Vitamin are chemically unrelated organic substances that are grouped together because each is essential in the diet in minute amounts and is required for specific metabolic reactions within the cells. Vitamins fall into two categories: those that dissolve in water (water soluble vitamins) and those that dissolve in fat (fat soluble vitamins).
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| L-ascorbic acid |
The nine water-soluble vitamins – eight B vitamins and vitamin C are found in the watery components of foods, such as the juice of an orange. Water-soluble vitamins have a vital roles as coenzymes which are necessary for almost every cellular reaction in the body. These vitamins are distributed into water-filled compartment of the body, including the fluid that’s surrounds the spinal cord.
Characteristics of water-soluble vitamins:
*Most are readily absorbed in the jejunum
*Water-soluble vitamins are easily absorbed and just as easily excreted in the urine
*Human body stores very small amounts of each of these vitamins.
*Because of their limited storage, daily intake is important.
*Deficiency symptoms appear relatively quickly
*Lower risk of toxicity
*Easily absorbed into blood travel freely in blood
*In food, it easily dissolves in water and drain away with cooking water, some destroyed on exposure to light, heat or oxygen during processing
*Less stable
*Most B vitamins share similar roles, vitamin C serves many different roles on the body
Characteristics of water soluble vitamins
