3 is synthesized in the
skin with the help of the natural ultraviolet B wavelength of sunlight. Humans can produce some
vitamins from precursors they consume. Examples include vitamin A, produced from beta
carotene, and niacin, from the amino acid tryptophan.
Vitamins are Required throughout Life
Once growth and development are completed, vitamins remain essential nutrients for the healthy
maintenance of the cells, tissues, and organs that make up a multicellular organism; they also
enable a multicellular life form to efficiently use chemical energy provided by food it eats, and to
help process the proteins, carbohydrates, and fats required for respiration.
Supplements
In those who are otherwise healthy, there is no evidence that supplements have any benefits with
respect to cancer or heart disease. Vitamin A and E supplements not only provide no health
benefits for generally healthy individuals, but they may increase mortality, though the two large
studies that support this conclusion included smokers for whom it was already known that betacarotene supplements can be harmful. While other findings suggest that vitamin E toxicity is
limited to only a specific form when taken in excess – and from supplements, never from having
eaten too much vitamin E rich foods!
Vitamins Differ in Their Absorption and Storage in the Body
All vitamins are absorbed in the small intestine, although the method of absorption differs
between fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins.
Vitamins differ in Bioavailability.
Bioavailability is how much of the nutrient you can extract from it after consuming it. In terms
of bioavailability for vitamins, it is the portion of that active element that is capable of being
absorbed through your intestines into your bloodstream and then be made available for use by
your organs tissues and cells.
According to some sources, each vitamin’s bioavailability varies and can be from as low as 20%
to as high as 98%. This will be influenced by many factors and it is worth knowing that
sometimes multiple factors are acting at any given time.
So what are some important things that account for these significant variances in bioavailability?
Bioavailability of vitamins is affected by the following factors:
1. The Amount of Vitamin in the Food. How much of the vitamin that is there to begin
with will have an impact on how much of the vitamin you can get from that food.
2. How the Food is Prepared. Bioavailability is altered depending on whether the food is
cooked or raw. Not only that, but how long and at what temperature it is cooked at.
Whether the food is soaked, fermented or refined will also impact the vitamin’s
bioavailability. For the most part, raw food allows for more of the vitamin to remain
intact and thus typically has greater bioavailability. There are several exceptions and
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there are many ways to cook food. But for instance, you actually get more vitamin C
from cooked tomatoes than from raw tomatoes. Also, although boiled carrots have fewer
overall vitamins than raw, the B6 content is higher in boiled carrots than in raw. Some
anti-vitamins present in some foods can be destroyed by heat, e.g. the avidin in raw egg
whites which binds to biotin (B7). Another important issue is that fermentation and
soaking of foods is often a very effective way of removing anti-nutrients such as
phytates, saponins and lectins – these prevent mineral absorption and may adversely
impact vitamin absorption too.
3. Efficiency of your Digestion and Absorption. This is related to the health of your
gastrointestinal system. This is often related to the existing nutritional status of the
individual: There are times when poor health prevents the body for absorbing the
nutrients it needs, such conditions as Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative colitis, Inflammatory
Bowel Disease (IBD) and Diverticulitis. In contrast, if there is a sever deficiency, the
body will be quick to absorb it, often the more severe the need, the more sensitized the
body is to capturing it from the diet. The greater the need for a vitamin, the greater the
amount that will be absorbed.
4. Solubility of Vitamin. Fat-soluble vitamins tend to be less bioavailable than watersoluble vitamins. Vitamins in plant foods are generally less bioavailable than those in
animal foods. Fat-soluble vitamins are stored after they are absorbed and if too much of a
fat-soluble vitamin is ingested, it can lead to some toxicity. Water-soluble vitamins are
not stored after absorption; they are absorbed with water and enter the bloodstream
directly from the small intestine. Also, for many vitamins, in order to be absorbed, the
vitamin must be released from the protein it is embedded with, from the help of pepsin
and hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Absorption of these vitamins can be compromised
if the body is lacking adequate fatty acids or bile.
5. Whether the Vitamin is Natural or Synthetic. Many vitamin and mineral supplements
that are on the market are manufactured synthetically from chemicals in a creepy lab and
certainly do not come straight from their natural sources. They are made to mimic the
way natural vitamins act in our bodies. Natural vitamins are derived directly from the
food source containing the vitamin, not from the petri dish or test tube of a chemical
laboratory. The natural, original and intended form of any nutrient is always better for
your health.
Ideally, we should be able to get all of our macro- and micro-nutrients from the foods we eat. If
we were to create a diet that consisted of a wide range of colorful, organic, whole foods, rich in
vegetables, we could easily meet our nutritional needs for vitamins each day. This is not likely
for many and so we need to consider vitamin supplements. If you decide to take vitamins, it is
important for you to know that there is a difference between natural and synthetic and you are
worth paying the extra money to get the good stuff!
The Organic Consumers Association emphasizes that isolated vitamins cannot be used or
recognized by the body in the same way as the natural version. The problem is that because
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synthetic vitamins have been “isolated.”, many will lack the transporters and co-factors
associated with naturally-occurring vitamins – thus not function in the intended way.
Vitamins in their natural form come in ‘packages’, often with other vitamins, enzymes and
minerals that facilitate the way our bodies recognize, metabolize and use them.
Isolated vitamins can’t always be used by the body and are either stored until you obtain or
create the nutrients required in order to use them effectively or they are excreted. Synthetic
vitamins are also devoid of necessary trace minerals. This means the body must use its own
mineral reserves which may lead to dangerous mineral deficiencies.
Factoid: More than 95% of all vitamin supplements sold today fall in to the synthetic category.
Synthetic versions of vitamins contain chemical compounds that were not meant for human
consumption and do not occur in nature. Over the very long period of time that the physiological
processes in our bodies have been evolving, it has been in line with nature – in alignment with
the real food present and growing on planet earth. Again, the real natural forms are in steep
contrast to the ‘novel’ molecules developed by a pharmaceutical company.
For example, the synthetic version of Vitamin E is often referred to as the dl- form. The D and L
are referring to the Latin term for Dexter (d) and Laevus (l) for right and left respectively. The
d-form is the naturally occurring form. The dl- form is a combination of the d-form and the lform. No big deal, right? In the case of vitamins, the body doesn’t actually use the l-form- we
excrete it! Interestingly, this only applies to vitamins and not amino acids or sugars. As a matter
of fact, all the amino acids in any living organism (bacteria, fish, plants, us) are Left handed
only, that is, the l form is used and not the d form!
With regard to purchasing synthetic vitamins that mix the d and l forms, it will mean that
whatever proportion is in the d form we cannot utilize it. It’s like if someone gave you a dozen
eggs but half of them were hollow – to someone who does not know any better it may look like
you got a dozen but you only actually got half of that.
Another reason to avoid the synthetic form of vitamins is that they have the potential to be
dangerous because you can get a high, overly concentrated serving of the vitamin rather than the
normal ‘natural’ amount that you would get from a food-based form. Fat soluble vitamins in their
synthetic form are especially dangerous because these more than water soluble or natural
vitamins can build up in your fatty tissues and cause toxicity.
Natural Vitamins
The Organic Consumers Association has published an ingredient chart to help consumers
identify natural vs. synthetic vitamins. Many vitamin producers want you to believe that you
are getting a “natural product” because it seems more wholesome to take “natural” vitamins.
Please Note: Vitamins can be labeled as natural if they contain as little as 10% of the natural
form of the vitamin. This means that your “natural” vitamin could contain 90% of synthetically
produced chemicals! B-Vitamins and Vitamin C are also usually synthetically produced.
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Look for clues on your vitamin’s label that offer insight into the origin of the vitamin.
Common Synthetic Vitamins to Avoid:
 Vitamin A: Acetate and Palmitate
 Vitamin B1 (Thiamine): Thiamine Mononitrate, Thiamine Hydrochloride
 Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): Riboflavin
 Pantothenic Acid: Calcium D-Pantothenate
 Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine): Pyridoxine Hydrochloride
 Vitamin B12: Cobalamin
 PABA (Para-aminobenzoic Acid) and Aminobenzoic Acid
 Folic Acid: Pteroylglutamic Acid
 Choline: Choline Chloride, Choline Bitartrate
 Biotin: d-Biotin
 Vitamin C: Ascorbic Acid
 Vitamin D: Irradiated Ergosteral, Calciferol
 Vitamin E: dl-alpha tocopherol, dl-alpha tocopherol acetate or succinate
NOTE: The “dl” form of any vitamin is synthetic.
Other Toxic Ingredients to Avoid in Supplements
Magnesium stearate (or stearic acid)
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) disguised as “natural flavors”
Carnauba wax is used in car wax and shoe polish
Titanium dioxide is a carcinogen
What are Antioxidants?
What are antioxidants and how do they work? They are a class of molecules capable of
inhibiting the oxidation of another molecule. In order to fully understand antioxidants we need to
know what free radicals are.
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Free Radicals
These are very unstable organic molecules that do not have an even number of valance
electrons. This causes them to seek or "steal" that extra electron from anything it can in order to
become stable. The "free" part of the name is because they float around until they stabilize, and
the "radical" part is due to the wide variety of molecules from which they can take an electron.
Free radicals are responsible for aging, tissue damage, and diseases. The damage continues
though, as the ‘attacked’ molecule, for example a portion of a cell membrane, is now also
missing an electron and has become another free radical. This snowball effect can wreak havoc
on healthy tissue.
Here do Free Radicals Come From?
Free radicals are created by environmental pollution, toxic smoke of all kinds (cigarette, vaping,
car exhaust), and poisons like many household cleaners, cosmetics and herbicides. There are also
free radicals generated during the heavy chemical alterations that occurring when making
Processed Foods. This ‘industrialization’ of many foods can mean that not only is the food
devoid of any real nutrients, but it is also now made to be toxic when consumed by you!
Antioxidants
This is where antioxidants come in. These molecules protect us from attack by free radicals by
taking that highly reactive free electron for us! Thus preventing free radicals (that are generated
in many ways) from harming healthy tissue.
Antioxidants are present in many foods, and the more of those foods that are in our diets, the
better protected we are from free radical attack. Your body naturally produces and circulates
various nutrients in your body due to their antioxidant properties. It also manufactures
antioxidant enzymes in order to control free radical chain reactions.
Antioxidants are molecules found in fresh foods like vegetables and fruits, particularly in the
vitamins found in these foods, including A, E, and beta-carotene. These molecules act like a
giant boulder in the path of the snowball, stopping free radicals from causing untold damage. It's
better to get antioxidants from a balanced diet, rather than vitamin supplements, because the
body can more easily absorb them.
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Free radicals are created by environmental pollution, cigarette smoking, and poisons like
cleaners or herbicides. Their role in certain types of cancer, strokes, and heart disease is still
being investigated. Preliminarily, low concentrations of free radicals have been associated with a
reduced risk for heart disease and stroke, but more studies are needed to understand their
relationship.
Antioxidants play a significant role in your health, as they can control how fast you age by
fighting free radicals.
The dangerous free radicals search for an electron to incorporate for stability, stealing from
another molecule that then becomes a free radical itself; they can also release an electron onto
another molecule, creating another free radical. Antioxidants help neutralize free radicals to halt
further cell destruction.
Oxidative stress can occur when free radicals accumulate at a rate faster than the body can
neutralize them. Damaging results of oxidative stress can contribute to chronic diseases and
conditions, including heart disease, cancer, aging, diabetes, arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, and
Alzheimer’s disease. Free radicals play a part in eye damage, contributing to age-related
macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts. AMD damages the portion of the eye needed for
central vision.
A cataract is diagnosed when the lens of
the eye becomes cloudy, resulting in
blurred vision, e.g., cataracts and macular
degeneration. Some current research from
the National Eye Institute reveals
favorable activity from vitamins C, E, and
beta carotene regarding vision protection
and macular degeneration.
Phytochemicals, naturally occurring plant compounds that give plant food their vibrant colors,
act as antioxidants in the body. Carotenoids and flavonoids are considered antioxidants. The
various colors of plant pigments, their phytochemicals, and actual foods that contain that
nutrient. Studies are underway to determine the worth of antioxidant supplements in the diet.
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Currently, supplements are not recommended; instead, phytochemical- and antioxidant-rich
foods should be part of a balanced diet. Just like there are two types of vitamins, there are two
types of Antioxidants: Water-Soluble and Fat-Soluble. Water soluble antioxidants are vitamin
C and Vitamins A and E are the main fat soluble ones. However, many antioxidants are soluble
in both lipids and water, so below is a list of some of the best and most powerful antioxidants
your body could want!
Beta Carotene – antioxidant that can be converted to vitamin A when needed, the excess beta carotene
acts as free radical neutralizer. High concentrations are found in green leafy vegetables and also in
orange-colored fruits and vegetables, e.g. in carrots.
Lycopene – a type carotenoid that gives a red color in foods, a perfect example are tomatoes, but also
found in pink grapefruit, pink guava, watermelon, and rose hip.
Lutein and Zeaxanthin– are like beta carotene (carotenoids), they are yellow or orange pigments found
in some fruits and vegetables, including egg yolk. These two accumulate in the retina of the eye and
protect it from oxidative stress, which decreases the risk of macular degeneration.
Astaxanthin - The most powerful carotenoid antioxidant, astaxanthin, is 40 times more effective as an
antioxidant than beta carotene; 500 to 1000 times more effective in inhibiting oxidation of lipids than
vitamin E; has almost 4 times the antioxidant capacity of lutein; and more! Found in shrimp, crab,
lobster (first isolated in a lab 1938 from lobster), trout, salmon, fish eggs, carrots and red peppers
Endogenous Antioxidants
These are antioxidants are made in our body and termed endogenous antioxidants. Since we can make
them, they cannot be called vitamins. They are very important molecules and what we eat and do with
our bodies will determine how much we make.
Glutathione - Nature’s most powerful antioxidant! Glutathione is naturally made by our liver and is
found in high concentrations in liver cells. It attaches to toxins, makes them harmless, and escorts them
out of the body. Glutathione works closely with two other antioxidants, catalase and superoxide
dismutase (SOD) to combat superoxide radicals. It also recycles other antioxidants such as vitamins C
and E to their original active form, so they can continue to function protectively. Glutathione's health
benefits and efficacy have been confirmed in over 80,000 scientific studies.
NOTE: It consists of 3 amino acids, cycteine, methionine and glutamate, and to produce glutathione, our
body needs other nutrients such as n-acetyl-cysteine (NAC). Supplements of glutathione (or Lglutathione) are not effective because: 1) glutathione cannot pass through the intestinal walls into the
blood stream only the smaller ‘reduced’ form can; and 2) if unprotected, it gets digested in the stomach
before getting to the intestines. Hence, the supplement must be enteric coated.
Methionine - An essential amino acid, it is also a free radical scavenger that neutralizes the dangerous
hydroxyl radicals.
NOTE: During normal methylation processes in the body, methionine is broken down into
homocysteine, which then breaks down to cysteine or turns back to methionine again. If the body's
methylation is not operating optimally, homocysteine is not converted but becomes elevated, causing
many different health problems and accelerates your aging process!
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Adequate levels of non antioxidant vitamins such as the B vitamins, B6, B12 and folate are required for
homocysteine to remain in safe level. Other potent nutrients that can help bring down the
homocysteine level to a safe range are tri-methyl-glycine (TMG, also known as betaine).
Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) - Your liver's best friend giving it potent protection. Unlike any other
antioxidants, ALA can access all regions of the body. It can enhance the production of cysteine, which in
turn boosts glutathione levels to start working overtime. It also regenerates vitamin C and E, CoQ10 and
even ALA itself in the body. When ALA combines with acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) you get a powerful brainheart nutrient combination.
Carnosine - As its name might imply, this antioxidant is found in meats! Especially red meat. It is able to
neutralize even the most destructive free radicals, like the hydroxyl and peroxyl radicals, superoxide and
singlet oxygen. It even protects SOD from being oxidized by peroxyl. Both carnosine and ALA help
prevent glycation, a central problem facing diabetics and one of the four main causes of aging and
degenerative disease. Free radicals, methylation (above) and chronic inflammation are the other three.
Coenzyme Q10 - also called CoQ10 not only helps quench free radicals, it also super charges your heart
and boosts energy levels. Requires amino acid, tyrosine and at least eight vitamins and several trace
minerals for the body to produce CoQ10!
Antioxidant Support System - must also be ample amounts of antioxidant support minerals like
manganese, zinc, copper and selenium. The rests of the non antioxidant vitamins, the B vitamins, B1 and
B2 also act as cofactors for the antioxidants—they are the behind the lines antioxidant support system.
Vitamin Supplementations
Vitamin supplements are important when you consider the dramatic reduction in nutrient content
in most foods that are available in this country. Many health problems stem from a simple lack of
bioactive vitamins in our food, not to mention mineral depletion. Ideally we should not have to
supplement our diets with vitamins and minerals if the major cultivation practices were closer to
what small farms have done for thousands of years. Sadly, this is not the case. There are growing
numbers of people who see the benefit of small farming practices and are working towards
implementing it and spreading awareness of this important issue. Getting all the original
nutrients back into the soil and into the foods we eat is a much better solution than taking
supplements!
What’s the Best Source of Vitamins?
Whole foods are rich in phytochemicals, antioxidants, and fiber. Therefore, having a diet that
includes a significant intake of vegetables, fruits and healthy animal products has helped to
encourage many people to actually meet their daily vitamin needs. It is important to realize that
many vitamins can be destroyed during cooking or storage. Also, exposure to the oxygen in air
can destroy water-soluble and some fat-soluble vitamins like A, E, and K. Vegetables should be
stored in airtight, covered containers and used soon after purchase.
Light, especially ultraviolet (UV) light, can destroy vitamins, including the water-soluble vitamin
riboflavin. Thus, foods stored in glass containers, such as milk or grains, or sun-dried fruits and
vegetables can lose vitamins – often storing them in dark colored glass is best. Water-soluble
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vitamins will leach out of foods when soaked or cooked in liquids, so cooking foods in as little
water as possible is recommended to retain those vitamins. As it turns out, cooking and heating it
is not all bad, since adding vegetables to water that is already boiling can inactivate food
enzymes that oxidize the vitamins.
Changes in pH significantly can destroy some vitamins, especially thiamin and vitamin C. Heat,
especially prolonged heat from cooking, can destroy many water-soluble vitamins, especially
vitamin C. Deepening on the specific food, steaming or stir-frying may be better than boiling
sometimes.
Refrigeration and Pasteurization
The main purpose of refrigerating foods right away is to preserve the vitamins in the food. As it
may have been motioned before, any food that has been pulled out of the ground will start losing
its nutrient value immediately. Refrigerating fresh food will slow the rate of loss. Just as when
you make a vegetable or fruit juice, the enzymes, vitamins and phytonutrients are quick to
oxidize, so the best time to drink it is immediately after making it! This is a good example of
why pasteurizing any kind of juice essentially renders it useless in terms of nutrients! You
might as well drink some flavored sugar water, because that is all that it has become, whether it’s
organic or not makes no difference. In a conventional supermarket the juices in the juice section
(refrigerated or not) have been pasteurized – this means they have been ultra heated to kill all
those nasty germs that are lurking everywhere to get you. Naughty naughty germs: So the exalted
health authorities must kill all the nutrients to protect you from any germs that may be there!
Give me the germs any day rather than killing every good thing about a natural raw food. When
your immune system is functioning properly and is not compromised, you are perfectly able to
deal with any germs that might be present.
“Fortification” of Foods
Some foods are fortified with vitamins. In fact, vitamins and minerals are the most commonly
used nutrients in fortified foods, but fiber, amino acids, essential fatty acids, and other bioactive
ingredients are also sometimes added. Enriched foods are a type of fortified food – this is
another great creation of your government nutritional authorities at work! You will find that
Enriched and fortified foods apply only to highly processed foods. These are foods that have
had their nutrients completely stripped away from them during processing. After being rendered
null and void of any real nutrients, manufactures then artificially add back a some key ‘nutrients’
to make up for the loss of the original nutrients. This is analogous to taking a beautiful healthy
nutrient rich meal and destroying it; then throwing a handful of genetically modified peanuts in
someone’s faces as a disgraceful form of equivalence. Most if not all of the vitamins imported
into the dead processed foods are synthetic and as outlined previously in these notes (above),
there is a big difference between real food source vitamins and the creepy phony molecules that
are made in a lab and have zero compatibility with human physiology. Fortification is chump
change being thrown in your face. And what, are you supposed to feel grateful that something
like Froot Loops is “fortified with vitamins and minerals”? I think not. Do yourself a favor and
skip any food that needs to be fortified by creepy people who have zero interest in you being a
healthy, thoughtful and capable person.
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Regulating Vitamin Supplements
Why is it that many countries have strict regulations that define limits of vitamin (and mineral)
dosages for their safe use as food supplements and cannot exceed a maximum daily dosage?
Vitamin products above these legal limits are not considered food supplements and must be
registered as prescription or non-prescription (over-the-counter drugs) due to their potential side
effects. Compared to pharmaceutical side effects, the side effects from hypervitaminosis
(excessive vitamin intake) are typically minor. As a result, most of the fat-soluble vitamins, such
as the vitamins A, D, E, and K, that contain amounts above the daily allowance are classified as
drug products. Wow huh? The daily dosage of a vitamin supplement for example cannot exceed
300% of the recommended daily allowance, and for vitamin A, this limit is even lower (200%).
Here is a question: Why are other things not regulated this way? Why not regulate alcohol or
sugary products or artificial sweeteners in this same manner for example? There is no way that
anyone with knowledge and ethics could deny the sever health problems caused by the “excess”
of these products listed. And this is not to provide ammunition for the argument to ban these
things – I am against banning foods, alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, etc. Any adult should be able to
do anything they like if it harms no one else. Go for it, knock yourself out - take all the vitamin
A you can chug down, or sugar or heroin for that matter. It is none of my business what you
decide to do with your own body. It is important for everyone to remember there is a
consequence to everything we do! So if you are a mature and responsible person, then you will
be able to handle or at least accept the consequences of your actions. In addition, if you have
gained some wisdom in your life, you may be able to predict most consequences and decide
beforehand whether or not something is worth doing.
It is wrong, morally and ethically wrong to try to regulate what others can and cannot do, even if
you believe (erroneously or not) you are doing it ‘for their own good’. If you believe this
premise, that a government should set the limits of what you are allowed to do because they are
looking after you, then you accept being treated like an infant or a slave. If you recall from our
Nutrition and Ethics lecture, Frederick Douglass (who was a slave and then a free man)
described the perfect slave as being a thoughtless person with darkened morals. That is, a person
who no longer has the power to reason or think for themselves. I am positive that on the face of
it, none of us who are balanced would want to declare a desire to be a slave. From that same
lecture, we looked at the two sides of the cerebrum needing to exist in balance, such that a whole
person wants neither to be a slave nor a master.
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Sample from an Antacid Calcium Supplement:
500mg calcium supplement tablets, with vitamin D, made from:
calcium carbonate, maltodextrin, mineral oil, hypromellose, glycerin,
cholecalciferol, polyethylene glycol, and carnauba wax.
This label to the left is from a Tums antacid bottle. Just for starters it is
to ‘fix’ a problem that would not exist if a person were eating healthy
whole foods! Secondly, by taking any vitamin and mineral supplements
in isolation of their whole foods and other elements, it creates
imbalance in the body. Every vitamin and mineral is intricately
interconnected with many other elements (see the mineral wheel to the
right), such that to deliver just
calcium and vitamin D will put
your system off balance. Finally,
just scanning the contents you will
find some disturbing ingredients;
mineral oil is a byproduct of processing crude oil into
gasoline (mmm, yum); polyethylene glycol is primarily used
in antifreeze; and carnauba wax is used in car polish! These
are hardly the types of ingredients you’d want to knowingly
put in your body if you want to look after your own health.
Vitamins are found in every whole food! Each vitamin is typically used in multiple reactions,
and, therefore, most have multiple functions.
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Bioavailability and the Effect of Cooking
The bioavailability of any nutrient we consume is the proportion of the nutrient that is digested,
absorbed and metabolized through normal pathways. The way the food is prepared will have a
big impact on the bioavailability of the nutrients it contains.
Effect of Cooking
Shown below is percentage loss of vitamins after cooking averaged for common foods such as
vegetables, meat or fish.
Vitamin
Average %loss
C
16
B1
26
B2
–3
B3
18
B5
17
B6
3
Folate B12
20
?
A
11
E
11
Important Note: Some vitamins may become more "bio-available" – that is, usable by the body –
when steamed or cooked!
Various vitamins are susceptible to loss from heat—such as heat from boiling, steaming, cooking
etc.—and other agents. The effect of cutting vegetables can be seen from exposure to air and
light. Water soluble vitamins such as B and C seep into the water when a vegetable is boiled.
How to Preserve Vitamins in Foods
Since our bodies need vitamins to stay at optimum health, retaining as many vitamins as possible
in the food you eat makes this goal a little easier. Explore several cooking methods, techniques
and tricks that will help you know how to preserve vitamins in foods. Retaining vitamins in food
is not as difficult as you might be thinking. In many of the cases, less time and preparation are
involved, making the process even easier than what you might be doing now. For those who do
not like to cook or just don't have a knack for it, this might be the best thing you have heard all
day
1. Cook less. Many vitamins are heat sensitive, so the process of cooking destroys them. The
longer heat is applied to food and the more intense the heat, the more nutrients are being stripped
away. The more mushy your cooked vegetable is, the more vitamins have been sucked from it.
Vegetables have held the most vitamins when they show a vibrant color.
2. Reduce surface exposure. Air, water and heat all attack vitamins starting at the surface of the
produce. Vegetables cut into large pieces will retain more nutrients in cooking than small pieces.
If you need smaller, bite-size pieces, you can always cut them smaller prior to serving.
3. Alter Cooking and Preparation methods. Less time, less heat and less water equal more
retained vitamins. Steaming vegetables is a better option than boiling as vitamins do not leach
into the water and get thrown away. Microwaving keeps cook time short. Stir-frying is another
fast, low-water option. When boiling, add vegetables to already boiling water instead of allowing
them to heat up with the water, giving time for more vitamins to leach out.
4. Keep the lid on. By keeping the lid on your pot while cooking vegetables, steam is created
that helps cook the vegetables faster and any vitamins are held in the pot.
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5. Reuse water. Any water that is used while cooking catches any excrement from what is being
cooked. The water then takes on flavor and picks up some of the vitamins that cooked out of the
food. Reusing this water in soups or gravies lets you intake those vitamins that would have
otherwise been thrown out.
6. Eat raw. The best way to get the most vitamins from your food is to eat it raw. Since no
outside manipulators have altered the food, it is in its most natural and vitamin-bearing state. It is
true that leaving the skin on varieties with edible skins gives you the best nutrient retention.
7. Eat fresh. Nutrients are most plentiful in produce when it is fresh. Waiting to eat fruits and
vegetables or eating older produce means you are robbing yourself of some of the vitamins.
Whole fruits and vegetables will have more nutrients than precut options. Only buy as much as
you will use in a few days. It is better to shop more often and have fresher food options.
Ultimately, when discussing vitamins, the most desirable and effective benefits to human biology
are when we get our vitamins directly from fresh whole foods. The important components in
choosing Organic Foods over conventionally grown foods are many. Here are some of the most
important reasons for selecting Organic Foods:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Higher nutrient, vitamin and mineral content.
No growth stimulants, no antibiotics, no artificial fertilizers.
No pesticides, irradiation, preservatives, additives, artificial colors or flavors.
No Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
Primarily Locally Grown, Seasonal food.
For all of these reasons and more the food tastes much better!
The two basic categories of vitamins are:
Fat soluble = A, D, E, K
Water soluble = C and B
Always chose natural sources of vitamins over synthetic if you truly value your health.