Know your friend Vitamins!
Vitamins are substances that are found in foods we eat. Your body needs vitamins to work properly, which makes them some pretty important substances! Your body uses vitamins to do hundreds of things, like help you grow and develop. It needs vitamins to help your blood clot when you get a cut. Some vitamins help to make energy. Vitamins are even involved in making sure you can see in color - without them, the world would look pretty boring in just black and white. And if you've ever wondered what helps make your teeth healthy and strong, then you'll be sure to smile when you find out it's. . .vitamins!
Where does they stay in our body
Your friends are of two types: fat-soluble and water-soluble.
Fat-soluble Friends
When you eat foods that contain fat-soluble vitamins, the vitamins are stored in the fat tissues in your body and in your liver. They go and wait around in your body fat until your body needs them. Fat-soluble vitamins are happy to stay stored in your body for awhile - some stay for a few days, some for up to six months! Then, when it's time for them to be used, special carriers in your body take them to where they're needed. Vitamins A, D, E, and K are all fat-soluble vitamins.
Water-soluble Friends
Water-soluble vitamins are different. When you eat foods that have water-soluble vitamins, the vitamins don't get stored as much in your body. Instead, they travel through your bloodstream. They like to travel quickly, compared with the fat-soluble vitamins, which like to hang around. And whatever your body doesn't use comes out when you urinate. So these kinds of vitamins need to be replaced often, since they don't like to stick around! This crowd of vitamins includes vitamin C and the big group of B vitamins - B1(thiamin), B2(riboflavin), niacin, B6(pyridoxine), folic acid, B12(cobalamine), biotin, and pantothenic acid. OK, you're thinking, now I know all the vitamins' names. But how do they help me? Don't turn back to those sumo wrestlers yet, because it's time to find out how vitamins. . .
Feed Your Needs
Your body is one powerful machine, capable of doing all sorts of things by itself. But one thing it can't do is make vitamins! That's where food comes in. Your body is able to get the vitamins it needs from the foods you eat, because different foods contain different vitamins. So eating a variety of healthy foods helps your body be the best it can be.
Want some examples? The next time you're drinking milk, you can think about how D-lightful your bones will be. Fortified milk's got vitamin D, which helps give you healthy bones(fortified means something has been added). Chomping on a carrot? That veggie gives your body vitamin A, so you can see at night. Fourth of July fireworks just wouldn't be the same without it! And orange you glad there's an orange in your lunch? Oranges provide your body with vitamin C, which sure comes in handy if you fall down and cut yourself - it helps you heal! Is that a pile of leafy green veggies on your plate? Eat them up and you'll be giving your body B vitamins, so it can make energy and protein.
Friend A
Looking at the stars at night? Checking out a colorful bug by day? Then you'll sure be glad there's vitamin A! This vitamin plays a really big part in eyesight. It's great for night vision, which means being able to see well in the dark. Halloween wouldn't be the same without vitamin A - without it, you wouldn't be able to see where you were going when you were trick-or-treating. Vitamin A helps you see in color, too, from the brightest yellow to the darkest purple. It also helps you grow properly and aids in healthy skin. When you've got nice skin from vitamin A, you'll want to show your face all over the place!
apricots, nectarines, cantaloupe, guava!, carrots, spinach, and pumpkins, pumpkins, milk is always an excellent way to get A
The B Friends
This big crowd of vitamins includes vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, niacin, folic acid, biotin, and pantothenic acid. Whew - that's quite a group! The B vitamins are important in making energy and set it free when your body needs it. So the next time you're running to third base, thank those B vitamins. This group of vitamins is also involved in making red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout your body. Every part of your body needs oxygen to work properly, so these B vitamins have a big job.
meat, like beef, pork, chicken, breads, cereals, whole wheat grains, green leafy vegetables like spinach and broccoli, and dried beans. So don't B shy about eating these foods!
Friend C
If you want gums and teeth that are healthy and strong, bite into vitamin C. This vitamin also strengthens your bones and muscles, and it helps you heal if you break a bone or get a cut. Remember the last time you scraped your knee? Vitamin C came to the rescue! This vitamin also helps your body resist infection. This means that even though you can't always avoid getting sick, vitamin C makes it a little harder for your body to become infected with an illness.
oranges, tangerines, lemons, grapefruit, honeydew melon, watermelon, strawberries, raspberries, broccoli, tomatoes, and green peppers. So get some of these foods on your plate, and C how good you feel.
Friend D
No bones about it . . .vitamin D is the vitamin you need for strong bones! It's also great for forming strong teeth. Vitamin D even lends a hand to an important mineral - it helps your body absorb the amount of calcium it needs. So how do we get vitamin D?
Drinking milk is a great way to get your body the D, the sun is another great source of vitamin D, so are eggs. How about an egg-salad sandwich, then? Sounds D-licious!
Friend E
Everybody needs E . . . this hard-working vitamin protects a lot of your body's tissues, like the ones in your eyes, skin, and liver. It also protects your lungs from becoming damaged by polluted air(vitamin E wants you to breathe easy). Vitamin E helps your body store a totally different vitamin - vitamin A. It even lends a hand to vitamin K, to help with blood clotting. Two thumbs up for vitamin E for cooperating so well with other vitamins!
vegetable oils, like corn and sunflower seeds, leafy green vegetables like spinach. It's in different kinds of nuts, too, so crack open those peanut shells and say, 'Peanuts. . .yum-E!'
Friend K
Vitamin K is the clotmaster! Remember the last time you got a cut? Your blood did something special called clotting. This is when certain cells in your blood act like glue and stick together at the surface of the cut. Clotting keeps more blood from coming out and stops germs from getting in. None of this would be possible without vitamin K - this vitamin helps your blood get it together.
dark green vegetables like broccoli and spinach, lettuce and cabbage, cheese.
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