Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins

• Minerals: Inorganic substances ingested and attach to enzymes/organic molecules.
• Vitamins: Organic compounds essential in small amounts for bodily functions.
  • Attach to enzymes or coenzymes for tissue building processes.
  • Essential for daily ingestion through supplements or food/drinks (plant and animal sources).
  • Deficiencies can occur in acute or chronic illness, decreased intake, or malabsorption conditions.

Types of Vitamins

Water-Soluble Vitamins

• Dissolve in water and excreted in urine.
• Not stored in large amounts; need daily ingestion.

Fat-Soluble Vitamins

• Dissolve in fat, stored in liver and fatty tissues.
• Do not require daily ingestion but deficiency occurs with inadequate storage or absorption.

"Megadosing"

• Defined by ADA as doses 10 times or more the recommended amount.
• Vitamin C claims of reducing cold and cancer risks.
• Benefits: Pyridoxine with Isoniazid, Cyanocobalamin for pernicious anemia, Niacin for lowering triglycerides and LDLs.
• Risks: Hypervitaminosis with vitamins A, D, and K, GI strain, interference with chemo/radiation.

Fat-Soluble Vitamins

Vitamin A (Retinol)

• Food Sources: Liver, fish, dairy, egg yolks, dark green leafy veggies.
• Purpose: Vision, cell growth, teeth/bone development, epithelial maintenance, cholesterol synthesis.
• Deficiency: Night blindness, xeropthalmia, hyperkeratosis, infection risk.
• Toxicity: Irritability, vertigo, delirium, vomiting, diarrhea.

Vitamin D

• Purpose: Calcium/phosphorus balance, absorption, bone calcification.
• Deficiency: Rickets, tetany, osteoporosis.
• Toxicity: Hypercalcemia, renal issues.

Vitamin E

• Purpose: Antioxidant, tissue integrity.
• Deficiency: Mainly in premature infants.

Vitamin K

• Purpose: Blood coagulation, works in liver.
• Deficiency: Coagulation disorders, rare due to intestinal synthesis.

Water-Soluble Vitamins

Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)

• Purpose: Carbohydrate metabolism, PNS/GI/cardiovascular maintenance.
• Deficiency: Wernicke’s encephalopathy, beriberi.

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)

• Purpose: Tissue respiration, activation of Vitamin B6, erythrocyte integrity.
• Deficiency: Cheilosis, commonly due to alcoholism or malnutrition.

Vitamin B3 (Niacin)

• Purpose: Metabolic reactions, lipid metabolism.
• Deficiency: Pellagra.

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)

• Purpose: Protein/carbohydrate/lipid metabolism, GABA synthesis, serotonin conversion.
• Deficiency: Anemia, neurologic disturbances.

Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin)

• Purpose: Metabolic pathways, growth, cell replication.
• Deficiency: GI lesions, megaloblastic anemia.

Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)

• Purpose: Collagen synthesis, connective tissue maintenance, iron absorption.
• Deficiency: Scurvy.

Minerals

• Essential for: Physiologic functions, muscle contraction, nerve transmission, enzyme components.

Calcium

• Purpose: Bone development, blood coagulation, muscle contraction.
• Deficiency: Hypocalcemia.

Magnesium

• Purpose: Enzyme systems, nerve physiology, muscle contraction.
• Deficiency: Hypomagnesemia.

Phosphorus

• Purpose: ATP, skeletal and teeth maintenance.
• Deficiency: Malabsorption, hepatic disease.

Zinc

• Purpose: Protein and carbohydrate metabolic reactions, tissue repair.

Nutritional Supplements

• Importance: Required for cell growth, enzyme activity, hormone secretion.
• Types:
  • Enteral Nutrition: Through the gastrointestinal tract.
  • Parenteral Nutrition: Via intravenous solution.
• Malnutrition: Insufficient nutrient intake to meet the body’s needs.