Spring is the first sun, timid warmth, drops, birds singing. And yet this is an avitaminosis, which covers us after winter darkness and cold. If you do not take timely measures, you may have health problems. Therefore, it's time to start drinking vitamins. But before - learn all the most important about vitamins and beriberi. Life is always useful.
In 1881, the Russian physician Nikolai Ivanovich Lunin was interested in the question: what if you mix proteins, fats and carbohydrates in the "right" proportion - will the full food turn out or not? He said he did. And now two groups of "martyrs of science" - mice - are caged. One - the experimental group - consumes a "perfect cocktail" made of proteins, fats and carbohydrates compiled by Lunin on the model of cow's milk, and another - a control cocktail - treats with natural cow milk. The scientific result was as follows: the experimental group was completely lost, and the control group became healthy and acquired exemplary offspring. The inquisitive doctor concluded that, apparently, some proteins with fats and carbohydrates are not enough for a living organism, there must be something else in food that is very important for life support.
Labor Lunin continued Polish chemist Kazimierz Funk. In 1911, he first fed the pigeons for a long time with polished rice (that is, peeled, without husks) and waited until the birds were sick. Then he began to mix them in feed rice bran, and the birds recovered surprisingly quickly. Funk conducted chemical studies and isolated the first known vitamin - vitamin B1, or thiamine - from rice bran. By the way, the very word "vitamin" was invented by the same Funk: Vitamin - the vital amine: vita in Latin means "life", and amin - "containing nitrogen".
Open by the Funk of thiamin for the whole human life you need no more than 30 grams, but woe to those who do not like these grammes. Vitamins are not firewood, from the "combustion" of which the energy necessary for life is formed; these are not blocks from which the body is built. They are needed to be built in microscopic amounts into molecules of enzymes - substances that regulate the speed and direction of biochemical processes in the body. Beth vitamins, the enzyme molecule "jumps on", and the course of biochemical processes stops. It is this feeling that arises in many in the spring: that, contrary to the first heat and the long-awaited sun, the forces disappeared somewhere. Cause; accumulated from the summer and autumn, the body of vitamins has dried up in the body, and the food can not make up for it - fresh vegetables and fruits will not appear soon, and those that fall on the shelves from storage facilities have lost their vitamin value. This state of chronic deficiency of vitamins - seasonal spring avitaminosis.
Vitamin A, or retinol.
Role: helps the body cope with infections, improves eyesight, positively affects the overall hormonal background, increases the rate of renewal of skin cells, strengthens the nervous system.
Where is contained: in flounder and halibut (in their fat), chicken eggs, milk, butter. In carrots - beta-carotene - the precursor of vitamin A.
Requirement: 3300 ME per day. The need for it grows in the spring and when taking oral contraceptive pills.
Features: with cooking and light, vitamin A is destroyed. The lack of it can not be filled with plant products. Most of it in fish oil and liver, butter, egg yolk, cream, milk.
Symptoms of avitaminosis: persistent colds, dull hair and brittle nails.
Vitamin D.
Under the "mask" of vitamin D, five related vitamins are hidden at once: from D1 to D5. The most important person is vitamin D3 - cholecalciferol.
Role: responsible for the exchange of calcium and phosphorus, stimulates the proper growth of bones.
Where is contained: under the influence of the sun is produced in the skin. Of the food they are rich in butter, egg yolk, fish oil, caviar, parsley and nettles, dairy products.
Need: 2.5 mcg per day.
Features: the smaller the sun, the higher the chance of getting vitamin deficiency.
Symptoms of beriberi: a burning sensation in the mouth and throat, lack of sleep, vision problems.
Vitamin K.
Role: provides blood clotting, prevents osteoporosis.
Where is contained: in greens, cabbage, spinach, soy, hips, green tomatoes. It is also formed by bacteria that "live" in our intestines, which contribute to the digestion of food.
Requirement: 1 mcg per kilogram of weight per day.
Features: the most rich in vitamin K green leafy vegetables.
Symptoms of beriberi: bleeding gums, nasal and gastric bleeding, hemorrhages within the skin and under the skin.
Vitamin E, or tocopherol.
Role: ensures normal work of the reproductive organs, being an antioxidant, protects the body from free radicals, protects us from stress.
Where it is found: in wheat germ, vegetable oil, lettuce leaves, meat, liver, milk, butter and egg yolk.
Need: 0.3 mg per kilogram of body weight per day.
Symptoms of beriberi: muscle weakness, fatigue, increased symptoms of PMS.
Vitamin C.
Role: it is necessary for the normal course of many processes in the body - for the growth of teeth, the formation of blood cells, digestibility of glucose in the intestine, the production of immune antibodies.
Where it is contained: it is rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, especially a lot of them in cabbage, strawberry, melon, tomatoes, citrus, currant, potato, sweet pepper.
Need: 50-60 mg per day. The use of oral contraceptives increases the need for vitamin C. Active and passive smokers also need it more.
Features: vitamin C has a "rival" - vitamin D. The more it is formed in the body of the second, the more the first is output. Since vitamin D is formed from the action of ultraviolet rays, the spring sun and seances in the solarium can lead to a paradoxical effect - weakness, fatigue, susceptibility to colds. Therefore, in the spring of vitamin C we need more.
Symptoms of beriberi: weakness, lethargy, irritability, dry skin, increased hair loss.
B group vitamins are actually a complex of 15 different substances.
Vitamin B1, or thiamine.
Role: ensures normal functioning of the nervous system, helps regulate carbohydrate metabolism.
Where is contained: in bread made from coarse flour, cereals, wheat sprouts, mustard, vegetables (asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts), peas, nuts, oranges, plum, prunes, brewer's yeast, algae, and also in animal liver and is formed in bacteria of the intestine.
Need: 1,3 - 1,4 mg per day. If the diet is low in fresh vegetables, as well as with increased love for alcohol and ... tea - the need for a vitamin increases.
Symptoms of beriberi: memory impairment, irritability, insomnia.
B6, or pyridoxine.
Role: regulates the synthesis of protein, the balance of hormones, the work of the nervous system - central and peripheral, contractility of the myocardium, promotes the renewal of blood cells.
Where is contained: in plant products: unrefined grains of cereals, green leafy vegetables, yeast, cereals, carrots, bananas, walnuts, soy; in animal products: meat, fish, milk, egg yolk. Vitamin B6 is synthesized by the intestinal microflora.
Requirement: 2 mcg per day. It increases with stress, stress, with the intake of antidepressants and oral contraceptives.
Symptoms of beriberi: anxiety, conjunctivitis, decreased appetite, frequent colds, dermatitis.
Vitamin B9, or folic acid.
Role: helps the blood cells - the erythrocytes to mature and control the protein metabolism.
Where is contained: the same place where vitamin B6. In addition, vitamin B9 is synthesized by the intestinal microflora.
Features: when processing heat, up to 90% of folic acid, which is contained in raw food, is destroyed. For example, when cooking meat and vegetables, folic acid losses reach 70-90%, while frying the same meat - 95%, while cooking eggs - 50%.
Symptoms of beriberi: redness of the tongue, apathy, fatigue, anemia, digestive disorders.
Vitamin B12, or cyanocobalamin.
Role: it controls the formation of red blood cells and the exchange of fats, improves the quality of sperm.
Where is contained: in plant products: in sea kale, soy, yeast; in animal products: beef, poultry, liver, kidneys, fish, eggs, milk, cheese.
Need: 3 mcg per day. The need for vitamin B12 is higher among smokers and vegetarians.
Features: this is the only vitamin, deposited in the body "on a black day": in the liver, lungs, kidneys, spleen.
Symptoms of beriberi: dizziness, depression, constipation, gastritis, as well as frequent colds.
Test: Do I have vitamin deficiency?
1. Do you usually catch cold more often in the spring than in the autumn and winter? And yes B does not
2. Do you tolerate spring colds heavier than autumn and winter colds? And yes B does not
3. Do you fall asleep more heavily and wake up in the spring compared to other seasons? And yes B does not
4. Are you irritable in March-April fatigue, bad mood, headaches? And yes B does not
5. Do you have more frequent in the spring than in other seasons, menstrual irregularities, a more severe course of premenstrual syndrome?
And yes B does not
6. Look closely at your skin and hair: do they look as good in March as in summer, in autumn, in the beginning of winter? And yes B does not
7. Do not the problems with digestion arise in the spring (with the subsequent spontaneous disappearance to summer): nausea, constipation, heartburn, a feeling of heaviness from the food eaten? And yes B does not
8. Do you often have to reduce the load in the fitness center for yourself in the spring (or, if you do not visit it, prefer the lift to the second or third floor on the stairs)? And yes B does not
9. Do you prefer thermally processed food to fresh vegetables and fruits?
And yes B does not
10. Do you have parsley, celery and other greens on your table every day? And yes B does not
11. Do you spend a lot of time in the open air? And yes B does not
Calculation of results. For each answer "A" - 1 point, for each answer "B" - 0 points.
0 points. You are an ideal person! You should be equal.
1 -3 points. Not everything in your lifestyle is perfect, but the risk of avitaminosis is low. A little effort - and you will take a place in the first group.
4-6 points. You can not feel it at all, but a small vitamin hunger is evident. A little more fresh vegetables and fruits, more rest and walks in nature - and the situation will improve.
7-9 points. Avitaminosis is the background of your life. Most likely, you have been living with him for several years. Cope with the situation can only be radically changed the way of life. You need vitamins.
10-11 points. Cardinally change your lifestyle and rush to the doctor, he will help you pick up the necessary vitamins.