Vitamins
Vitamins play an important role in development and the body's functions. A deficiency in a certain vitamin can give rise to certain disorders. Today deficiencies mainly occur in people from underdeveloped countries.
A normal healthy balanced diet is unlikely to lead to vitamin deficiencies unless you exclude whole food groups such as meat for example, as do Vegans/ Vegetarians, which can lead to a B12 deficiency.
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Ride
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Vitamin |
Source |
Function |
Deficiency and toxicity |
|
A |
Fish liver oils, egg yolk, butter, cream, fortified margarine, green leafy or yellow vegetables |
Important for healthy retinas in the eye and for healthy skin |
Night blindness Thickening of the skin (hyperkeratosis) Toxicity –headaches, skin peeling, enlargement of liver and spleen. |
|
|
D |
Ultraviolet action on the skin. Fortified milk, fish liver oils, butter, egg yolk, liver |
Allows Calcium to be absorbed. Important for healthy bone and collagen development, and maintenance of the same. |
Rickets, Osteomalacia Toxicity Anorexia Renal Failure Metastatic calcification |
|
|
E |
Vegetable oil, wheat germ, leafy vegetable, egg yolk, margarine, beans |
Antioxidant and stabilises the biological membranes |
Red Blood Cell breakdown Creatinuria Toxicity – interferes with enzymes and increased infection |
|
|
K |
Leafy vegetables, pork, liver, vegetable oils, intestinal flora |
Prothrombin formation, normal blood coagulation. |
Haemorrhage Toxicity-Kernicterus |
|
| Vitamin B1 | Dried yeast, whole grains, meat, enriched cereal products, nuts, potatoes, legumes |
Carbohydrate metabolism Central and peripheral nerve cell function Heart muscle function |
Beriberi, peripheral neuropathy, cardiac failure | |
| Vitamin B2 | Milk, cheese, liver, meat, eggs, enriched cereal products | Energy and protein metabolism; integrity of mucous membranes | Angular stomatatis, corneal vascularisation, poor sight, sebaceous dermatosis | |
| Vitamin B6 | Dried yeast, liver, organ meats, whole-grain cereals, fish, legumes |
Nitrogen metabolism Linoleic acid metabolism |
Convulsions in infancy, anaemia, neuropathy, seborrhea skin lesions | |
| Vitamin B12 | Liver, meats-especially pork and beef, eggs, milk and milk products | Maturation of red blood cells, DNA synthesis, neural function | Pernicious anaemia, some psychiatric syndromes, poor sight | |
|
Vitamin C |
Citrus fruit, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, green peppers |
Essential for bone and collagen formation. Vascular function, tissue respiration and wound healing |
Scurvy. Haemorrhage Loose teeth Gingivitis |
Additional Medical Conditions:
