Lec 7a Flashcards
_________ are essential organic compounds that promote growth/health
Vitamins
What are the 2 types of vitamin categories, and what are the differences between them?
- Water-soluble vitamins
- Cannot be stored in the body (To a great extent)
- Soluble in water
- Excreted in urine
- Found mostly in fruits, veggies and grains
- Essential - Fat-soluble vitamins
- Are stored in the body’s fat tissue and liver
- Soluble in fats
- Accumulates in the body (Can lead to toxicity)
- Found mostly in fatty foods, oils, and animal products
Essential vs. non-essential meaning
Essential: Body cannot produce this, or at least a significant amount therefore needs intake
Non-Essential: Body will produce this therefore no need to intake more from external sources
What is the “B-Complex”?
The collective name for the B vitamins
- Called this since originally was thought to be one chemical substance, but is now seen as distinct compounds
Why are some numbers missing in the B complex (B4, B8, B10, B11)?
These numbers were found to either not be essential like other B vitamins (B4, B8, B10), or not even be considered a “true” vitamin and instead a folate derivative (B11).
What habits, guidelines, or patterns have been developed/evolved to reduce the risk of vitamin deficiencies? (5)
- Maximizing variety of foods
- Frequency or regularity of food intake (3 meals a day)
- Maximizing nutrient dense foods
- Eating mixed meals
- Fortifications (Increasing content of a micronutrient)
People are more likely to be vitamin deficient _______ on in life
Early
- Since as age increases, more worried about longevity, higher income, so spend more on nutrition and supplements
T/F: Every one of the food categories each contains all vitamins in abundance
False:
- No single food group contains all vitamins in abundance, each has a few
- Showing the importance of eating a variety
Fortified vs. Enriched in vitamins
Fortified
- Adding micronutrients that were originally not there
- Ex: Iodized salt and fortified milk
Enriched
- Adding micronutrients to replace those lost during processing/adding more
-Ex: Enriched flour contains B-vitamins and minerals
What helps vitamins be digested and where?
Digestive enzymes help release vitamins from foods, as well as preparation, mastication, transit time, fibre
- 40-90% of vitamins in foods are absorbed in the small intestine
How are water vs. fat soluble vitamins digested?
Water:
- Diffuse straight through mucosal cells of intestine, into blood stream
Fat:
- Fat-soluble vitamins attach to digested lipids to create a micelle
- Bile acids attach
- Diffuse through mucosal cell as chylomicrons into lymph vessels
How are vitamins used as “coenzymes?
- Assist enzymes in carrying out chemical reactions in the body.
- Enzymes are proteins that act as catalysts, facilitating and accelerating reactions
- Coenzymes are non-protein molecules that work together with enzymes to enhance their activity
- Vitamin combines with chemical group to become coenzyme
- This functional coenzyme combines with incomplete enzyme to form enzyme
- This active enzyme binds to molecules and accelerates the chemical reaction of the molecule
- New molecules released, enzyme and coenzyme (Vitamin) reused or separated
What is the function of vitamins as a coenzyme (What’s an example of what we get out of the reactions)
Facilitates glucose uptake into mitochondria to stimulate ATP production
- So when a vitamin claims to “increase energy output” it is because of this, not because it causes more ATP in the body
Thiamin, B_
1. Function
2. Foods found in
3. RDA
4. Deficiency
B1
1. Coenzyme in energy metabolism, needed for neurotransmitter production, and pentose (simple sugar) synthesis
- Also widely available in foods as fortification (“Whole wheat products”)
- Consistently found in grain products (Due to being in enriched/whole grain products), high amounts in pork and lentils as well
- Males: 1.2 mg/day, Females: 1.1 mg/day
- “Beriberi” - lethargy, fatigue, neurological symptoms
- Weakness, irritability
- Edema across body
- Abdominal pain
- CV problems (Congestive heart failure)
B2: __________
1. Function
2. Foods found in
3. RDA
4. Deficiency
Riboflavin
- Coenzyme in energy metabolism redox reactions, supports citric acid cycle by supporting FAD in facilitating into FADH2
- Larger sources: Milk, Pork, Trout
- Better to have in unprocessed natural foods since easily destroyed by heat and exposure to light - Males: 1.3 mg/day, Females: 1.1 mg/day
- Ariboflavinosis: Inflammation of eyes, lips/mouth, tongue, skin eruptions, cracked lips
- Rarely seen alone, usually in combination with other deficiencies
Niacin (B_)
1. Function
2. Foods found in
3. RDA
4. TUL
5. Toxicity
6. Deficiencies
7. Equivalents
B3
- Serotonin production and CNS function, important role in energy metabolism (Electron carriers)
- Majorly found in: Chicken, Trout, Pork
- Males: 16 mg/day, Females: 14 mg/day
- TUL: 35 mg/day
- Overuse of supplements leads to: Cardiac arrhythmias, hypertension, nausea, vomiting
- Pellagra: Fatigue, reduced appetite, indigestion
- 3 D’s: Dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia
- Mainly found in countries with corn based diets since low bioavailability
- Impact mood, cognitive function, and energy responses. - 1 NE (amount of niacin in food) = 1 mg of nicotinic or niacinamide
- 60 mg of tryptophan = 1 mg niacin = 1 mg of NE
Vitamin B6
1. Function
2. Foods found in
3. RDA
4. Toxicity
5. Deficiencies
- Converted into pyridoxal phosphate, required for >100 enzyme reactions in the body
- Coenzyme in amino acid synthesis and transamination
- Helps convert tryptophan to niacin
- Roles in immune response, steroid hormone actions, neurotransmitter and myelin synthesis, glycogen metabolism, hemoglobin synthesis - Found mostly in: Chicken, Pork, Lentils, Brown rice
- Mandatory fortification in meal replacements, simulated egg products, etc - Males and Females: 1.3 mg/day
- Toxicity at supplemental levels
- Anemia (Impaired hemoglobin synthesis), depression, headaches, confusion, numbness and tingling in extremities (Neurological), seizures
B7: _________
1. Uses
2. Foods found in
3. RDA/AI
4. Deficiencies
Biotin
- Coenzyme involved in adding COOH group (carboxylic acid) to other molecules (citric acid cycle, glucose synthesis)
- Mostly in: Liver, egg yolks, yogurt, nuts
- Males and Females: 30µg/day
- How much needed to avoid the uncommon deficiencies - Hair loss, dermatitis, nausea, neuromuscular dysfunction
- Uncommon for deficiency to occur
Folate/Folic acid (B_)
1. Function
2. Foods found in
3. RDA
4. TUL
5. Equivalents
6. Deficiencies
B9
- Used in DNA replication, synthesis and expression, and metabolism of some amino acids
- Single carbon metabolism (Methylation)
- Supports growth of tissues - A LOT found in: Lentils (Also lots in asparagus, spaghetti, spinach)
- Less bioavailable in foods vs. folic acid supplements
- Fortified flour, corn meal, pasta, formula, etc all have folate as prominent supplement added to them - Males and Females: 400 mcg/day
- TUL: 1000 mcg/day (Supplemental)
- 1 folate equivalent = 0.6 mcg folic acid in food, or 0.5 mcg folic acid supplement
- Heart disease, and megaloblastic anemia (produces larger and less functioning cells, more difficult to transfer O2)
- In pregnancy can have neural tube defects (Disrupt spinal cord)
Vitamin B12
1. Functions
2. Foods found in
3. RDA
4. Deficiencies
- Necessary for myelin production
- Single carbon metabolism (Methylation) - Mostly in: Trout (Exceeds RDA), Beef, Pork, Milk
- Almost exclusively found in animal products (Vegans at high risk of deficiency, and older/younger population since more difficult to chew)
- Mandatory fortifications in formula, egg products, etc - Males and Females: 2.4 mcg/d
- Pernicious anemia (inability to absorb B12 in gut), Megaloblastic anemia like folate, neurological symptoms (numbness, tingling)
- Excessive folic intake can mask B12 deficiencies
- Deficiency is rare since body can uptake without excretion (Unlike other water soluble vits)
Vitamin C
1. Functions
2. Foods found in
3. RDA
4. TUL
5. Deficiencies
- Immune support, production of collagen (Strengthen/build cross links between collagen fibers), cofactor for digestion (Ex. helps uptake iron from food), scavenging free radicals (Rids cells that cause damage)
- Found mostly in: Kiwi, Orange (Both past RDA), strawberries
- Majority found in fruits and veggies
- Is sensitive to heat, light and oxygen, therefore can be degraded in food prep/cooking - Males: 90 mg/day, Females: 75 mg/day
- 2000 mg/day
- High level lead to issues unlikely to be more than GI distress (Diarrhetic distress)
Choline
1. Function
2. Foods found in
3. RDA
4. Deficiency
5. Why is this not a normal “vitamin”
- Important in physiological processes
- Cell structure (synthesis and integrity of cell membrane)
- Nervous system (synthesis of neurotransmitter acetylcholine)
- Fat transport and metabolism, cholesterol regulation - Found mainly in raw eggs, beef liver, whole eggs, whey powder
- Males: 550 mg/day, Females: 425 mg/day
- Liver, muscle abnormalities, fetal development
-Very rare, unlikely in humans - Not strictly a vitamin, by synthesized in small amounts, and dietary intake is still necessary (Essential nutrient)
