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Introduction

“The magic of food lies not just in the ingredients but in the heart of the cook.”

~ Chef Paul Prudhomme

 

Meat pie and red beans and rice Lasyone's Meat Pie Restaurant Natchitoches Lousiana
(Source: Wikimedia Commons, amanderson2, CC0)

 

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  • Describe the role of vitamins as antioxidants in the body
  • Describe the functions and sources of antioxidant micronutrients, phytochemicals, and antioxidant minerals
  • Describe the functions of vitamins in catabolic pathways and anabolic pathways

 

Vitamins are obtained from the different types of foods that we consume. A vitamin deficiency may occur if a diet lacks a specific kind of nutrient. The traditional diet of Louisiana consisted of a mixture of influences from indigenous, European, and African cultures. This brought about micronutrient-dense meals like corn break, red beans, rice, and deer sausage. ref

Vitamins are organic compounds that are traditionally classified into two groups: fat-soluble (hydrophobic) and water-soluble (hydrophilic). This classification determines where they act in the body. Water-soluble vitamins act in the cytosol of cells or in extracellular fluids such as blood; fat-soluble vitamins protect cell membranes from free radical damage. The body can synthesize some vitamins, but the diet must obtain others.

 

Flowchart of types of vitamins
Figure 9.1 The Vitamins
(Source: University of Hawaii @ Manoa, Allison Calabrese, CC-BY-NC-SA)

One significant difference between fat-soluble vitamins and water-soluble vitamins is the way they are absorbed in the body. Vitamins are absorbed primarily in the small intestine and their bioavailability is dependent on the food composition of the diet. Fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed along with dietary fat. Therefore, if a meal is very low in fat, the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins will be impaired. Once fat-soluble vitamins have been absorbed in the small intestine, they are packaged and incorporated into chylomicrons along with other fatty acids and transported in the lymphatic system to the liver. Water-soluble vitamins on the other hand are absorbed in the small intestine but are transported to the liver through blood vessels.

 

 

 

Image demonstrating the process of ingestion of food and absorption of fat and water soluble vitamins in the human body
Figure 9.2 Absorption of Fat-Soluble and Water-Soluble Vitamins
(Source: University of Hawaii @ Manoa, Allison Calabrese, CC-BY-NC-SA)

Learning Activities

Technology Note: The second edition of the Human Nutrition Open Educational Resource (OER) textbook features interactive learning activities.  These activities are available in the web-based textbook, not downloadable versions (EPUB, Digital PDF, Print_PDF, or Open Document).

Learning activities may be used across various mobile devices; however, for the best user experience, it is strongly recommended that users complete these activities using a desktop or laptop computer.

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License

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Human Nutrition 2e Copyright © 2022 by University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Food Science and Human Nutrition Program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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