Vigorous Vitamins

Ummm….like Powdered Toast Man!

What are vitamins?

Glad you asked!!! Vitamins are organic chemicals, substances that contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

Where do Vitamins come from?

Vitamins occur naturally in all living things, plants and animals alike: flowers, trees, fruits, vegetables, chickens, fish, cows—and you.

I’m glad you asked

that too!

Your body needs at least 11 specific vitamins

How will I ever remember all those?

I mean a list of all the vitamins and what each one does would be hard to remember…

Yep…that looks really hard…

Don’t worry…be happy…

You don’t need to memorize the whole list, but there are some things you should know.

Vitamins are classified as either

FAT SOLUBLE:

Dissolve in fat.

If you consume larger amounts of fat-soluble vitamins than your body needs, this could cause problems.

WATER SOLUBLE:

Dissolve in water.

If you consume too many water-soluble vitamins, you just pee them out.

All Dogs Eat Kidneys

That’s how you can remember the fat-soluble vitamins.

Vitamins A, D, E, and K dissolve in fat.

Vitamin A and Vitamin D

Vitamin A:

Keeps skin smooth and supple

Helps with vision

Vitamin D:

Helps your body absorb calcium which makes strong bones and teeth

Help! I Seem to be Turning a Strange Color!!!!

Another form of vitamin A (Carotenoid) is not stored in your liver and cannot build up to toxic levels. BUT if you eat too much Carotenoid (found in carrots and tomotatoes)

Your skin will turn ORANGE

Could be a good Halloween Costume

Vitamins E and K

Vitamin E

Healthy reproductive system, nerves, muscles.

Anti-oxidant.

Vitamin K

Makes specialized proteins found in blood plasma.

Makes bones and kidney tissue.

Anti-Oxidants…What are They?

They prevent a chemical reaction called oxidation.

They stop molecular fragments called free radicals from joining together to form potentially cancer-causing compounds in your body.

How they work…

• http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/how-antioxidants-work1

Anti-Oxidants are good because…

They slow normal wear and tear on body cells.

They may reduce and risk of heart disease and some cancers.

Water Soluble Vitamins

Vitamin C

• Connective tissue

• New cells in wound healing

• Immune system

Other Water Soluble Vitamins

That would be the B-Vitamins!

B1, ThiaminB2 Riboflavin Niacin

Pyidoxine Folate B12

Do you want your body to be able to…

• Digest carbohydrates and proteins

• Grow properly and normally

• Heal wounds

• Make healthy red blood cells

These are some of the things that Vitamin B help your body do.

Wild Applause for Vitamin B!

Vitamin Deficiencies

The good news is that vitamin deficiencies (not getting enough of a particular vitamin) are rare among people who have access to a wide variety of foods and know how to put together a balanced diet.

Scurvey: Vitamin C Deficiency

• Scurvy leads to the formation of spots and bleeding on the skin, and spongy gums.

• A person with the ailment looks pale, feels depressed, and is partially immobilized.

• In advanced scurvy there are open, wounds and loss of teeth.

Scurvey…Scourge of the Sea

Scurvy was at one time common among sailors and pirates who sailed for longer than perishable fruits and vegetables could be stored.

.

Scurvy was one of the limiting factors of marine travel, often killing large numbers of the passengers and crew on long-distance voyages.

Big Trouble. Vitamin Megadoses

• Can’t get too much of a good thing?

• WRONG!!!• Some vitamins are TOXIC when taken in

the very large amounts popularly known

as MEGADOSES.

But unless you are taking

VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTSIt is pretty much impossible to cram

down enough food to overdose on Vitamins D, E, K, C and all the B’s.

Liver and Fish Oil

Contain concentrated forms of Vitamin A.

Liver contains so much Vitamin A that early 20th century explorers to the South Pole made themselves sick on seal and whale liver.

Children fed daily servings of chicken liver have reached toxic levels of Vitamin A.

Where do I get my vitamins?

Most people who eat a healthy varied diet will get enough vitamins and do not need to take vitamin supplements.

Eat this: Not this:

But if you are vegan…

That is, if you do not eat any food from animals (including milk, cheese, eggs and fish oils), Vitamin D, C, and B12 should be supplemented.