VITAMINS AND MINERALS LECTURE NOTES

✓ IMPORTANCE OF VITAMINS AND MINERALS, FIBERS AND WATER

• Vitamins and minerals are essential for good nutrition and are often called
Micronutrients.
• Humans maintained on diet that contains carbohydrates, lipids and proteins coupled
with ample of water cannot survive on this alone; they also need essential organic
components such as vitamin c, and inorganic compounds such as sodium.
• Many vitamins especially B’s act as coenzymes while minerals act as cofactors in
enzyme-catalyzed reaction.
• Deficiencies in vitamins and minerals lead to many nutritionally uncontrollable diseases
such as rickets in children.
• The recent trend in vitamin appreciation is connected to their general role rather than
to any specific action they have against a particular disease.
• Some vitamins have unusual effects beside their normal participation as coenzymes in
many metabolic pathways or action as antioxidants in the body.
• Conversely, megadose in healthy patients may cause harm.
• While many people like to ingest megadose of vitamins, care must be taken especially
with vitamin a, d and e.
• These are fat soluble vitamins and overdose must be avoided. They are stored in the
adipose tissue and accumulation of excess vitamins can be toxic.
• Water makes up 60 % of our body weight.
• Most of the compounds in our body are dissolved in water, which also serves as
transporting medium to carry nutrients and waste products.
• We must maintain a proper balance between water intake and water output.
• A normal diet requires 1200 to 1500 ml of water per day.
• Fiber Fiber helps regulate the body's use of sugars, Children and adults need at least 20
to 30 grams of fiber per day. Great sources are whole fruits and vegetables, whole
grains, and beans.
• Soluble fiber dissolves in water. It helps lower cholesterol and improve blood sugar
control.
• Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water. It helps with constipation.

✓ VITAMINS
• Vitamins are organic micronutrients that the body cannot produce in amounts needed for
good health.
• The highly polar nature of some vitamins renders them water-soluble.
• There are nine water-soluble vitamins that functions as coenzymes with the exception of
Vitamin C.
• Some vitamins have very non-polar molecular structures and therefore dissolve only in non-
polar structures and therefore dissolve only in non-polar solvents.
• In the body, the non-polar solvents are the lipids we have classified as fats, so these
vitamins are called fat-soluble vitamins.
 • The fat-soluble vitamins have diverse functions in the body, and they act somewhat like
hormones.
• Care must be taken to avoid overdoses of the fat-soluble vitamins.
• Toxic effects are known to occur, especially with Vitamin A, when excess amounts of these
vitamins accumulate in the body tissue.
• Excess of water-soluble vitamins are excreted readily through the kidneys an are normally
not a problem.

✓ MINERALS
• Generally used to describe inorganic substances, often as if they were elemental forms.
• In the body, the elements classified as minerals are never used in its elemental form, but
rather in forms of ions or compounds.
• They are classified as trace or major minerals.
• The functions of minerals, are consistent with their classification as major or trace and with
amount required daily by the diet.

✓ CLASSIFICATION OF VITAMINS
• Fat-soluble vitamins
o These vitamins dissolve in fat and are stored in tissue, so the body has access to
them as needed. This means that it would be easier to absorb more fat-soluble
vitamins than you really need, since they aren’t being removed by the kidneys after
the need is met.
• Water-soluble vitamins

o easily absorbed by the body, which means you won’t store large amounts of it to
help naturally keep your body nutritionally balanced.
o One of the jobs of the kidneys are to remove any excess water-soluble vitamins that
aren’t needed.

✓ FAT-SOLUBLE VITAMINS.
1. VITAMIN A – RETINOL
➢ Rdi: 800 µg
➢ Function: Important for normal vision, the immune system, and reproduction.
Vitamin A also helps the heart, lungs, kidneys, and other organs work properly.
➢ Food sources: Liver, butter, egg, yolk. Carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes
➢ Symptoms of low-Vitamin A in diet: night blindness; blindness, keratinization of
epithelium and cornea
➢ Disease: Xerophthalmia is the inability to see in low light, and it can lead to blindness if
it isn’t treated.
➢ Hypervitaminosis A: Getting too much preformed vitamin A (usually from supplements
or certain medicines) can cause dizziness, nausea, headaches, coma, and even death.
High intakes of preformed vitamin A in pregnant women can also cause birth defects in
their babies.
 ➢ Consuming high amounts of beta-carotene or other forms of provitamin A can turn the
skin yellow-orange, but this condition is harmless.

2. VITAMIN D – CALCIFEROL
➢ RDI: 5-10 µg
➢ Function: Promotes calcium and phosphate absorption and mobilization.
Vitamin D helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body.
These nutrients are needed to keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy.
➢ Source: Exposure to sunlight
➢ Food sources: Salmon, sardines, cod liver oil, cheese, eggs, milk
➢ Symptoms:
➢ Disease: RICKETS (CHILDREN); PLIABLE BONES
OSTEOMALACIA (ADULTS); FRAGILE BONES
➢ Overdosage of prepared form of Vitamin D may lead to Elevated blood pressure and
calcium levels in the blood.

3. VITAMIN E – TOCOPHEROL
➢ RDI: RDI: 8-10 mg
➢ FUNCTION: important vitamin required for the proper function of many organs in the
body. It is also an antioxidant. This means it helps to slow down processes that damage
cells.
➢ Food sources: vegetable oils, nuts, potato chips, spinach
➢ Deficiency: nerve and muscle weakness, vision problems
➢ Disease: In case of malabsorption such as in cystic fibrosis; anemia
In premature infants: anemia

4. VITAMIN K
➢ RDI: 65-80 mg
➢ FUNCTION: Blood clotting, vitamins that the body needs for blood clotting, helping
wounds to heal.
➢ Food sources: spinach, potatoes, cauliflower, beef liver
➢ DEFICIENCY: Uncontrolled bleeding; mostly infants, Easy bruising, Oozing from nose or
gums, Excessive bleeding from wounds, punctures, and injection or surgical sites, Heavy
menstrual periods, Bleeding from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
➢ Overdosage: menadione (a synthetic, water-soluble vitamin K precursor) can cause
toxicity (infants have developed hemolytic anemia, hyperbilirubinemia, jaundice, and
kernicterus) and should not be used to treat vitamin K deficiency.
✓ WATER-SOLUBLE VITAMINS
1. VITAMIN B1 – THIAMINE
➢ RDI: 1.1 MG
➢ FUNCTION: Coenzyme in oxidative decarboxylation and in pentose phosphate shunt
➢ Food sources: Beans, soybeans, cereal, liver, ham
➢ DEFIECIENCY: Beriberi: in alcoholics; heart failure; pulmonary congestion
➢ In rare cases, overdose of Vit. B1 can cause hypertension

2. VITAMIN B2 – RIBOFLAVIN
➢ Rdi: 1.4 mg
➢ Function: Coenzyme of oxidative processes
➢ Food sources: kidney, liver, yeast, almonds, mushrooms, beans
➢ Deficiency: Invasion of cornea by capillaries; cheilosis; dermatitis
➢ Overdosage: damage to the liver

3. VITAMIN B3 – NIACIN/NICOTINIC ACID

➢ RDI: 15-18 mg
➢ FUNCTION: Coenzyme in oxidative processes
➢ Food sourceS: chick peas, lentils, prunes, peaches, avocados, figs, fish, meat,
mushrooms, peanuts, bread, rice, beans, berries
➢ Deficiency: thick, scaly pigmented rash on skin exposed to sunlight, swollen mouth and
bright red tongue, vomiting and diarrhea, headache, apathy, fatigue, depression,
disorientation.
➢ Disease: Pellagra
➢ Overdosage: Severe skin flushing combined with dizziness, Rapid heartbeat, Itching,
Nausea and vomiting, Abdominal pain, Diarrhea, Gout

4. VITAMIN B6 – PYRIDOXINE
➢ RDI:
➢ FUNCTION: Coenzyme in transamination; heme synthesis
➢ Food sources: meat, fish, nuts, oats, wheat germ, potato chips
➢ Deficiency: Convulsions: chronic anemia, peripheral neuropathy
➢ Overdose: painful, unsightly skin patches, extreme sensitivity to sunlight, nausea, and
heartburn

5. FOLIC ACID
➢ RDI: 400 µg
➢ FUNCTIONN: Coenzyme in methylation and in DNA synthesis ; essential in pregnancy
➢ Food sources: lover, kidney, egg, spinach, beets, orange juice, avocados, cantaloupe
➢ DEFICIENCY: anemia
 ➢ Overdose: Too much folic acid can hide signs that you lack vitamin B12, which can cause
nerve damage, speed age-related mental decline, increase insulin resistance and slow
brain development in children.

6. VITAMIN B12 – COBALAMIN

➢ RdI: 400 µg
➢ FUNCTION: Part of methyl-removing enzyme in folate metabolism
➢ Food sources: oysters, salmon, liver, kidney
➢ DEFICIENCY: Patchy demyelination; degradation of nerves. Spinal cord and brain
➢ Overdosage: outbreaks of acne and rosacea, a skin condition that causes redness and
pus-filled bumps on the face.

7. VITAMIN B5 - PANTOTHENIC ACID

➢ Rdi: rdi: 4-7 mg
➢ Function: part of coa; fat and carbohydrate metabolism, necessary for making blood
cells, and it helps you convert the food you eat into energy
➢ Food sources: peanuts, buckwheat, soybeans, broccoli, lima beans, liver, kidney, heart
➢ Deficiency: gastrointestinal disturbances; depression
➢ Overdose: may cause upset stomach

8. VITAMIB B7 - BIOTIN
➢ Rdi: 30-100 µg
➢ FUNCTION: SYNTHESIS OF FATTY ACIDS
➢ FOOD SOURCE: YEAST, LIVER, KIDNEY, NUTS, EGG YOLK
➢ DEFICIENCY: DERMATITIS, NAUSEA, DEPRESSION

9. VITAMIN C – ASCORBIC ACID

➢ Rdi: 30-100 µg
➢ FUNCTION: SYNTHESIS OF FATTY ACIDS
➢ FOOD SOURCE: YEAST, LIVER, KIDNEY, NUTS, EGG YOLK
➢ DEFICIENCY: DERMATITIS, NAUSEA, DEPRESSION
➢ Overdose: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea

✓ MINERALS
• Minerals help our bodies develop and function.
• They are essential for good health. They also act as cofactors.
• The two kinds of minerals are: macrominerals and trace minerals.
• The macromineral group is made up of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium,
potassium, chloride, and sulfur.
• Trace minerals, also called micro minerals, are essential minerals that the human body
must get from food, but, unlike macro minerals, we only need a very small amount.
• Even though trace minerals are needed in tiny doses, they are still crucial to our health
and development.
 • Some trace minerals are components of vitamins, enzymes (Zn and Se), hormones (I), or
specialized proteins (Fe and Cu)

✓ Major Minerals
1. POTASSIUM
➢ RDI: 3500 MG
➢ PROVIDES MEMBRANE POTENTIAL
➢ FOOD SOURCES: APRICOTS, BANANA, DATES, FIGS, NUTS, RAISIN, BEANS, LENTILS
➢ DEFICIENCY: MUSCLE WEAKNESS

2. SODIUM
➢ RDI: 2000-2400 MG
➢ OSMOTIC PRESSURE
➢ FOOD SOURCES: MEAT, CHEESE, COLD CUTS, SMOKED FISH, TABLE SALT
➢ NAUSEA AND VOMITING, HEADACHE, CONFUSION.

3. CALCIUM
➢ RDI: 800-1200 mg
➢ Bone formation; hormonal function; blood coagulation; muscle contraction
➢ Food sources: milk, cheese, caviar, sardines
➢ Muscle cramps. Osteoporosis, fragile bones

4. CHLORIDE
➢ Rdi: 1700-5100 mg
➢ Osmotic pressure
➢ Food sources: meats, cheese, cold cuts, smoked fish, table salt
➢ fluid loss, dehydration, weakness or fatigue.

5. PHOSPHORUS
➢ Rdi: 800-1200 mg
➢ Balancing calcium in diet
➢ Food sources: lentils, nuts, oats, grain, flours, cocoa, egg yolk, cheese
➢ Excess causes structural weakness in bones

6. MAGNESIUM
➢ Rdi: 280-350 mg
➢ Cofactor in enzymes
➢ Food sources: cheese, cocoa, chocolate, nuts, soybeans, beans
➢ Hypocalcemia

7. SULFUR
➢ Rdi: none
➢ Found in protein molecules
➢ Food sources: meat, poultry, fish, milk, legumes
✓ TRACE MINERALS
1. IRON
➢ Rdi: 15 mg
➢ Oxidative phosphorylation; hemoglobin
➢ Food sources: raisins, beans, chickpeas, parsley, smoked fish, liver, heart, clams, spleen ,
liver
➢ Anemia

2. ZINC
➢ RDI: 12-15 mg
➢ Cofactor in enzymes, insulin
➢ Food sources: yeast, soybeans, nuts, corn, cheese, meat, poultry
➢ Retarded growth; enlarged liver

3. COPPER
➢ Rdi: 1.5-3 mg
➢ Oxidative enzyme; cofactor
➢ Food sources: oysters, sardines, lamb, liver
➢ Loss of hair pigmentation, anemia

4. MANGANESE
➢ Rdi: 2.0-5.0 mg
➢ Bone formation
➢ Food sources: nuts, fruits, vegetables, whole-grain cereals
➢ Low serum cholesterol levels; retarded growth of hair and nails

5. CHROMIUM
➢ Rdi: 0.05- 0.2 mg
➢ Glucose metabolism
➢ Food sources: meat, beer, whole wheat and rye flours
➢ Glucose not available to cells

6. MOLYBDENUM
➢ RDI: 0.075 -0.250 mg
➢ Protein synthesis
➢ Food sources: liver, kidney, spinach, beans, peas
➢ Retarded growth

7. COBALT
➢ Rdi: 0.05 mg
➢ Component of vitamin b12
➢ Food sources: meat, dairy products
➢ Pernicious anemia
 8. SELENIUM
➢ Rdi: 0.05-0.07 mg
➢ Fat metabolism
➢ Food sources: meat, seafood
➢ Muscular disorders

9. IODINE
➢ Rdi: 150-170 µg
➢ THYROID GLANDS FUNCTION
➢ FOOD SOURCES: SEAFOOD, VEGETABLES, MEAT
➢ GOITER

10. FLOURINE
➢ RDI: .5-4.0 MG
➢ ENAMEL FORMATION
➢ SOURCES: FLOURIDATED WATER, FLOURIDATED TOOTHPASTE
➢ TOOTH DECAY

✓ OTHER TRACE MINERALS: (MINERALS THAT ARE ESSENTIAL TO ANIMALS BUT NOT YET
PROVEN TO BE ESSENTIAL TO HUMAN)
• Nickel - needed for health of numerous tissues
• Silicon - bone calcification
• Arsenic – growth and reproduction
• Tin – needed for growth
• Vanadium – growth, bone development

✓ ASSOCIATION OF VITAMINS AND MINERALS TO DEPRESSION

• Some believe it is caused by our rat-race lifestyles.
• Others think it is due to toxins while other think it is due to poor nutrition.
• Whatever the cause, there is no doubt that millions of Americans and other human race
suffer from depression.
• The pharmaceutical industry and field of psychiatry and psychology are heavily funded
revenues from patients fighting depression.
• But before you reach a bottle of Prozac, there might be some safer and cheaper options
to try first, in the last few years, a deficiency in many compounds has been found to
correlate with depression.
✓ FATTY ACIDS
• In early 2011, researchers reported online that deficiencies in omega-3 polyunsaturated
fatty acids alters the functioning of the endocannabinoid system, a group of lipids and
their receptors that are involved in mood, pain, sensations and other processes.
• They noted that mice subjected to a diet low in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids
had lower omega-3 levels in the brain.
 • Other studies followed over 600 cases of depression and showed that patients who had
diets higher in trans- fatty acids were almost 50 % more likely to be depressed.
• While much research remains to be done, this could indicate that eating salmon and
other sources of omega 3 fatty acids, as well as diet ow in trans fatty acids can help
one’s head and as well as one’s heart.

✓ VITAMIN D
• A clinical trial is being planned to test the effect of Vitamin D supplementation on insulin
resistance and mood in diabetic women.
• Increased in insulin resistance has been associated with depression.
• Higher vitamin D levels have been associated with a reduced risk of depression, diabetes
and other ailments.
• Vitamin D supplementation has also been linked to reduction in several other chronic
conditions, including osteoporosis, immune dysfunction, cardiovascular disease and
cancer.

✓ VITAMIN B12
• The largest and most complex chemical structure of all vitamins.
• It is unique among other vitamins because it contains a metal ion, cobalt.
• Cobalamin is the term used to refer to compounds having Vitamin B12 acrivity.
• Methylcobalamin is required for the function of the folate-dependent enzyme
methionine synthetase.
• This enzyme is required for the synthesis of the amino acid methionine from
homocysteine.
• Inadequate function of methionine is linked to accumulation of homocysteine
which has been associated with cardiovascular disease.
• Also, it has been linked with depression.
• Studies have been found that 30 % of patients hospitalized for depression are deficient
in Vit. B12.
• Women who have deficient Vit. B12 levels were more likely to develop depression than
those women with normal levels of cobalamin.
• A study of over 3000 elderly men and women with depression showed that those with
deficient cobalamin were 70 % more likely to experience depression than those with
normal Vit. B12 levels.
• Just as the best way of losing weight is through exercise and diet rather than pills, the
best way to fight depression may also be found under basic standing of nutrition rather
than synthetic chemicals.