VITAMINS AND MINERALS

Aysuda PasinlioğluAli Oğuzhan Polat

VITAMINS• Vitamins are organic substances necessary for

life. Vitamins are essential to the normal functioning of our bodies, and except for a few exceptions, cannot be made by our bodies.

• Vitamins are necessary for growth and vitality. They are found in all natural foods. We must obtain vitamins from foods or dietary supplements. It is impossible to sustain life without all the essential vitamins.

• Vitamins are not replacements for food. By themselves, they have no calories. Vitamins are not substitutes for protein, fats, minerals, carbohydrates or other nutrients. You cannot stop eating, take vitamins and expect to be healthy.

What do Vitamins do?

• Vitamins have hundreds of different functions.• Some examples of what vitamins do:• Energize our metabolism• Regulate our metabolism• Help form blood clots when we bleed• Help us see in color instead of black and white• Enable cell growth

FUNCTIONS OF VITAMINS

Minerals

• Minerals are elements that originate in the Earth and cannot be made by living organisms. Plants obtain minerals from the soil, and most of the minerals in our diets come directly from plants or indirectly from animal sources.

• Minerals may also be present in the water we drink, but this varies with geographic locale. Minerals from plant sources may also vary from place to place, because soil mineral content varies geographically.

Calcium

• Calcium is the most common mineral in the human body. About 99% of the calcium in the body is found in bones and teeth, while the other 1% is found in the blood and soft tissue. Calcium levels in the blood and fluid surrounding the cells (extracellular fluid) must be maintained within a very narrow concentration range for normal physiological functioning.

• Calcium is a major structural element in bones and teeth.

Food Source

• Milk• Cheese • Fish

Iron

• Iron has the longest and best described history among all the micronutrients. It is a key element in the metabolism of almost all living organisms. In humans, iron is an essential component of hundreds of proteins and enzymes.

• Oxygen transport and storage• Electron transport and energy metabolism • DNA synthesis

Food Source

• Red meat• Liver• Some leafy• and Vegetables

Sources:

• http://kidshealth.org/kid/nutrition/food/vitamin.html

• http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/vitamins/

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_mineral