NS 220UNIT 5 SEMINAR

VITAMINS AND HEALTH

Brooke Benton MS, RD, LDN, CDE

Overview

Vitamin Supplementation

Vitamin deficiency diseases & food fortification

Beneficial vitamins for specific populations

Vitamin toxicities

Multivitamins

Position of American Dietetic Assoc.

To promote health and reduce risk of chronic

disease, choose variety of foods.

Food provides all vitamins you need.

Fortified foods and supplements can help some

meet their nutrition needs.

What are vitamins?

Essential organic substances needed daily in very small amounts to perform a specific function

Essential for growth and health - an absence or deficiency of vitamins creates specific disorders

Interact with other vitamins and/or nutrients to enhance absorption

Can function as coenzymes Help release energy from biological reactions

during metabolism but they do not provide energy

Vitamin Types

Vitamin C B Vitamins:

Folate B12 Thiamin Riboflavin Niacin Biotin Pantothentic Acid

Vitamin A Vitamin D Vitamin E Vitamin K

Water-Soluble Fat-Soluble

Water Soluble Vitamins

Water soluble vitamins are lost into cooking water

To prevent this lose: Use only a small amount of cooking water Use leftover cooking water to make sauces Minimize cutting food into pieces Use the shortest cooking times and with the

lid when possible to shorten cooking time

Water Soluble Vitamins

The body does not store excess water soluble vitamins

Excess are excreted in urine Supplementation does not provide extra

benefits if the person is consuming an adequate amount – excess will be excreted

Vitamins deficiencies usually appear only a few weeks later

Vitamins need to be consumed daily

Fat Soluble Vitamins

Not affected by cooking and preparation in water

Can be destroyed by high cooking heat, sun drying, forms of dehydration

Oxidations that accompanies rancidity in fat

Fat Soluble Vitamins

Excess fat soluble vitamins are stored in body fat and organs, especially the liver

Can delay deficiency for several months Need to supplement every other day

instead of daily Not immune to large doses – megadoses

are toxic to the body

Vitamin Deficiencies

Vitamin A: may result in xerophthalmia

Vitamin D: rickets and osteomalacia

Vitamin K: deficiency in newborns; made in intestines by good bacteria

Vitamin C: scurvy; delayed wound healing; decrease in iron absorption; capillary bleeding

Thiamin: beriberi; heavy alcohol consumption can lead to poor absorption of thiamin

Dietary Guidelines

Nutrients consumed should come primarily from food.

Beneficial Vitamins for Specific Populations: Which populations??

Women and Folic Acid

Necessary for all women of

childbearing age and women who are pregnant.

Reduces the risk of neural tube defects and Spina Bifida.

Food fortification & food sources (green leafy vegetables)

RDA: 400 mcg (adults/women childbearing age); 600 mcg (pregnancy)

Special Groups & Vitamin D

Fat-soluble; obtain from food and sun Sun source activated in liver & kidney Deficiency diseases: Rickets & Osteomalacia Food sources: fortified milk most reliable source High risk of deficiency:

Breastfed infants Older adults Limited sun exposure Individuals with dark skin

People >50 & Vitamin B12

Most adults meeting recommended amounts

Deficiency most likely to occur as a result of an inability to absorb B12 from food.

B12 needs stomach acid & Intrinsic Factor to be absorbed; less gastric secretions over age 50, so decrease in absorption.

Recommend for >50 years old to eat fortified B12 foods or take supplement.

Natural source B12 only in animal foods.

Toxicities

>100% of RDA could be harmful to health for specific vitamins, esp from supplements.

Fat-soluble more risk of toxicity than water-soluble. Vit. A toxicity more likely from

high dosage vit A supplements.

UL’s established.

Multivitamins

NIH Consensus and State-of-the-Science Conference on Multivitamin/Mineral Supplements and Chronic Disease Prevention (2006) with results indicating: There is not strong evidence for beneficial health-

related effects of supplements. There is insufficient evidence to recommend either for

or against the use of multivitamin/mineral supplements by the American public to prevent chronic disease.

NIH State-of-the-Science Conference Statement on Multivitamin/Mineral Supplements and

Chronic Disease Prevention. Ann Intern Med. 2006;145:364–371.

QUESTIONS???

Let’s Play Vitamin Trivia!

Vitamin Trivia

Which of the following vitamins has a requirement based on the amount of carbohydrate in the diet?

a)Riboflavinb)Thiaminc)B6d)B12e)Niacin

Vitamin Trivia

Which of the following vitamins may be synthesized from the amino acid tryptophan?

a)Riboflavinb)Thiaminc)B6d)B12e)Niacin

Vitamin Trivia

Which of the following vitamins has a deficiency that causes cracked skin around the mouth, inflamed lips, and a sore tongue?

a)Riboflavinb)Thiaminc)B6d)B12e)Niacin

Vitamin Trivia

Which of the following vitamins helps change one amino acid into another?

a)Riboflavinb)Thiaminc)B6d)B12e)Niacin

Vitamin Trivia

Which of the following vitamins is a cobalt containing vitamin needed for red blood cell formation?

a)Riboflavinb)Thiaminc)B6d)B12e)Niacin

Vitamin Trivia

True or False

Synthetic vitamins are nutritionally equivalent to naturally occurring vitamins.

Vitamin Trivia

True or False

Vitamin losses from fruits and vegetables can occur as a result of poor conditions of harvesting and storing.

Vitamin Trivia

True or False

Natural and synthetic vitamins are used by the body the same way.

Vitamin Trivia

True or False

Vitamin K is required for the synthesis of blood-clotting factors.

Vitamin Trivia

True or False

B vitamins serve as co-enzymes in metabolic reactions in the body.

Vitamin Trivia

True or False

There is no RDA/DRI for Vitamin K because it is produced by the body.

Vitamin Trivia

Is the following phrase true of a Water Soluble or Fat Soluble vitamin?

These are excreted in urine.

Vitamin Trivia

Is the following phrase true of a Water Soluble or Fat Soluble vitamin?

These require regular consumption in the diet because storage in the body is minimal.

Vitamin Trivia

Is the following phrase true of a Water Soluble or Fat Soluble vitamin?

These have deficiencies that are slow to develop.

Vitamin Trivia

Is the following phrase true of a Water Soluble or Fat Soluble vitamin?

These include the vitamin B complex and vitamin C.

Vitamin Trivia

Is the following phrase true of a Water Soluble or Fat Soluble vitamin?

The include vitamins A, D, E, and K.

Vitamin Trivia

Is the following phrase true of a Water Soluble or Fat Soluble vitamin?

These are stored in appreciable amounts in the body.

Vitamin Trivia

Which of the following food preparation methods is most likely to cause large losses of vitamins?

a)Cooking fruits and vegetables whole and unparedb)Dicing fruits and vegetables into small piecedc)Cutting fruits and vegetables into medium, chunky piecesd)Cutting just before serving time

Vitamin Trivia

When cooking vegetables to conserve vitamins, which is preferred?

a)Small amounts of waterb)Large amounts of waterc)No waterd)Addition of baking soda

Vitamin Trivia

Which vegetable preparation method tends to conserve the most vitamins?

a)Boilingb)Simmeringc)Stir-fryingd)baking

Vitamin Trivia

Excessive vitamin intake has:

a)Not been demonstrated to be beneficial in humansb)Been shown to cause toxicity by some vitaminsc)Been shown to cause increased excretion of the water-soluble vitaminsd)All of the above

Vitamin Trivia

An important role of the water-soluble vitamins is to serve as:

a)Enzymesb)Hormonesc)Electrolytesd)coenzymes

Vitamin Trivia

Vitamin/mineral supplements are generally recommended for ______ because they are at higher risk for developing deficiencies?

a)Infantsb)Pregnant and lactating womenc)Strict vegetariansd)Persons with malabsorption diseases

Vitamin Trivia

One should avoid taking vitamin pills unless especially prescribed by one’s doctor because:

a)They are too expensiveb)Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the body and can build up to toxic levelsc)Water-soluble vitamins in excess of daily requirements become toxic to the liverd)Edema can result from high blood levels of water soluble vitamins

Vitamin Trivia

Good food sources of thiamin include all except:

a)Lean pork, beef, liverb)Citrus fruitsc)Green leafy vegetablesd)Sunflower and sesame seeds

Reference

Hui, Y.H. & Stanfield, P. (2010). Nutrition and Diet Therapy: Self-Instructional Approaches, 5th edition. Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Publishers