What Are Vitamins and Minerals?

Vitamins and minerals make people's bodies work properly. Although you get vitamins and minerals from

the foods you eat every day, some foods have more vitamins and minerals than others.

 
Vitamins fall into two categories: fat soluble and water soluble. The fat-soluble vitamins — A, D, E,

and K — dissolve in fat and can be stored in your body. The water-soluble vitamins — C and the B-complex

vitamins (such as vitamins B6, B12, niacin, riboflavin, and folate) — need to dissolve in water before

your body can absorb them. Because of this, your body can't store these vitamins. Any vitamin C or B

that your body doesn't use as it passes through your system is lost (mostly when you pee). So you need a

fresh supply of these vitamins every day.

 
Whereas vitamins are organic substances (made by plants or animals), minerals are inorganic elements

that come from the soil and water and are absorbed by plants or eaten by animals. Your body needs larger

amounts of some minerals, such as calcium, to grow and stay healthy. Other minerals like chromium,

copper, iodine, iron, selenium, and zinc are called trace minerals because you only need very small

amounts of them each day.

 
What Do Vitamins and Minerals Do? (barfworld.com)

 
Vitamins and minerals boost the immune system, support normal growth and development, and help cells and

organs do their jobs. For example, you've probably heard that carrots are good for your eyes. It's true!

Carrots are full of substances called carotenoids that your body converts into vitamin A, which helps

prevent eye problems. Another vitamin, vitamin K, helps blood to clot (so cuts and scrapes stop bleeding

quickly). You'll find vitamin K in green leafy vegetable, broccoli, soybeans, and oatmeal. And to have

strong bones, you need to eat foods such as milk, yogurt, and green leafy vegetables, which are rich in

the mineral calcium.

 
Fuel for Growth

People go through a lot of physical changes — including growth and puberty — during their teenage years.

Eating right during this time is especially important because the body needs a variety of vitamins and

minerals to grow, develop, and stay healthy.

Eating a variety of foods is the best way to get all the vitamins and minerals you need each day, as

well as the right balance of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and calories. Whole or unprocessed foods —

like fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, lean meats, fish, and poultry —

are the best choices for providing the nutrients your body needs to stay healthy and grow properly.
 

It's OK to eat foods like potato chips and cookies once in a while, but you don't want to overdo

high-calorie foods like these that offer little nutritionally.

 
To choose healthy foods, check food labels and pick items that are high in vitamins and minerals. For

example, if you're choosing beverages, you'll find that a glass of milk is a good source of vitamin D

and the minerals calcium, phosphorous, and potassium. A glass of soda, on the other hand, offers very

few vitamins or minerals — if any.

 
You can also satisfy your taste buds without sacrificing nutrition while eating out: Vegetable pizzas or

fajitas, sandwiches with lean cuts of meat, fresh salads, and baked potatoes are just a few delicious,

nutritious choices.
 

If you're a vegetarian, you'll need to plan carefully for a diet that offers the vitamins and minerals

found primarily in meats. The best sources for the minerals zinc and iron are meats, fish, and poultry.

However, you can get zinc and iron in dried beans, seeds, nuts, and leafy green vegetables like kale.

Vitamin B12, which is important for manufacturing red blood cells, is not found in plant foods. If you

don't eat meat, you can find vitamin B12 in eggs, milk and other dairy foods, and fortified breakfast

cereals. Vegans (vegetarians who eat no animal products at all, including dairy products) may need to

take vitamin supplements. If you're thinking about becoming a vegetarian, talk to your doctor or a

registered dietitian about how to plan a healthy, balanced diet.

 
Common Concerns

Lots of teens wonder if they should take vitamin or mineral supplements. If your diet includes a wide

variety of foods, including whole-grain products, fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, nuts,

seeds, eggs, and meats, then you are probably getting the vitamins and minerals your body needs.

 
But if you're skipping meals, dieting, or if you're concerned that you're not eating enough items from a

particular category, such as vegetables or dairy products, then talk to your doctor or to a registered

dietitian. These professionals can help you create an eating plan that includes the nutrients your body

needs.

 
Check with your doctor before taking vitamin or mineral supplements. Some people think that if something

is good for you, then the more you take in, the healthier you'll be. But that's not necessarily true

when it comes to vitamins and minerals. For example, fat-soluble vitamins or minerals, which the body

stores and excretes more slowly, can build up in your system to levels where they could cause problems.


If you do take supplements, you should be careful not to get more than 100% of the recommended dietary

allowance (RDA) for a particular vitamin or mineral. The RDA is calculated to provide 100% of the

dietary needs for 98.6% of the population. Chances are that's all you need.

 
There are hundreds of supplements on the market and of course their manufacturers want you to purchase

them. Beware of unproven claims about the benefits of taking more than recommended amounts of any

vitamin or mineral. A healthy teen usually doesn't need supplements if he or she is eating a

well-rounded diet.

 
Your best bet for getting the vitamins and minerals you need is to eat a wide variety of healthy foods

and skip the vitamin pills. You'll feel better overall and won't run the risk of overdoing your vitamin

and mineral intake.

 
Updated and reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD

Date reviewed: November 2006

Originally reviewed by: Jessica R. Donze, RD, CDE
 

Choosing Your Pet's Diet

Written by Mike Wright D.V.M

 

Why do we choose the pet food we feed our pets? There are various answers to this question: a Friend or

family member recommended a certain food and even a recommendation from the veterinarian. No matter who

or what causes us to choose a pet food, the most important reason should be the quality of the food

itself and what will keep our pet the healthiest.

 

Cancer is now the leading cause of death in our pets today. It seems 20 to 25 years ago when I graduated

from veterinary school it was not unusual to see cancer in a 13 to 15 year dog or cat. In fact it was

accepted as almost normal since an animal at that age was geriatric. Now in the past 10 years we are

seeing an epidemic of cancer in our dogs and cats, it is not in those geriatric animals, but in what I

call the middle age animals (5 to 10 years old). It seems almost every day in practice, either I or one

of the colleagues, I work with, sees one or more cases of cancer. In addition to cancer we are seeing an

abundance of the other chronic diseases such as arthritis, skin problems, ear problems and immune

mediated diseases. There is a plethora of information in the veterinary literature offering treatments

for all these maladies, but I don't hear much discussion about what is causing all these problems. I

believe it a combination of diet, environment and genetics, but I put a heavy emphasis on diet because

we all eat everyday.  Even if you take the best genetic specimen (animal or human) on the planet and

feed them a poor quality diet, genetics can not overcome the effects of poor nutrition. However if you

take a pet with poor genetics and feed them a high quality diet the weakness in the animal's genetics

does not get an easy chance to express itself. For that reason I believe the main emphasis needs to be

put on nutrition so we will begin our discussion.

 
It is important to understand what Canines (canidae) and Felines (felidae) are anatomically. They are

classified as carnivores. Carnivores according to Webster's are animals that eat raw flesh (raw meat).

If we were living in a utopian world, allowing our pets to go out and hunt for themselves would be the

best. This is not practical, so we must consider our alternatives.

 
How can one prevent the body from depleting its own supply of enzymes?

  
 

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