As a follow up to last month’s article by Healthlab, here is some important information about fat soluble vitamins. Vitamin A This can be found only in animal products. The most important sources of this vitamin are fish liver oil; especially cod and tuna, liver, egg yolk, milk and other dairy products.
Vitamin A has many functions as follows:
1) Nourishing the retina of the eyeballs; lack of vitamin A will result in blurred vision at night; 2) Supporting growth; lack of vitamin A at a young age will result in slow growth; 3) Helping the synthesis of substances (glycoproteins and mucopolysaccharide), which are important to the composition of the mucous tissue; lack of vitamin A will result as a dry skin with blisters along the pores and dry mucous membranes; and 4) Vitamin A is also an anti-oxidation which helps decrease the risk of having cancer. However too much vitamin A with an accumulation in the body may cause loss of appetite, hair loss, rough and dry skin, chronic sores, swelling arms and legs and bone pain. Children may have brittle cartilage and bone. Adults with a high accumulation of vitamin A may have tumors in brain, liver and the infections.
Vitamin D
This comes from two sources:
1) Created by the skin and 2) food such as green vegetables, meat, milk, fish, egg, butter, yeast and certain types of mold. Vitamin D functions: 1) Control the balance between calcium and phosphorus. 2) Help increase the absorption of calcium and phosphorus in the intestine. 3) Help control the phosphate level at the kidney. 4) Help increase the citrate level in blood, bones, liver and heart. Lack of vitamin D in a child will result in rickets. Lack of vitamin D in an adult will result in osteomalacia (bone softening). Too much vitamin D can be toxic. High calcium and phosphorus in blood will cause the loss of calcium in bones and result in brittle bones.
Vitamin E
This is a pale yellow and viscous substance. It can be found in soy milk and various vegetable oils such as cottonseed oil, sunflower oil and extracted wheat germ oil. Vitamin E can also be found in foods such as fats, eggs, margarine, and nuts. The most important function of vitamin E is as an antioxidation agent. It also helps support the creation of muscle cell tissues and red blood corpuscles. Vitamin E is used as a treatment for heart disease and certain vascular diseases, and also used in skin care products and anti aging products. There is no apparent harm for excessive amounts and it is stored in the muscle and fat in our body. Vitamin K This can be found in green vegetable such as spinach, kale, cabbage and broccoli.
Vitamin K is also found in meat, mostly in pork liver.
The human intestines can also create vitamin K. Most people do not have any symptoms from the lack of vitamin K. It helps the liver to synthetise substances that aid blood coagulation such as Prothrombin. Lack of vitamin K will result in slow blood coagulation or continuous bleeding if there is any wound.
