Skip to main content
Medicine LibreTexts

8: Vitamins and Minerals I

  • Page ID
    39937
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    Learning Objectives

    After completing this unit, you should be able to:

    1. Classify the vitamins as fat-soluble or water-soluble, including differences in absorption, storage, and toxicity.
    2. Identify the major minerals and trace minerals, including factors that impact absorption and bioavailability.
    3. Identify common food sources of vitamins and minerals and how processing affects nutrient retention in foods.
    4. Describe how vitamins can be made in the body through provitamins and intestinal bacteria.
    5. Define dietary supplements and describe how supplements are regulated and the concerns with their safety and efficacy.
    6. Identify guidelines and recommendations for choosing nutrition supplements and for their appropriate use.
    7. Describe the role of electrolytes in fluid balance, as well as the more specific functions, food sources, and effects of deficiency and toxicity for sodium, potassium, and chloride.
    8. Describe the general function of antioxidants, as well as the more specific functions, food sources, and effects of deficiency and toxicity for vitamin E, vitamin C, and selenium.
    9. Describe how vitamin A and beta-carotene contribute to normal vision, and know common food sources and effects of deficiency and toxicity of vitamin A.

    Thumbnail: https://unsplash.com/photos/nj9tmN-7YMA


    This page titled 8: Vitamins and Minerals I is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Alice Callahan, Heather Leonard, & Tamberly Powell (OpenOregon) .

    • Was this article helpful?