Vitamins and Minerals
Fruits and Vegetables
This is a brief description of vitamins and mineral, along with the fruits and vegetables they are found in.
Folic Acid
The terms folic acid and folate are often used interchangeably for this water-soluble B-complex vitamin.
Disease Prevention:
Complications with Pregnancy, Tube Defects, Other Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiovascular Disease,
Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Breast Cancer, Alzheimer's disease and Cognitive Impairment.
Niacin
Niacin is a water-soluble vitamin, also known as vitamin B 3.
Disease Prevention:
Cancer, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
Disease Treatment:
High cholesterol and cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS.
Pantothenic Acid
Pantothenic acid, also known as vitamin B 5 , is essential to all forms of life.
Disease Treatment:
Wound healing, High cholesterol, Oral contraceptives (birth control pills) containing estrogen and progestin may increase the requirement for pantothenic acid.
Riboflavin
Riboflavin is a water-soluble B-complex vitamin, also known as vitamin B 2 .
Disease Prevention:
Cataracts
Disease Treatment:
Migraine headaches
Thiamin
Thiamin (also spelled thiamine) is a water-soluble B-complex vitamin, previously known as vitamin B 1.
Disease Treatment :
Alzheimer's disease, Congestive heart failure, Cancer
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a generic term for a large number of related compounds.
Disease Prevention:
Cancer, Lung cancer, Breast cancer.
Disease Treatment:
Leukemia, Diseases of the skin.
Vitamin B 6
There are six forms of vitamin B 6 : and their phosphate derivatives.
Disease Prevention:
Cardiovascular disease, Immune function, Cognitive function, Kidney stones
Disease Treatment:
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS), Depression, Morning sickness,
Carpal tunnel syndrome.
Vitamin B 12
Vitamin B 12 is the largest and most complex of all the vitamins.
Disease Prevention:
Cardiovascular disease, Cancer, Breast cancer, Alzheimer's disease and Dementia, Depression.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin.
Disease Prevention:
Cardiovascular Disease, Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke, Cancer, Cataracts, Lead toxicity
Disease Treatment:
Cardiovascular Disease, Hypertension, Cancer, Diabetes Mellitus, Common cold.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for maintaining normal calcium metabolism.
Disease Prevention:
Osteoporosis, Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Autoimmune Diseases, Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
Vitamin E
The term vitamin E describes a family of eight antioxidants, four tocopherols, alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-, and four tocotrienols (also alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-). Alpha-tocopherol is the only form of vitamin E that is actively maintained in the human body and is therefore, the form of vitamin E found in the largest quantities in the blood and tissue.
Disease Prevention:
Cardiovascular disease, Cataracts, Immune Function, Cancer.
Disease Treatment:
Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes mellitus, Dementia (impaired cognitive function), Cancer.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin. The "K" is derived from the German word "coagulation". Coagulation refers to blood clotting, because vitamin K is essential for the functioning of several proteins involved in blood clotting
Disease Prevention:
Osteoporosis, Vascular calcification and cardiovascular disease.
Calcium
Calcium is the most common mineral in the human body.
Disease Prevention:
Colorectal Cancer, Osteoporosis, Kidney stones, Pregnancy-induced hypertension (preeclampsia), Lead toxicity, Disease Treatment, High blood pressure (hypertension).
Copper
Copper (Cu) is an essential trace element for humans and animals. In the body, copper shifts between the cuprous (Cu 1+ ) and the cupric (Cu 2+ ) forms, though the majority of the body's copper is in the Cu 2+ form.
Disease Prevention:
Cardiovascular disease, Immune system function, Osteoporosis.
Iron
Iron has the longest and best described history among all the micronutrients. It is a key element in the metabolism of almost all living organisms.
Disease Prevention:
Impaired intellectual development in children, Lead toxicity, Pregnancy complications, and impaired immune function.
Disease Treatment:
Restless legs syndrome
Magnesium
Magnesium plays important roles in the structure and the function of the human body.
Disease Prevention:
Hypertension (high blood pressure), cardiovascular disease
Disease Treatment
Hypertension (high blood pressure), Preeclampsia-eclampsia (toxemia of pregnancy), Cardiovascular Disease, Myocardial infarction (heart attack), Endothelial dysfunction, Diabetes mellitus, Osteoporosis, Migraine headaches, Asthma.
Manganese
Manganese is a mineral element that is both nutritionally essential and potentially toxic.
Disease Prevention:
Osteoporosis, Diabetes mellitus, Epilepsy (seizure disorders).
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is an essential mineral that is required by every cell in the body for normal function.
Potassium
Potassium is an essential dietary mineral that is also known as an electrolyte. The term electrolyte refers to a substance that dissociates into ions (charged particles) in solution making it capable of conducting electricity.
Disease Prevention:
Stroke, Osteoporosis, Kidney stones, Disease Treatment, High blood pressure (hypertension).
Selenium
Selenium is a trace element that is essential in small amounts, but can be toxic in larger amounts. Humans and animals require selenium for the function of a number of selenium-dependent enzymes, also known as selenoproteins.
Disease Prevention:
Immune function, viral infection, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, Disease Treatment, HIV/AIDS.
Sodium
Salt (sodium chloride) is essential for life. The tight regulation of the body's sodium and chloride concentrations is so important that multiple mechanisms work in concert to control them.
