Sunday, July 27, 2008 by Dr. Manny
Medifast products contain all the essential vitamins and minerals. When following the Medifast plan and taking the required number of supplements, you will get all the vitamins your need on a daily basis. Medifast is good for you.
Vitamins are classified as either water-soluble, meaning that they dissolve easily in water, or fat-soluble vitamins, which are absorbed through the intestinal tract with the help of lipids (fats). In general, water-soluble vitamins are readily excreted from the body. Each vitamin is typically used in multiple reactions and, therefore, most have multiple functions.
In humans there are 13 vitamins: 4 fat-soluble (A, D, E and K) and 9 water-soluble (8 B vitamins and vitamin C).
Vitamin generic descriptor name ↓ Vitamer chemical name(s) ↓ Solubility ↓ Recommended dietary allowances
(male, age 19–70) Deficiency disease Upper Intake Level
(UL/day) Overdose disease
Vitamin A Retinoids
(retinol, retinoids
and carotenoids) Fat 900 µg Night-blindness and
Keratomalacia 3,000 µg Hypervitaminosis A
Vitamin B1 Thiamine Water 1.2 mg Beriberi N/D ?
Vitamin B2 Riboflavin Water 1.3 mg Ariboflavinosis N/D ?
Vitamin B3 Niacin, niacinamide Water 16.0 mg Pellagra 35.0 mg Liver damage (doses > 2g/day) and other problems
Vitamin B5 Pantothenic acid Water 5.0 mg Paresthesia N/D ?
Vitamin B6 Pyridoxine, pyridoxamine, pyridoxal Water 1.3-1.7 mg Anaemia 100 mg Impairment of proprioception, nerve damage (doses > 100 mg/day)
Vitamin B7 Biotin Water 30.0 µg Dermatitis, enteritis N/D ?
Vitamin B9 Folic acid, folinic acid Water 400 µg Deficiency during pregnancy is associated with birth defects, such as neural tube defects 1,000 µg
Vitamin B12 Cyanocobalamin, hydroxycobalamin, methylcobalamin Water 2.4 µg Megaloblastic anaemia
Vitamin C Ascorbic acid Water 90.0 mg Scurvy 2,000 mg Refer to Vitamin C megadosage
Vitamin D Ergocalciferol, cholecalciferol Fat 5.0 µg-10 µg Rickets and Osteomalacia 50 µg Hypervitaminosis D
Vitamin E Tocopherols, tocotrienols Fat 15.0 mg Deficiency is very rare; mild hemolytic anemia in newborn infants. 1,000 mg Possible heart problems
Vitamin K phylloquinone, menaquinones Fat 120 µg Bleeding diathesis N/D Increases coagulation in patients taking warfarin.
In nutrition and diseases
Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)
Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)
Vitamins are essential for the normal growth and development of a multicellular organism. Using the genetic blueprint inherited from its parents, a fetus begins to develop, at the moment of conception, from the nutrients it absorbs. It requires certain vitamins and minerals to be present at certain times. These nutrients facilitate the chemical reactions that produce among other things, skin, bone, and muscle. If there is serious deficiency in one or more of these nutrients, a child may develop a deficiency disease. Even minor deficiencies may cause permanent damage.
For the most part, vitamins are obtained with food, but a few are obtained by other means. For example, microorganisms in the intestine—commonly known as "gut flora"—produce vitamin K and biotin, while one form of vitamin D is synthesized in the skin with the help of natural ultraviolet in sunlight. Humans can produce some vitamins from precursors they consume. Examples include vitamin A, produced from beta carotene, and niacin, from the amino acid tryptophan.
Once growth and development are completed, vitamins remain essential nutrients for the healthy maintenance of the cells, tissues, and organs that make up a multicellular organism; they also enable a multicellular life form to efficiently use chemical energy provided by food it eats, and to help process the proteins, carbohydrates, and fats required for respiration.
Deficiencies
Deficiencies of vitamins are classified as either primary or secondary. A primary deficiency occurs when an organism does not get enough of the vitamin in its food. A secondary deficiency may be due to an underlying disorder that prevents or limits the absorption or use of the vitamin, due to a “lifestyle factor”, such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, or the use of medications that interfere with the absorption or use of the vitamin. People who eat a varied diet are unlikely to develop a severe primary vitamin deficiency. In contrast, restrictive diets have the potential to cause prolonged vitamin deficits, which may result in often painful and potentially deadly diseases.
Because human bodies do not store most vitamins, humans must consume them regularly to avoid deficiency. Human bodily stores for different vitamins vary widely; vitamins A, D, and B12 are stored in significant amounts in the human body, mainly in the liver, and an adult human's diet may be deficient in vitamins A and B12 for many months before developing a deficiency condition. Vitamin B3 is not stored in the human body in significant amounts, so stores may only last a couple of weeks.
Well-known human vitamin deficiencies involve thiamine (beriberi), niacin (pellagra), vitamin C (scurvy) and vitamin D (rickets). In much of the developed world, such deficiencies are rare; this is due to (1) an adequate supply of food; and (2) the addition of vitamins and minerals to common foods, often called fortification.
Some evidence also suggests that there is a link between vitamin deficiency and mental disorders.
Remember to always take all your Medifast meal replacements each day. Medifast works!
