Vitamins, Minerals, Water and Dietary Fibers are nutrients which do not need digestion.
Vitamins: –
Vitamins are organic compounds that people need in small quantities. Vitamins help in protecting our body against diseases. These are essential for keeping healthy our eyes, bones, teeth and gums.
Types of Vitamins: –
On the basis of the solubility in water and fat, vitamins can be grouped into two:
Our body needs all types of vitamins in small quantities.
|
Name of Vitamin |
Function of the Vitamin |
Sources of the Vitamin |
|
Vitamin A |
Keeps our skin and eyes healthy | Leafy, dark green vegetables, carrots, winter squash, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, fortified milk, cheese, cream, butter, fortified margarine, eggs, liver. |
|
Vitamin B1 |
Needed for energy metabolism; important to nerve function | Yeast, pork, cereal grains, sunflower seeds, brown rice, whole grain rye, asparagus, kale, cauliflower, potatoes, oranges, liver, and eggs |
|
Vitamin C |
Helps body to fight against many diseases | Found only in fruits and vegetables, especially citrus fruits, vegetables in the cabbage family, cantaloupe, strawberries, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, papayas, mangoes, kiwifruit. |
|
Vitamin D |
Helps our body to use calcium for bones and teeth | Egg yolks, liver, fatty fish, fortified milk, fortified margarine. When exposed to sunlight, the skin can make vitamin D. |
|
Vitamin E |
Acts as an antioxidant, helping to protect cells from the damage | Soybean, corn, cottonseed, safflower, leafy green vegetables, liver; egg yolks. |
|
Vitamin K |
Needed for blood clotting | Leafy green vegetables such as kale, collard greens, and spinach; green vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and asparagus; also produced in intestinal tract by bacteria |
Minerals: –
Minerals form about 4% of our body weight. Minerals are needed by our body in small amounts. Minerals have small molecules and can be absorbed as it is. Our diet usually contains adequate amounts of majority of required minerals but often deficient in some essential elements. Deficiency of these elements cause human diseases.
Sources: –
The sources and the importance of minerals are in the table:
| Mineral | Main sources | Essential for |
| Iron | Lettuce, leafy vegetables | Part of hemoglobin and myoglobin (for O2 transport) |
| Iodine | Sea foods, iodized salt, onion | A part of thyroxin hormone which control metabolism. |
| Calcium | Milk, cereals, meat, vegetables | Bones and teeth formation, nerve and muscles action, clotting of blood |
| Phosphorous | Milk, cereals, meat, vegetables | Bones and teeth formation, part of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), energy metabolism |
| Sodium | Table salt, vegetables | Functioning of muscles and nerves. |
| Potassium | Vegetables | Functioning of muscles and nerves. |
Water: –
Human body contain approximate 65% water. Water does not yield energy. However, it is so essential component of food. An average adult need around 2000ml water daily.
Water helps our body to absorb nutrients from food. It also helps in throwing out some wastes from body as urine and sweat.
Dietary fibers: –
Dietary fibers are also known as roughage. Roughage is mainly provided by plant products in our foods. Whole grains and pulses, potatoes, fresh fruits and vegetables are main sources of roughage. These do not provide any nutrient but, these are important and provide bulk to diet for satisfying appetite. This helps our body get rid of undigested food.