What you should know about vitamins & minerals
Years ago, medical professionals noticed that peculiar disease states were directly related to food intake. These diseases were found in the presence of adequate calorie and protein intake.
Scientists also noticed that these diseases were absent among people who consumed certain foods. For example, sailors who consumed citrus fruits on long sea voyages did not develop scurvy.
Thus, researchers reasoned, there must be other important substances in the foods. Eventually, they discovered that compounds only obtained from foods could prevent and cure these diseases.
Nutrient deficiencies in the general population
Nutrient deficiencies are common, usually from a poor diet overall, or from a reduced calorie intake. 68% of the North American population is deficient in calcium, 90% in chromium, 75% in magnesium, and 80% in vitamin B6.
Nutrient deficiencies are particularly common among populations such as the elderly, athletes (who have a higher requirement for many nutrients), and people with low incomes (who may not consume as many healthy foods).
When someone reduces food intake in an effort to drop body fat, they’re almost assured a nutrient deficiency. Why? Because as food intake goes down, nutrient intake does too.
Vitamin solubility and absorption
Fat soluble vitamins are mostly absorbed passively and must be transported with dietary fat. These vitamins are usually found in the portion of the cell which contains fat, including membranes, lipid droplets, etc.
We tend to excrete fat soluble vitamins via feces, but we can also store them in fatty tissues.
If we don’t eat enough dietary fat, we don’t properly absorb these vitamins. A very low-fat diet can lead to deficiencies of fat-soluble vitamins.
Water soluble vitamins are absorbed by both passive and active mechanisms. Their transport in the body relies on molecular “carriers”.
Water soluble vitamins are not stored in high amounts within the body and are excreted in the urine along with their breakdown products.
Mineral absorption
Our bodies and the foods we eat contain minerals; we actually absorb them in a charged state (i.e., ionic state). Minerals will be in either a positive or negative state and reside inside or outside or cells.
Molecules found in food can alter our ability to absorb minerals. This includes things like phytates (found in grains), oxalate (found in foods like spinach and rhubarb), both of which inhibit mineral absorption, and acids. Even gastric acidity and stress can influence absorption.
Summary and recommendations
Vitamins and minerals play a role in normalizing bodily functions and cannot be made by the body (except for vitamin D from the sun).
Adequate intake from food and/or supplements is necessary to prevent deficiency, promote optimal health, improve nutrient partitioning and promote fat loss and muscle gain.
The interest in vitamin/mineral supplementation to prevent diseases and/or increase longevity comes from the idea that supplementation is harmless. Yet, serious adverse events have been reported. Don’t supplement unless you need to. Avoid supertherapeutic doses — doses greatly in excess of recommendations.
If you use a vitamin/mineral supplement, look for one providing nutrients derived from whole foods. Make sure this includes natural forms of vitamin E rather than the synthetic versions. Vitamin A should come from precursors like carotenoids and not preformed retinoids.
Women still menstruating should probably include supplemental iron. Men typically do not need additional iron (and in some men, it can be actively harmful).
Those suffering from malabsorption syndromes will need to adjust their micronutrient intake accordingly.
Those with limited sun exposure should investigate a vitamin D supplement.
Those on blood thinners should talk with their doctor before adding in supplemental vitamin K.
Those on a plant based diet might benefit from supplementing with iodine, vitamin D and vitamin B12.
Extra credit
A plant-based diet generally has a higher content of folic acid, vitamins C and E, potassium, and magnesium. It generally has a lower content of vitamins B-12, D, calcium and iron.
Vitamin A is present in tears.
Vitamins necessary for energy releasing processes: Vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, biotin
Vitamins necessary for red blood cell synthesis: Vitamin B9, B6, B12
In some studies, supplementation with the mineral chromium has reduced total serum cholesterol, triglycerides and apolipoprotein B and increased HDL-cholesterol.
The discovery of vitamins started the field of nutrition.
Earlier names for riboflavin (vitamin B2) were lactoflavin, ovoflavin, hepatoflavin and verdoflavin, indicating the sources (milk, eggs, liver and plants) from which the vitamin was first isolated.
Prenatal multivitamin/mineral supplements are associated with a reduced risk of low birth weight infants and with improved birth weight when compared with iron-folic acid supplements.
In observational studies (case-control or cohort design), people with high intake of antioxidant vitamins by regular diet typically have a lower risk of heart attack and stroke than people who don’t consume enough.
source:https://www.precisionnutrition.com