Nutrients

VTAMINS-Water Soluble Water-soluble vitamins can be dissolved in water, a group of vitamins, often coenzyme or auxiliary components. Mainly including vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and vitamin C and so on. A class of organic nutrient molecules that are soluble in water. These include B vitamins and ascorbic acid (vitamin C), which play an important role in the catalysis of enzymes.

VTAMINS-Fat Soluble The fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E, and K, are stored in the body for long periods of time and generally pose a greater risk for toxicity when consumed in excess than water-soluble vitamins. Eating a normal, well-balanced diet will not lead to toxicity in otherwise healthy individuals. However, taking vitamin supplements that contain megadoses of vitamins A, D, E and K may lead to toxicity. The body only needs small amounts of any vitamin.

MINERALS-Funtion Minerals are essential nutrients that are needed in small amounts to keep you healthy. Minerals do not give you energy or calories, but can help with other functions in your body. Your body does not make minerals.

MINERALS-Food Source To meet your daily needs, minerals must be obtained through your diet. Most people can meet their mineral needs by following "Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide" (CFG) and by eating a variety of healthy foods. This means choosing foods from all four food groups: vegetables and fruit, grain products, milk and alternatives as well as meat and alternatives. Aim to meet the minimum number of servings for each food group every day.

VITAMIN A Vitamin A is a group of unsaturated nutritional organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal, retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids(most notably beta-carotene). Vitamin A has multiple functions: it is important for growth and development, for the maintenance of the immune system and good vision. Vitamin A is needed by the retina of the eye in the form of retinal, which combines with protein opsin to form rhodopsin, the light-absorbing molecule necessary for both low-light (scotopic vision) and color vision. Vitamin A also functions in a very different role as retinoic acid (an irreversibly oxidized form of retinol), which is an important hormone-like growth factor for epithelial and other cells.

VITAMIN C Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid and L-ascorbic acid, is a vitamin found in food and used as a dietary supplement. As a supplement it is used to treat and prevent scurvy. Evidence does not support use in the general population for the prevention of the common cold. It may be taken by mouth or by injection.

VITAMIN D Vitamin D refers to a group of fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, and multiple other biological effects. In humans, the most important compounds in this group are vitamin D3 (also known as cholecalciferol) and vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol). Cholecalciferol and ergocalciferol can be ingested from the diet and from supplements. Only a few foods contain vitamin D. The major natural source of the vitamin is synthesis of cholecalciferol in the skin from cholesterol through a chemical reaction that is dependent on sun exposure (specifically UVB radiation). Dietary recommendations typically assume that all of a person's vitamin D is from taken by mouth, as sun exposure in the population is variable and recommendations about the amount of sun exposure that is safe are uncertain in view of the skin cancer risk.

VITAMIN E Vitamin E refers to a group of compounds that include both tocopherols and tocotrienols. Of the many different forms of vitamin E, γ-tocopherol is the most common form found in the North American diet. γ-Tocopherol can be found in corn oil, soybean oil, margarine, and dressings. α-tocopherol, the most biologically active form of vitamin E, is the second-most common form of vitamin E in the diet. This variant can be found most abundantly in wheat germ oil, sunflower, and safflower oils. As a fat-soluble antioxidant, it interrupts the propagation of reactive oxygen species that spread through biological membranes or through a fat when its lipid content undergoes oxidation by reacting with more-reactive lipid radicals to form more stable products. Regular consumption of more than 1,000 mg (1,500 IU) of tocopherols per day may be expected to cause hypervitaminosis E, with an associated risk of vitamin K deficiency and consequently of bleeding problems.

VITAMIN K Vitamin K is a group of structurally similar, fat-soluble vitamins the human body requires for complete synthesis of certain proteins that are prerequisites for blood coagulation (K via German for koagulation) and which the body also needs for controlling binding of calcium in bones and other tissues. The vitamin K-related modification of the proteins allows them to bind calcium ions, which they cannot do otherwise. Without vitamin K, blood coagulation is seriously impaired, and uncontrolled bleeding occurs. Preliminary clinical research indicates that deficiency of vitamin K may weaken bones, potentially leading to osteoporosis, and may promote calcification of arteries and other soft tissues.

RIBOFLAVIN Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is a vitamin found in food and used as a dietary supplement. As a supplement it is used to prevent and treat riboflavin deficiency and prevent migraines. It may be given by mouth or injection.

NIACIN Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid, is an organic compound and is, depending on the definition used, one of the 20 to 80 essential human nutrients. Together with nicotinamide it makes up the group known as vitamin B3 complex.[2] It has the formula C6H5NO2 and belongs to the group of the pyridinecarboxylic acids.

THTAMIN B12 Thiamine, also known as thiamin or vitamin B1, is a vitamin found in food and used as a dietary supplement. As a supplement it is used to treat and prevent thiamine deficiency and disorders that result from it, including beriberi, Korsakoff's syndrome, and Korsakoff's psychosis. Other uses include maple syrup urine disease and Leigh's disease. It is taken by mouth or by injection.

FOLACIN Folate, forms of which are known as folic acid and vitamin B9, is one of the B vitamins. The recommended daily intake of folate in the US is 400 micrograms from foods or dietary supplements. Folic acid is the form of folate used to treat anemia caused by folic acid deficiency. Folic acid is also used as a supplement by women during pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects in the baby. Low levels in early pregnancy are believed to be the cause of more than half of babies born with neural tube defects. More than 50 countries use fortification of certain foods with folic acid as a measure to decrease the rate of NTDs in the population. Long term supplementation is also associated with small reductions in the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease. It may be taken by mouth or by injection.