Micronutrients Flashcards
What are micronutrients?
Substances that the body needs in small doses e.g vitamins
Name sources of fat-soluble vitamins
Fatty foods - e.g. beef liver, butter, fatty fish, cheese.
How does the body store fat-soluble vitamins?
The body stores fat-soluble vitamins it doesn’t use up in fat tissue.
For this reason, the body doesn’t have to take in the same quantities of fat-soluble vitamins every day.
This also means we’re in danger of storing an excess of these vitamins.
Name 3 micronutrients?
Vitamins
Minerals
Trace elements
Why does the body need vitamin A?
The body needs vitamin A for growth, keeping the immune system healthy, and for good skin and eyesight.
Vitamin A is an….?
Antioxidant
Name sources of vitamin A
We get vitamin A from retinol. Meat, full-fat milk and fatty fish all contain retinol. We can also make retinol from carotene. Carrots and other orange/yellow fruits and vegetables contain carotene.
What happens if we have excess vitamin A?
Excess vitamin A over a period of time weakens bones.
Pregnant women are advised to stay clear of foods containing lots of vitamin A (like liver).
What happens if we have too little vitamin A?
Too little vitamin A can weaken the immune system, cause blindness at night and inflamed skin and stunt growth.
What is the daily dose recommendation of vitamin A?
- 7mg for men.
0. 6mg for women.
Name sources of vitamin D
We get vitamin D from fish liver oils and fatty fish like tuna and salmon.
We can also get vitamin D from being in sunlight.
Vitamin D function
Vitamin D aids mineral absorption, including calcium absorption. Our bodies need calcium to develop healthy teeth and bones
What happens if we have excess vitamin D?
If we take in too much vitamin D, our bodies may absorb too much calcium. Excess calcium can cause damage to our kidneys
What happens if we have too little vitamin D?
Bone diseases, such as osteomalacia (soft bones), osteoporosis (brittle bones) and rickets, can arise from the body getting too little vitamin D.
What is the daily dose recommendation of vitamin D?
0.01mg
Name sources of vitamin E
Vegetable oils (e.g. sunflower, corn, and soybean oils).
Nuts (e.g. peanuts, almonds and hazelnuts).
Seeds (e.g. sunflower seeds).
Green leafy vegetables (e.g. swiss chard).
Function of vitamin E
Vitamin E helps to boost the immune system.
We also need vitamin E for healthy skin and eyes.
Vitamin E is an antioxidant, which means it can protect our bodies from free radicals.
What happens if we have excess vitamin E?
Excess vitamin E can cause someone to feel nauseous, disrupt blood clotting and lead to blurred vision.
What happens if we have too little vitamin E?
Weak muscles and eyesight problems are both symptoms
What is the daily does recommendation of vitamin E?
Men : 4mg
Women : 3mg
Name sources of vitamin K
We get vitamin K from leafy greens, liver, green tea, cheese.
Function of vitamin K
Like vitamin E, vitamin K supports the immune system. Vitamin K helps us to maintain healthy bones.
Vitamin K also helps blood clotting and helps us to heal wounds.
What happens if we have excess Vitamin K?
We can’t have too much vitamin K
What happens if we have too little vitamin k?
Although adults are very unlikely to have too little vitamin K, newborn babies can suffer from uncontrolled bleeding if they have too little vitamin K.
What is the daily dose recommendation for vitamin K?
0.001 mg per kg of body weight
What vitamins are water soluble?
B and C