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VMS
Vitamins and minerals are essential nutrients that your body needs in small amounts to work properly.
Most people should be able to get all the nutrients they need by eating a varied and balanced diet. If you choose to take vitamin and mineral supplements, be aware that taking too much or taking them for too long can cause harmful effects.
Vitamins
There are two types of vitamins: fat-soluble and water-soluble.
Fat Soluble
Fat-soluble vitamins are found mainly in fatty foods such as animal fats including butter and lard, vegetable oils, dairy foods, liver and oily fish. While the body needs these vitamins every day to work properly, a person does not need to eat foods containing them every day. This is because, the body does not need these vitamins immediately, it stores them in the liver and fatty tissues for future use. These stores can build up so they are there whenever they are needed. However, too much fat-soluble vitamins can be harmful.
Fat-soluble vitamins are:
• Vitamin A - Also known as retinol. It has several important functions, such as: strengthening immunity against infections, helping vision in dim light and keeping skin and the linings of some parts of the body, such as the nose, healthy. The recommended intake of vitamin A is 0.7mg a day for men and 0.6mg a day for women. • Vitamin D - Vitamin D has several important functions. It helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body.
These substances are needed to keep bones and teeth healthy. Vitamin D is not needed in your diet every day, because any of the vitamin your body does not need immediately is stored for future use.
However, it is recommended that all babies 0 to 12 months should receive a vitamin D supplement. Vitamin D3 is the preferred form of the supplement for infants. Products which contain other vitamins as well as vitamin D should not be used.
• Vitamin E- Vitamin E has several important functions. It helps protect cell membranes. The amount of vitamin E recommended is 4mg a day for men and 3mg a day for women. • Vitamin K - Vitamin K has several important functions. It is needed for blood clotting, which means it helps wounds heal properly and there is increasing evidence that vitamin
K is also needed to help build strong bones. It is recommended that adults need approximately 0.001mg a day of vitamin K for each kilogram of their body weight.
Water-Soluable Vitamins
If there are more than you needed the body gets rid of the extra vitamins when a person urinates. As the body does not store watersoluble vitamins, these vitamins are generally not harmful.
Water-soluble vitamins are found in fruit, vegetables and grains. Unlike fat-soluble vitamins, they can be destroyed by heat or by being exposed to the air. They can also be lost in water used for cooking. Water-soluble vitamins are vitamin C, the B vitamins and folic acid.
• Vitamin C - Vitamin C is also known as ascorbic acid. It has several important functions. It helps protect cells and keeps them healthy and is necessary for the maintenance of healthy connective tissue, which gives support and structure for other tissue and organs. A lack of vitamin C can lead to scurvy. It is recommended that adults get 40mg of vitamin C a day. • B Vitamins - Vitamin B6 is also known as pyridoxine. It has several important functions, including allowing the body to use and store energy from protein and carbohydrates in food and helping form haemoglobin, the substance that carries oxygen around the body. The recommended amount of vitamin B6 is 1.4mg a day for men and 1.2mg a day for women.
• B12 - Vitamin B12 has several important functions and is involved in making red blood cells and keeping the nervous system healthy, releasing energy from the food we eat and processing folic acid. Adults need approximately 0.0015mg a day of vitamin B12.
• B3 - Otherwise known as Niacin, B3 has several important functions including helping produce energy from the foods we eat and helping keep the nervous and digestive systems healthy. The recommended amount of niacin you needed is 17mg a day for men and 13mg a day for women.
Minerals
Minerals are necessary for three main reasons: • building strong bones and teeth • controlling body fluids inside and outside cells • turning the food you eat into energy Minerals are needed in the form they are found in food. Essential minerals include calcium and iron.
WWho? Anyone should consider taking a supplement of Vitamin D daily,
particularly in winter
WWhat are the symptoms? People feeling fatigued, for example after an
illness, can benefit from multivitamin supplements
HHow long have they had the symptoms? Feelings of fatigue can last as
long as six months after illness
AAction already taken? People may have taken steps to improve the
balance of their diet
MMedication? Some supplements could prevent prescribed drugs
