Happy Friday!!! Let’s chat about vitamins! What are they? What do they do? Here we go….
Vitamins are organic compounds that are essential in our diet and are categorized (along with minerals) as micronutrients. And when we say ‘organic’ we mean in the chemical structure sense, as in they contain carbon and hydrogen bonds, NOT that they don't use pesticides! :-) And they are considered ‘essential’ because most of them aren't made by our bodies so they need to be supplied through our diets. Unlike their more popular counterpart, macronutrients (fats, proteins, carbs) micronutrients do NOT provide us with energy (but some can play roles in energy production).
Vitamins are broken down into two broad categories--fat-soluble & water-soluble as seen in our post.
All vitamins function and differ in their roles and the way the body handles fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins are certainly different. Besides B12, water-soluble vitamins are not stored in large quantities in our body tissue and are absorbed right into the blood. Stores may run out within a few weeks to a few months if dietary intake is low. Most water-soluble vitamins will be excreted in the urine when their levels exceed what the kidneys want and need! Unlike the water-soluble vitamins, The fat-soluble vitamins are stored. If intake is low, stores could run out in months to years. They are mainly stored in our liver, fat tissue, and/or cell membranes and they're absorbed best when dietary fat is present into the small intestine. Remember those low-fat diets that were all the rage in the 90s?!! Those were NO GOOD, for many reasons, but especially for our fat-soluble vitamin absorption!
Vitamin needs are set in a few different ways but most of the time you will see the RDA listed which stands for the Recommended Dietary Allowance. The RDA is defined as the level of nutrient intake judged to adequately meet the known nutrient needs of 97-98% of healthy people while decreasing the risk of chronic diseases. You will also see something called the AI which is the Adequate Intake and these are tentative RDAs as they are based on less conclusive scientific information. These are also specific to sex, age, and physiological condition like pregnancy or lactation.
Fun fact, the RDA actually overshoots a bit (by about 2-3%) so even if you're a little under your RDAs you may still get enough of the nutrients. That being said, SHOOT FOR THE RDA!!!
Like I said, this was a CRASH COURSE! But, we will keep trying to educate you throughout this series as we go along. We would LOVE questions, so please ask away! And if you have specific questions about your own individual needs, visit our link in bio to schedule a discovery call and chat about working with us! First, we need a VERY quick crash course in vitamins! What are they?
Vitamins are organic compounds that are essential in our diet and are also called micronutrients. And organic in the chemical structure sense as in they contain carbon and hydrogen bonds, NOT that they don't use pesticides! :-) And they are essential because most of them aren't made by our bodies so they need to be supplied through our diets. They do NOT provide us energy like macronutrients (fats, carbs, proteins).
However, they play an equally important (or maybe of greater importance) in other critical, health & life-sustaining functions in our bodies as shown in our slides!
Just know They. Are. CRUCIAL!
Vitamins are broken down into two broad categories--fat-soluble & water-soluble as seen in our post.
All vitamins function and differ in their roles and the way the body handles fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins are certainly different. Besides B12, water-soluble vitamins are not stored in large quantities in our body tissue and are absorbed right into the blood. Stores may run out within a few weeks to a few months if intake is low. Most water-soluble vitamins will be excreted in the urine when their levels exceed what the kidneys want and need! Unlike the water-soluble vitamins, The fat-soluble vitamins are stored. If intake is low, stores could run out in months to years. They are mainly stored in our liver, fat tissue, and/or cell membranes and they're absorbed best when dietary fat is present into the small intestine. Remember those low-fat diets that were all the rage in the 90s...NO BUENO for many reasons but especially for our fat-soluble vitamin absorption!
Vitamin needs are set in a few different ways but most of the time you will see the RDA listed which stands for the Recommended Dietary Allowance and is defined as the level of nutrients intake judged to adequately meet the known nutrient needs of 97-98% of healthy people while decreasing the risk of chronic diseases. You will also see something called the AI which is the "Adequate Intake" and are tentative RDAs as they are based on less conclusive scientific information. These are also specific to sex, age, and physiological condition like pregnancy or lactation.
Fun fact, the RDA actually overshoots a bit (by about 2-3%) so even if you're a little under your RDAs you may still get enough of the nutrients. That being said, SHOOT FOR THE RDA!!!
Like I said, this was a CRASH COURSE! But, we will keep trying to educate you through this series as we go along. We would LOVE questions, so please ask away! And if you have specific questions about your own individual needs, visit our link in bio to schedule a discovery call and chat about working with us!
