Reference no: EM132367783

Discussion Forum 3: Vitamins and Minerals

Forum 3: Chapters 6 and 7 (Vitamins and Minerals)

This forum will allow you to share and review the various vitamins and minerals. Each student will have 1 vitamin and 1 mineral to review and share in this discussion board. All students should have reviewed the various vitamins and minerals with emphasis on the assigned vitamin and mineral. Share the details you discovered with your vitamin and mineral but be sure to discuss the others with your fellow students. As always, the bulk of the points will come from your initial post with additional points from your discussion with a minimum of 3 other students. The more interaction, the more you all will benefit from the information about vitamins and minerals. Don't forget to identify if the micro-nutrient you are discussing is a vitamin or a mineral. Discuss the functions of the micro-nutrients, food sources and toxicity, deficiency symptoms. The more detail, the better the discussion and of course the points will follow. Enjoy learning about micro-nutrients.

For example:

VITAMIN C

• Vitamins plays an important role in our body. There are organic compounds that are needed in small quantities to sustain life, they are essential to normal metabolism and most of them are found in foods that we eat because the human body can produce them not enough or not produce them at all. Vitamins have different roles and depends on each organism including humans has different vitamin requirement.

• Vitamin C ,chemical name: Ascorbic acid , is a water soluble vitamin which means it doesn't stay in the body for a long time, it is excreted in the urine and needs to replace more often that fat soluble vitamins.

• Vitamin C helps maintain healthy bones and skin ,widen blood vessels that can help protect against heart diseases, high blood pressure ,hypertension and may lower cholesterol, it plays an important role in production of collagen, serves as an antioxidant ,helps repair tissue and reduce damage from inflammation ,may also help prevent acute respiratory infection and help people that are physically stressed and malnourished.

• According to NIH (national institute of health),males should consume 90 mg and females 75mg per day, while pregnant women should consume 85mg and 120mg while breastfeeding.

• Good sources of vitamin c may come from fresh fruits and vegetable like sweet red pepper, citrus fruits,strawberries,spinach ,tomatoes and potatoes, which are best if consumed as raw if possible, cause some nutrients may leave the food in the cooking process.

• Taking to much vitamin C is unlikely to be harmful but can lead to diarrhea and gastrointestinal discomfort.

• Groups that are more likely to lack this nutrient are smokers and passive smokers, people with limited food variety ,anorexia, people with too much alcohol consumption and people with some chronic disease.

• Wounds that take longer to heal is associated with person with Scurvy ,a vitamin C Deficiency, symptoms includes swollen joints, bleeding gums, loose tooth ,anemia and tiredness. It is easily treated with adding vitamin c to your diet and asking medical doctor for supplements that are available.

Ageing is inevitable ,but it does not mean looking tired and feeling lifeless ,by eating healthy it can help us to stay fit and protect from diseases.

Calcium and Phosphorus

• Just like vitamins, minerals are important for your body to stay healthy ,it uses minerals to keep a healthy bones, muscles, heart and for the brain to work properly, they also play an important role for making hormones and enzymes and for muscle contraction.

• Around 99% of the calcium in human body is found in the bones and teeth. Calcium continues to strengthen bones until they reach 20-25 years of age,which is when the bone density is high, as part of the aging process that after the bone density declines,calcium still continues to maintain bone and slows down the process of bone density loss.

• Phosphorus is a mineral that makes up 1 % of body's total weight, which is present in every cell of the body, most of it can be found like for calcium in bones and teeth.

• If people are not getting enough calcium in their diet, the body takes calcium from the bones to ensure normal cell function which can lead to weakened bones, as a person grows older the bone breaks down faster that it rebuilds, which can lead to osteoporosis, which is a risk for people over 50 years of age, which is more common for females after menopaused because of sudden decrease in estrogen.

• With phosphorus deficiency it may cause bone diseases such as rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. Improper balance of phosphorus may cause osteoporosis.

• Good Sources of calcium includes milk products, soymilk, orange juice, cereal and tofu. Greens vegetables such as broccoli, kale and turnip greens(spinach is not included).Phosphorus sources includes milk products, meat, fish, poultry and eggs.

• Treatment may include supplements for both calcium and phosphorus deficiency, some medication prescribed by you physician and therapy for osteporosis.