Nutrition - Fat & Water soluble Vitamins

As explained in the last post, there are 6 different vitamins: A, D, E, and K which are fat soluble and B and C which are water soluble.

Vitamin A and D are both found in seafood, cod liver oil, liver, butter from grass fed cows and pastured whole eggs.

Vitamin E is found in butter, organ meats, raw seeds and nuts, dark green leafy veg, whole grains and unrefined vegetable oils.

Vitamin K is found in whole grains, liver, pastured whole eggs, dark green leafy veg and butter from grass fed cows.

Vitamin B is found in raw nuts, seafood, legumes, organ meats, fresh fruit and veg and whole unrefined grains.

Vitamin C is found in fresh fruit and veg and also in some organ meats.

Now for the purposes...

Vitamin A helps to produce rich blood and also helps in RNA production. It also stimulates gastric juices for protein digestion, protects against degenerative damage/pollution and also plays a pivotal role in building bones.

Vitamin D helps form strong teeth and bones, it is needed for phosphorus and calcium absorption and also appears to protect against MS and cancer.

Vitamin E helps to circulate blood as well as repairing tissue and healing. It helps to slow down age, is a powerful antioxidant and it protects against CHD and cancer with certain trace minerals.

Vitamin K help to form bones and  is also important in blood clotting.

Vitamin B helps to prevent fatigue, produce cholesterol and maintain the iron levels in blood. It keeps normal growth and fertility, is a vital role in metabolism and it also works to help healthy nerves, eyes, liver, hair, skin and muscle tone.

Vitamin C supports lactation and adrenal gland function whilst helping tissue growth and repair. It also makes capillary walls stronger and helps the healing of wounds. It's pivotal for forming collagen and is lastly a powerful antioxidant.

So, next up is minerals...

Nutrition - Vitamins

There are a group of organic compounds containing carbon that vitamins consist of. These are needed for normal metabolism and normal growth. Eating some animal products/plants are ways to to obtain vitamins in your diet as all vitamins are made by plants.

From the action of bacteria in our GI tract, we can synthesise some B vitamins and some K vitamins ourselves. B vitamins include riboflavin and biotin.

There are also inactive vitamins (pro-vitamins e.g. beta-carotene) that can help our bodies to assemble small amount of certain vitamins. Beta-carotene cane be found in dark green and yellow vegetables. In the right circumstances, our bodies can make vitamin A. However, vitamin A needs to be found from elsewhere as the vitamin A in beta-carotene doesn't produce enough.

Fat soluble vitamins can only be absorbed, transported and used when fat is there. These vitamins are A, D, E and K. There is a large lack of fat-soluble vitamins when a diet is low in fat which can result in a person becoming ill. Any lack of vitamin A means the body will not be able to produce hormones that are necessary such as oestrogen, cortisol and testosterone.

Water soluble vitamins are absorbed, transported and used in water. These vitamins are B and C. They have an effect in the cells as they are absorbed along the digestive tract however, these vitamins can't be stored in the body in large amounts. These vitamins are essential for our daily diets to avoid becoming ill. Deficiency will occur when refined simple carbs are a large part of our daily diets. This is because it leads to an excess of sucrose.

Next up will be the purposes and sources of all the vitamins. :)