VITAMIN C!!!

After talked about vitamins soluble in fat, I am going to talk about vitamins soluble in water.

Vitamins belong to this group we can found vitamin C and vitamins B (complex B vitamin).

Today I will show you something about C vitamin or Ascorbic acid.

Vitamin C is very important for our body and we need take it daily because it soluble in water, then we can store it for very long and we can manufacture it.

Ascorbic acid is needed to:

ü  Make the strong connective tissue (collagen) that holds your skeleton together, attaches your bones, builds strong blood vessels, and keeps yours organs and skin place;

ü  It is a powerful antioxidant because it mop up free radicals and helps others antioxidants do their work better;

ü  It helps immune system work better and manufacture many of your body´s hormones;  

ü  It helps avoid cardiovascular disease, because it decrease blood pressure;

ü  Vitamin C helps who has allergies and asthma. It happens because when you exposure by an agent could cause allergy your immune system will produce histamine, and all symptoms of allergy and asthma appears. Then when you take vitamin C, it keeps your immune system from making as many histamines to begin with and helps you get them out of your bloodstream faster;

We could find vitamin C in citrus fruits, such as grapefruit, lemon, orange, tangerine, you could find it in acerola (80 times more vitamin C than orange), apple, banana, guava, kiwi, mango, papaya, pepper, pineapple, tomato, for example!

Therefore, vitamin C is very important: for athletics, for recovery surgery, for babies, for diabetic type 2 and even prevent cancer. So if I were you, I will take some of it!

Enjoy! 

Reference:

Pressman, A. H., Vitamins and Minerals.

Vitamin K _ Good for Koagulation!

Vitamin K from koagulation!!!

I will explain you!

In late 1920s and early 1930s, Danish researches discovered a substance that avoid blooding, because it is essential for forming blood clots and make it fastly whenever you injure yourself. It´s vitamin K.

Vitamin K has your family too:

ü  K₁ = phylloquinone : found in plant foods;

ü  K₂ = menaquinone : is made from bacteria in your intestines;

ü  K₃ = medadione: artificial form;

All kinds of vitamin K ends up in your liver, where it is used to make some of substances that make your blood clot.

This vitamin is good to building your bones because it helps hold on calcium in your bones and make it is getting in the right place. Then, women in menopause should take more this vitamin to avoid fractures.

The vitamin K bone protection happens in two processes;

1)    One process is related to osteoclasts that are bone cells in charge of bone demineralization. In other words, they take minerals out of the bone and make their available for other body functions. However this process should be balanced because it can cause excess bone demineralization.

 Vitamin k makes this balance and keep this process in check, because of menaquinone forms that blocks formation of too many osteoclasts.

2)    The second process is called carboxylation that is a chemical reaction in which a carboxylic acid group is introduced in a substrate.

There is a protein called osteocalcin needs to be chemically altered through the process of carboxylation. When too few of this osteocalcin proteins in our bone are carboxilated, our bones have increased risk for fracture. Then vitamin K (MK-$ menaquinone) can restore these bone proteins to their proper place in our bone structure and strengthen the composition of the bone.  

Others functions of vitamin K are:

ü  Prevents calcifications of blood vessels or heart valves;

ü  Protect against oxidative damage;

ü  Regulates inflammatory response;

ü  Supports of brain and nervous system structure;

Vitamin K is found in beef liver, raw broccoli, raw cabbage, raw cauliflower, egg, milk, baked potato, soybean oil, raw spinach, strawberries, raw tomato, wheat germ, spinach, mustard greens and romain lettuce.

Do you know more? Ask me!

Barbara Bruna

References:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=112

PRESSMAN A. H., BUFF S. Vitamins and minerals. 2007. 3^rd ed.

VITAMIN E...

And now an Excellent vitamin!!!

            Why this vitamin is so important?

            Because it protects our cell membranes against free radicals. And when our cells are protected, diseases and health problems are avoided.

It could be explained considering that vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin and our cell membranes are made up mainly of fat. Then, when vitamin E gets into the membrane, it avoids that any free radical get through.

It was isolated at first time, by the scientists, at 1936, and it called tocopherol, from the Greek words tokos, “offspring” and pheros, “to bear”. Afterwards, this substance it was called vitamin E.

Vitamin E has a big family that is divided in two groups: tocopherols and tocotrienols.

Tocopherols are formed by four members: alpha, beta, gamma, and delta tocopherol. Alfatocopherol is the most common and the most active form. Gammatocopherol protects you from free radicals from nitrogen oxides.

Tocotrienols are also called alpha, beta, gamma, and delta and are found in some plant foods like rice and barley. They are less active than tocopherol but all they have antioxidant powers, help in cancer prevention and keeping down your cholesterol.

Nowadays, there are some researches that explain some functions of vitamin E such as: acts against inflammation, regulates  blood cells and helps the genetic control of cell division.

If you are athlete this vitamin is a good friend  before and after intensive exercise because, it decreases the oxidative cell damage caused by free radicals. This vitamin is responsible for tissues body regeneration such as blood, skin, bones and nerves. In other words, vitamin E could avoid the overtraining symptoms.

The antioxidant vitamin E power is improved when it is intake together with others antioxidants such as vitamin C.

Vitamin E is found at in oils like: almond, corn, olive, peanut, safflower, sunflower; it is found in apple, asparagus, avocado, mango, peanuts, wheat germ, almond, nuts, kiwi, fish and milk.

Do you like to know it? Do you want to know more? 

Let your question here! ;)