What Are Vitamins?

What Are Vitamins? — page 1 — INTRODUCING VITAMINS Vitamins are nutrients that humans need to grow reproduce and be healthy They help to keep the systems of the body working properly Each vitamin has specific roles to play Many processes in the body require several vitamins Too much or too little of one vitamin can interfere with the function of another Scientists have identified thirteen vitamins that are essential for good health A C D E and K plus eight B vitamins Many vitamins have scientific names as Vitamins are very important for keeping people healthy Vitamins regulate many different functions of the body 4

What Are Vitamins? — page 2 — A balanced diet of a variety of foods can provide the vitamins needed for good health Vocabulary Things that are essential are so important that they have to be included well as their letter names Most of these vitamins can be obtained through a healthy diet filled with a variety of foods including plenty of fruits and vegetables Two vitamins D and K are made in the human body Vitamins are needed in only small amounts but a lack of any essential vitamin can cause health problems 5

What Are Vitamins? — page 3 — VITAMINS AND THE HUMAN BODY Vitamins function as tools in the body Although vitamins are not an energy source they help to convert food's nutrients carbohydrates fats and proteins into energy Vitamins also play a role in building tissues and regulating chemical activities There are two groups of vitamins water soluble and fat soluble Water-soluble right lobe left lobe stomach vitamins include the B vitamins and vitamin C They dissolve in water The body stores a small amount of The liver is a large organ located next to the stomach The liver stores nutrients such as vitamins and minerals gallbladder bile duct small intestine

What Are Vitamins? — page 4 — Vitamin A Vitamin C Vitamin B6 Vitamin D Vitamins can be obtained from a wide variety of plant and animal foods making it easy to meet daily requirements Vitamin B12 Vitamin E water-soluble vitamins but it gets rid of most of those it does not use 7 THINK ABOUT IT Because of that people must get Why might it a steady supply of those vitamins be useful for the Fat soluble vitamins include A D body to store some E and K They do not dissolve in vitamins water and are mostly stored in the body's fat and liver Different amounts of each vitamin are recommended for men and women at different life stages A value called the recommended dietary allowance RDA is the daily amount of a nutrient that meets the needs of most healthy people

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