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Vitamins and Minerals

By Admin | July 25, 2009

All vitamins are natural organic substances found in food.  There are presently 13 substances that are known to be active as vitamins in human nutrition.  Each of these favorable-carbsvitamins is present in varying quantities in specific foods, and each is absolutely necessary for proper growth and maintenance of health.  With a few exceptions, the body cannot synthesize vitamins; they must be supplied in the diet or, if necessary, through dietary supplements.

Vitamins have no caloric or energy value but are important to the body as constituents of enzymes, which function as catalysts in nearly all metabolic reactions.  Thus, vitamins help regulated metabolism, help convert fat and carbohydrates into energy, and assist in forming bone and other tissues.  Vitamins are not components of major body structures, but aid in the building of these structures.

Minerals, live vitamins, are nutrients that are found in food.  Approximately 17 minerals are essential nutrients in the human diet.  Minerals are vital to overall mental and physical well-being and they comprise about four or five percent of the body's weight.  All tissues and internal fluids of living things contain varying quantities of minerals.

Minerals are components of bone, teeth, soft tissue, muscle, blood, and nerve cells.  Like vitamins, minerals act as catalysts for many physiological reactions within the human body including muscle contraction, nerve transmission, digestion and metabolism.  They are also essential in the production of some hormones.

Minerals help to maintain the delicate water balance that is essential to the proper functioning of all the body's physiological processes by keeping the blood and tissue fluids from becoming either too acid or too alkaline.  Minerals also help draw nutrients and wastes in and out of the cells, and they are involved in the immune system's fight against disease through the creation of antibodies.

In short, Vitamins and minerals are involved in the building and repair of the body's tissues.  They help to regulate nearly every bodily function function, including the conversion of food to energy.  If you are an active person, it may not be possible to meet your body's need for optimal functioning through food intake alone, therefore, you may need to supplement your diet with a nutritionist recommended vitamin and mineral formula.

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