Nutrition has long been a focus on medicine as new information has come about th
ID: 57066 • Letter: N
Question
Nutrition has long been a focus on medicine as new information has come about that certain food stuffs contain nutrients that are believed to be important for overall health and indeed, to fight particular disease. What are some critical nutrients that are found in food that have been shown or thought to be critical for health? Choose one and tell us what it is and what foodstuff that it is found in?
Nutrition has long been a focus on medicine as new information has come about that certain food stuffs contain nutrients that are believed to be important for overall health and indeed, to fight particular disease. What are some critical nutrients that are found in food that have been shown or thought to be critical for health? Choose one and tell us what it is and what foodstuff that it is found in?
Explanation / Answer
Vitamins and minerals are the “micronutrients” that are essential for normal biochemical reactions to occur. There are two types of vitamins present in our body namely water soluble and fat soluble proteins. Vitamins B complex and vitamin C are water soluble vitamins and vitamins A, D, E and K are fat soluble vitamins.
Vitamins are the vital micronutrients that act as co-enzymes necessary to promote a chemical reaction to occur. Vitamin A is good for eye sight, Vitamin C is essential for immune functioning, vitamin D is good for bone health, vitain E is a good anti-oxidant, (all these hormones have many more functons), vitamin B complex play a vriety of functions, some of the examples are given below.
1). Vitamin B1 (Thiamin):
It is mainly involved in the synthesis RNA, DNA and nerve functioning. This vitamin is actively involved in the metabolic conversion of glucose into energy.
2). Vitamin B2 (Ribflavin):
Riboflavin also known as vitamin G is essential for conversion of fats, carbohydrates and protein. Its flavin moiety is an essential component of FAD (flavin adenine dinucleotide) and FMN (flavin mononucleotides) coenzymes, which play a vital role in electron transport chain.
3). Vitamin B3 (Niacin):
The two co-enzymes forms of niacin NAD and NADP act as electron carriers in energy transfer reactions of glucose, fat and alcohol metabolism. NADP also acts as a co-enzyme in the synthesis of lipids and nucleic acids.
4). Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid):
It is essential for the oxidation of fatty acids and carbohydrates. The coenzyme A derived from B5 is involved in the synthesis of neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine (ACh
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