Exam 4 - Nutrition Flashcards
essential organic compounds needed in small amount
- not synthesized by body
- measurable decline in health if missing from diet
13 total vitamins
- Fat soluble: A, D, E, K
- Water soluble: B and C
Vitamins needed for
- energy metabolism
- growth
- development
- maintenance
Fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed with:
- dietary fats
- adequate absorption depends on bile and pancreatic lipase
- 40-90% absorbed under optimal conditions
- diseases and drugs such as orlistat can impair absorption
water soluble vitamins absorption
not dependent on dietary fats: 90-100% absorption rate
all vitamins
- digestive process in the stomach begin the release of vitamins from food
- digestive enzymes produced by the pancreas aid in the release of vitamins from food
Fat-soluble vitamins only
- bile produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder aids in fat-soluble vitamin absorption
- fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed in the small intestine, along with dietary fat, and carried by chylomicrons into the lymphatic system
- absorbed in the small intestine and released directly into the blood
vitamin K only
small amounts of vitamin K are made by bacteria in the ileum of the small intestine and in the large intestine
Storage of fat-soluble vitamins
- stored in the liver and adipose tissue
- less storage of vitamin K
Storage of water-soluble vitamins
- some storage of B-6 and B-12
- other excreted rapidly
Storage of vitamins in the body
- best to meet DRIs daily, but for most vitamins it takes weeks of low intake before symptoms of deficiency develop
- toxicity possible if too much is consumed
Vitamin A - retinoids
- preformed vitamin - biologically active
- mostly animal source
Vitamin A - carotenoids
- provitamin A
- need to be activate in body
- mostly plant source
Vitamin A in foods
- retinoids are found in liver, fish, fish oils, fortified milk, and eggs
- Carotenoids are found in dark-green and yellow-orange vegetables and fruits: beta-carotene has greatest amount of provitamin A activity
- 70% of vitamin A in North American diets comes from animal sources
Absorption, transport, storage, and excretion of Vitamin A
- 90% of vitamin A is found in liver, which stores enough retinyl ester to last several months
- it is released into bloodstream from the liver as a retinoid bound to retinol-binding protein (RBP) and transthyretin
Functions of vitamin A retinoid
- growth
- development
- cell differentiation
- vision
- immune function
Vision
- retinal is needed in the retina, as it turns visual light into nerve signals to the brain
- rods and cones are sensory elements on retina: rods are responsible for translating objects into black-and-white images and detecting motion; cones are responsible for translating objects into color images
Vitamin D
- conditional vitamin
- prohormone
- vitamin: precursor from sunlight or diet
- hormone: activated 1, 25-(OH)2D2 is produced in the body
- in the gut, activated D switches on genes for proteins that enable calcium absorption
Vitamin A Deficiency Disease
- least common vitamin deficiency along with vitamin E
- major public health problem in developing countries (leading cause of non-accidental blindess)
Vitamin D3
- produced naturally in skin
- form of most supplements
- FYI vitamin D2: derived from ergosterol; plant origin
25-hydroxyvitamin D3
- calcifediol
- 25-OH added in liver
1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3
- calcitriol
- fully activated form
- 1-OH added in kidney under control of PTH
- sometimes abbreviated 1, 25-(OH)2D
Functions of Vitamin D
- calcium absorption and maintenance of levels
- vitamin D may also help regulate immune function, the function of other hormones, cell cycle, cardiovascular and nervous system function
- this does not mean that supplementation will help any health conditions related to these symptoms