Fat Soluble Vitamins

Question 1

Are vitamins organic or inorganic compounds?

Answer 1

They are organic.

Question 2

Without vitamins our bodies would not be capable ________________

Answer 2

Sustaining functions necessary for daily activities.

Question 3

Vitamins are needed in ________amounts to support what kind of functions?

Answer 3

Needed in small amounts to support a variety of chemical reactions and processes related to digestion, absorption, metabolism and body regulations.

Question 4

True or false: vitamins yield energy.

Answer 4

False, vitamins do not yield any energy. , unlike carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, the classes of nutrients that do. Rather vitamins are important for the gorwth and maintenance of our bodies.

Question 5

Vitamins are found from both _____ and ____ sources.

Answer 5

Plant and animal sources

Question 6

Can all the vitamins we need be synthesized by our bodies?

Answer 6

No, absolutely not. Are you crazy?!
There aare some that don’t have to be consumed through the diet such as Vitamin A, D , niacin, Vitamin K and biotin, but most have to be taken in through the diet.

Question 7

What are the two criteria needed for a compound to be considered a vitamin?

Answer 7

Enough of the compound must be consumed in the diet to maintain health due to the inability of our bodies to manufacture the compound.
2. if we didn’t get enough of the certain compound deficiency symptoms would occur resulting in declining health.

Question 8

What are the two classifications of vitamins?

Answer 8

Fat soluble and water soluble

Question 9

What are the specific fat soluble vitamins?

Answer 9

A, D, E and K.

Question 10

What are the specific water soluble vitamins?

Answer 10

The B complex vitamins, of which there are eight and Vitamin C.

Question 11

Fat soluble and water soluble vitamins are _________ differenly in the body.

Answer 11

Stored and absorbed

Question 12

Fat soluble vitamins are absorbed into where?

Answer 12

The lymph system and are not easily excreted after storage. There is a dangeof excess consumption over time leading to a vitamin toxicity.

Question 13

The water soluble vitamins are absorbed into where?

Answer 13

Directly into the bloodstream and easily dissolve in water. These therefore must be replenished on a daily basis because there is limited storage for them in the body. Chance of toxicity is minimal unless consumed in extremely large quantities.

Question 14

Is it guaranteed that all the water soluble vitamins present in a food will be eaten and absorbed?

Answer 14

No, because of their ability to easily dissolve in water, water soluble vitamins are vulnerable to cooking losses. Excessive cooking, improper handling, heat, light and exposure to air can call destroy vitamins, especially those that are water soluble.

Question 15

Ways to preserve vitamins in food….

Answer 15

Store canned goods in a cool place
2. use fruits and vegetables within a few days of harvest, refridgerate foods in moisture proof containers and blance vegetables prior to freezing.

Question 16

What does it mean to say some foods are enriched?

Answer 16

The nutrients that were lost in the processing of that food have been added back into the final product.

Question 17

What are fortified foods?

Answer 17

The process of supplementing a product with additional vitamins that would not normally be in that product.

Question 18

What are fat soluble vitamins dependent on for absorption?

Answer 18

The presence of fat in the diet. Once absorbed they are stored in the liver and fatty tissue.

Question 19

What are the two forms from which vitamin A can be found?

Answer 19

Preformed vitamin A comes from animal sources knwon as retinoids.

Provitamin A comes from carotenoids, which are pigments found in plant sources that can be converted to vitamin A.

Question 20

Discuss vitamin A’s impact on vision.

Answer 20

Vitamin A is needed to help the eyes adjust from bright to dim light. Without adequate intake of retinal, a form of vitamin A, the eye loses it ability to adjust to light and this is called night blindness. Other complications can result if the deficiency progresses - the eye loses it ability to make mucus and keep the eye moist. bacteria can infect the eye leading to a condition called Xerophthalmia, and the end result is blindness. Consumption of fruits and vegetables high in carotenoids may also help orevent an eye disorder that occurs as we age called macular degeneration.

Question 21

Other functions of Vitamin A-

Answer 21

Important for the skin health and the health of the epithelial cells that line our GI tract, as well as the inside and outside of our body. These act as barriers to bacteria and provide immunity from infection.
Vitamin A is needed for growth, development and reproduction. Vitamin binds to DNA to produce a variety of proteins, a major requirement for cell development known as gene expression. Lack of vitamin A would lead to stunted growth in children and an inability to reproduce.
Vitamin A help prevent disease.

Question 22

Sources of preformed Vitamin A

Answer 22

Preformed vitamin A is found in animal sources such as liver, fish, fish oils, fortified milk, yogurt and eggs.

Question 23

Sources of provitamin A

Answer 23

Dark green leafy vegetables- spinach and kale

Yellow and orange fruits and vegetables such as sweet potatoes, cantaloupe and apricots.

Question 24

What is the maximum intake of preformed vitamin A?

Answer 24

3000 micrograms per day for adults. Above this level could lead to toxicity resulting in increased hip fracture, liver toxicity and fetal malformations in pregnant women.

Question 25

Are there any toxic effects with the intake of provitamin A?

Answer 25

No- your palms of your hands and soles of your feet could become more yellow if a large amount of orange and yellow vegetables are consumed. This resolves when the carotenoid levels decline.

Question 26

Vitamin D

Answer 26

Synthesized by the body through a series of reactions involving the sun and skin cells, the liver and the kidneys which create the finished product.

Question 27

Primary function of vitamin D

Answer 27

Regulation of calcium levels and bone metabolism. Working with the parathyroid hormone, vitamin D regulates absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the intestine and deposition of calcium in the bones.
Vitamin D also important for the immune system, skin development, muscle health and blood pressure control.

Question 28

Deficiency of Vitamin D complications in children

Answer 28

Bone problems children such as Rickets, and its characteristics bow legs.
.

Question 29

Deficiency of vitamin D in Adults

Answer 29

Osteomalacia- soft bones caused by inadequate calcium absorption and deposition. As we age our bones continue to lose calcium and the production of vitamin D decreases. Osteoporosis occurs as bone mass decreases and bones thin and become porous.

Question 30

What are good sources of Vitamin D, besides sun exposure?

Answer 30

Fatty fish, fortified cereal, eggs, butter, fortified milk and yogurt

Question 31

What are the desired blood levels of vitamin D and what would be considered deficient?

Answer 31

30 nanograms/milliliter

20 ng/ml is considered deficient.

Question 32

Toxicity from Vitamin D usually results from ________

Answer 32

oversupplementation

Question 33

Vitamin E

Answer 33

One of the fat soluble vitamins- its major function is as an antioxidant protecting cell membranes from free radicals, which can alter a cell’s DNA and increase the risk for cancer and damage to cell membranes.

Question 34

Tocopherols

Answer 34

The chemical name for Vitamin E

Question 35

What is the main form of vitamin E in the body and the main form of Vitamin E in plants?

Answer 35

Alpha tocopherol in our body and gamma- tocopherol in plants.

Question 36

Major sources of vitamin E

Answer 36

Oils, cereals, eggs, margarine, whole grains and nuts

Question 37

What is the upper level of alpha tocopherol intake daily?

Answer 37

1000 mg per day of the supplemental form- toxic levels interfere with vitamin K’s role in clotting and lead to hemorrhage.

Question 38

Vitamin K sources

Answer 38

Oils, plants, fish, meats, green leafy vegetables, green beans, soybean oils canola oils and liver . The body also synthesizes vitamin K in the intestinal tract, intestinal bacteria is required for this synthesis

Question 39

Primary functions of vitamin K

Answer 39

Blood clotting or coagulation, also needed for bone formation and to bind calcium to muscles and kidneys.

Question 40

Daily value recommendation for Vitamin K

Answer 40

80 micrograms- deficiency and toxicity is rare. Dissppears from the body within 24 hours.