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Vitamins
A micronutrient
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
The Vitamins
• Water Soluble
• B group Vitamins (B1,
B2, B3, B6, B12)
• Vitamin C
• Found in watery foods
such as vegetables,
milk and meat
• Soluble in water
• Travels via the blood
• Not stored within the
body
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
• Fat Soluble
• A, D, E & K Vitamins
• Found in fat soluble
foods such as cheese,
meat, eggs and yellow
and green vegetables
• Soluble in fat
• Travels via the lymph
system
• Stored in body
• Vitamins and minerals often have an
interrelationship with other nutrients to help them
perform their functions
– e.g. Vitamin B helps release energy from carbohydrates,
protein and fats
– e.g. Vitamin B helps your cells rebuild the amino acids into
new proteins, such as blood cells and haemoglobin
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
• We need vitamins in only small quantities, but
they have very important functions
• Vitamins are essential for many of the
chemical reactions which take place within
the body
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
• Fruit and vegetables (rich in nutrients
such as vitamins) provide a protective
factor for the body
• They help defend against dietary
diseases such as cardiovascular disease,
some cancers and diabetes mellitus
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Fat soluble vitamins
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Functions Vitamin A
• Normal vision
• Healthy lining cells e.g.
skin, lungs
• Bone and teeth formation
• Healthy skin, hair, mucous
membranes
• Essential in reproduction
by helping to produce new
cells
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Food sources
•
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Liver
Cod liver oil
Butter
Milk, cheese
Eggs
Yellow, red and
green leafy
vegetables
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Vitamin A deficiency
• Night blindness – eyes
cannot adapt to
changes in light,
causing temporary
loss of sight
• Xerophthalmia –
drying out of the eye
membrane, which can
lead to blindness
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Functions Vitamin D
• Helps absorption of calcium
and phosphorus
• Increases deposits of
calcium and phosphorus
into bone
• Both of these functions
contribute to bone growth
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Food sources
• Sunlight on your skin
helps to
manufacture
Vitamin D
• Fish liver oils
• Eggs
• Butter, cream,
margarine
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Vitamin D Deficiency
• Reduced absorption of
calcium
• Rickets in children –
bone deformities due
to soft bones
• Osteomalacia in adults
– ‘adult rickets’
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
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Function Vitamin E
• Acts as an antioxidant – substances that
prevent damage to the body by free radicals
– substances produced when oxygen is metabolised.
An overload causes build up of cholesterol deposits
in the arteries, which can cause cancer and heart
disease
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Food sources
•
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•
•
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Vegetable oils
Wheat germ
Margarine
Wholegrain cereals
Nuts
Widespread in foods
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Function Vitamin K
• Enables the formation
of prothrombin, a
chemical which helps
blood clotting
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Food sources
• Eggs
• Liver
• Green leafy
vegetables
• Wholegrain cereals
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Water soluble vitamins
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Functions Vitamin C
(Ascorbic Acid)
• Collagen production
• Assists the absorption of iron
• Healing wounds, protecting
against injury and infection
• Production of hormones
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Food sources
• Fruits, especially
citrus and
blackcurrant
• Vegetables, example
tomatoes and
capsicum
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Vitamin C deficiency
•
•
•
•
•
Swollen gums
Scaly skin
Poor wound healing
Nose bleeds
Lowered resistance to
infection
• Scurvy – symptoms all
above
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Functions thiamin (B1)
• Co-enzyme which
helps release energy
from CHO
• Activity of nerves
• Maintains heart
muscle tone
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Food sources
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•
•
•
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Wholegrain cereals
Vegemite
Pork
Nuts
legumes
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Thiamin (B1) deficiency
• Weak muscles
• Heart and nerve
problems
• Fatigue
• Loss of appetite
• Beri beri – causes
oedema, or swelling of
body due to body fluid
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Functions riboflavin (B2)
• Cellular metabolism and respiration
• Co-enzyme which helps release energy
from CHO
• Tissue repair
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Food sources
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•
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Vegemite
Cereals
Milk
Eggs
Cheese
Vegetables
Nuts
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Riboflavin (B2) deficiency
• Cracks at corners of
mouth
• Scabs on lips
• Rash on face
• Deficiency mainly in
people with poor
diets, such as
alcoholics, low socioeconomic status
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Functions niacin (B3)
• Cellular metabolism and respiration
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Food sources
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Liver, meat, poultry
Nuts
Beans and peas
Vegemite
Wholegrain cereals
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Niacin (B3) deficiency
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•
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Skin rashes
Diarrhoea
fatigue
Digestive abnormalities
Pellagra – dermatitis, diarrhoea, dementia,
death
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Functions folate (B9)
• Formation of DNA and
RNA during growth
• Proper synthesis of red
blood cells
• Especially important
during pregnancy
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Food sources
• Liver
• Green leafy
vegetables
• Nuts
• Eggs
• Wholegrain cereals
• Fruit
• Legumes and lentils
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Folate (B9) deficiency
• Sleeplessness
• Poor growth
• Neural tube defects in
foetus, such as spina
bifida
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Function Vitamin B12
• Production and regeneration of red
blood cells
• Proper functioning of the central
nervous system
• Assists the metabolism of proteins, fats
and carbohydrates
• Synthesis of hormones
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Food sources
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•
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•
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Liver, meat, poultry
Fish
Seafood
Eggs
Milk
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health
Vitamin B12 deficiency
• Can lead to a lower production of red
blood cells, which can contribute
towards the development of anaemia.
Area of study 1: Understanding Australia’s health
Unit 3: Australia’s health