Micronutrients

Vitamins and Minerals

Micronutrients
The body requires very small amounts of vitamins and minerals to play very important roles within the body Vitamins and minerals are usually regularly available from a balanced healthy diet The usual amount of food eaten by a normal adult each year is 820Kg of this only 350grams will be from vitamins or minerals

Vitamins
These neither supply energy or contribute to body mass Vitamin D is the only vitamin the body can produce by itself therefore the rest need to be obtained from the diet There are 13 different vitamins and are classed as water soluble or lipid soluble Lipid soluble vitamins are = A, D, E, K Water Soluble vitamins are = C, B6, B1, B2, Niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, folic acid, B12.

Lipid Soluble Vitamins

Daily ingestion is not absolutely necessary as some are stored in the fatty tissue of the body Vitamins A and D are mainly stored in the liver Vitamin E is distributed throughout the fatty tissue of the body Vitamin K is stored in tiny amounts and is stored in the liver. To much vitamin K can poison the body and vitamin D can cause kidney damage Lipid soluble vitamins are usually found in dietary lipids such as meat

Water Soluble vitamins

These usually join with other compounds that are used throughout the body for example for energy making Water soluble vitamins are dispersed throughout the bodies water stores and therefore is not stored at such. Any excess vitamins are disposed of through urine. Water soluble vitamins are active in the body for about 8-14 hours after ingestion.

Role of Vitamins in the body

Vitamins do not produce energy but they are used in the energy making process Vitamins control the process of tissue synthesis i.e. they dictate how fast or much we grow.

Do Athletes require more vitamins

Generally no, because the vitamins taken in can often by used over and over again However some athletes can struggle from insufficiencies in some vitamins and therefore should look to supplement their diets with the relevant vitamins There is little harm in taking megavitamins however the body will reject a lot of the vitamins as it cannot be stored and the healthy diet usually contains enough Taking too many vitamins i.e. 1000 x RDA can result in health issues

Methods of reducing vitamins loss when cooking

Tear leaves and dont cut them Prepare food just before you cook them Cook in a minimum of water for the shortest amount of time Do not keep food hot i.e. under a grill Always steam or microwave vegetable

Minerals
The role of minerals in the body Structure the formation of bones Maintain heart rhythm and muscular contractility Regulation of cellular metabolism (control energy production)

 Calcium Combines with phosphorus to form bones 1% of calcium used for muscle action and nerve transmission Essential for blood clotting and transport of fluids across cell membranes Prolonged calcium deficiency can cause osteoporosis which makes bones brittle. Taking part in regular exercise can help this problem Phosphorus Helps with bone and teeth strength Plays a major part in energy production

Magnesium Regulates energy production Helps store glucose as glycogen in muscles Helps break down glucose, fatty acids and amino acids in energy production Iron 3-5 Grams in body available from meat and bread Helps to increase the oxygen carrying capacity of blood Helps to transport oxygen with the bodies cells Anaemia can occur if there is an iron deficiency this result in feelings of tiredness and loss of appetite. Women need more iron than men because they loss iron when they have periods Athletes can get sports anaemia where they lose iron through sweat

The Electrolytes Sodium/Potassium/Chlorine These minerals make up what we call salt We lose salt through sweat when we exercise We therefore need to take in enough electrolytes through our diet to ensure the correct electrolyte balance. Sodium and Chlorine play a major role in regulating extra cellular fluid exchange Potassium is mostly intracellular All three play a part in the transmission of electrical nerve impulses To much sodium can cause hypertension and stress.