Saturday, June 16, 2012

Water soluble vitamin

Scientists classify vitamins as ‘fat soluble’ and ‘water soluble’. Vitamin A, D, E and K are lipid-like molecules that soluble in fat. The B vitamins and vitamin C are soluble in water. Vitamin B complex consists of eight different B vitamins.

Water soluble vitamins are more fragile than fat-soluble vitamins, and some cooking practices are particularly harmful.

Water soluble vitamins also are hydrophilic by nature, and water will leach them from vegetables during cooking.

The body handles the water0soluble vitamins differently from the way it handles the fat-soluble vitamins.

They are absorbed mostly in the small intestine and to a lesser extend in the stomach. The water soluble vitamins are absorbed into portal blood and with the exception of cobalamin they cannot be retained for long periods in the body.

Their bioavailability through absorption can be influenced by many factors, including nutritional status, other nutrients and substance in foods, medication, age and illness.

The vitamins are stored in the body or are used to meet its daily requirements. Reserves of these vitamin can last many months. Water soluble vitamins are distributed into water filled compartments of the body, including the fluid that surrounds the spinal cord.

Water soluble vitamins are excreted in the urine whenever plasma levels exceed renal threshold, therefore toxicity due to water soluble vitamins is uncommon.
Water soluble vitamin