Page 22 - SEPTEMBER 2017 B ISSUE

22 www.hello-philippines.com
VITAMINS AND MINERALS, DO WE NEED THEM?
VITAMINS and minerals are
essential nutrients your body needs in
small amounts to work properly.
Most people should get all the
nutrients they need by eating a varied
and balanced diet. If you choose to take
vitamin and mineral supplements, be
aware that taking too many or taking
them for too long can cause harmful
effects.
Some people may need to take
vitamin and mineral supplements.
The pages in this section contain
advice and information about vitamins,
minerals and trace elements essential
for health, including: infections
•what they do
•how much you need
•what happens if you have too much
•safety advice about supplements Good sources of vitamin A. Good
What are vitamins? There are two
types of vitamins: fat-soluble and water-
soluble.
Fat-soluble vitamins. Fat-soluble
vitamins are found mainly in fatty foods
such as animal fats, including butter
and lard, vegetable oils, dairy foods,
liver and oily fish.
While your body needs these
Citrus chicken recipe
A zesty protein-rich dish, not to
be confused with lemon chicken. Try pieces and coat each piece in the flour.
serving it with brown rice and some Then add the chicken to the pan and
green beans.
Serves: 2 Time: 45 minutes time to make sure it doesn’t stick.
Ingredients
1 tsp sunflower oil
½ onion, finely chopped
1 chicken breast
1 dessert spoon plain flour
½ red pepper, sliced
juice of 1 orange, or 75ml orange juice
plus 25ml water
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1-2 medium potatoes, cubed
chopped parsley (optional)
black pepper, freshly ground
130g brown rice, raw
Method
uHeat the oil in a pan and brown poultry.
the onions over a low heat for two to
three minutes.
Nutritional information Per 100g
Nutrient 110 kcal (464 kJ)
Energy 6.9g
Protein 18.1g
Carbohydrate 1.7g
(of which sugars) 1.7g
Fat 0.3g
(of which saturates) 1.1g
Fibre 0.01g
Sodium 0.1g
Salt
HEALTH and Lifestyle food
vitamins every day to work properly, you
do not need to eat foods containing
them every day.
This is because your body stores
these vitamins in your liver and fatty
tissues for future use. These stores
can build up so they are there when
you need them. However, if you have
much more than you need, fat-soluble
vitamins can be harmful.
Fat-soluble vitamins are:
Vitamin A. Vitamin A is also known
as retinol and has several important
functions.
These include:
•strengthening immunity against
•helping vision in dim light
•keeping skin and the linings of
some parts of the body, such as the
nose, healthy
sources of vitamin A include:
•cheese
•eggs
•fortified low-fat spreads
•yoghurt
Liver is a particularly rich source of is where your bone density reduces
vitamin A, although this means you may
vCut the chicken breast into large
brown for two minutes, stirring all the
wOnce the chicken is cooked, add
the other ingredients. Then bring it
to the boil, turn the heat down and
simmer over a low heat for about 20
minutes, until the vegetables are soft
and the chicken is thoroughly cooked.
xWhile the chicken is cooking, cook
rice according to packet instructions.
Allergy advice. This recipe contains
wheat (gluten).
Food safety tips. Always wash
your hands, work surfaces, utensils
and chopping boards before you start
and after handling raw meat, including
Keep raw meat away from ready-to-
eat foods such as salad, fruit and bread. are:
Make sure that the chicken is cooked
until steaming hot all the way through,
that no pink meat is left and that any
juices run clear.
Cook the rice as required and use
immediately, or cool within one hour,
refrigerate, then use within 24 hours.
n NHS Choices
Per 621g portion
684 kcal (2881 kJ)
42.7g
112.3g
10.7g
10.5g
2g
6.5g
0.09g
0.2g
be at risk of having too much vitamin A
if you eat liver more than once a week
(see below).
How much vitamin A do I need?
The amount of vitamin A adults need is:
•0.7mg a day for men
•0.6mg a day for women
You should be able to get all the
vitamin A you need from your daily
diet.
Any vitamin A your body does not
need immediately is stored for future
use. This means you do not need it
every day.
What happens if I take too much
vitamin A? According to some research,
having more than an average of 1.5mg
a day of vitamin A over many years may
affect your bones, making them more
likely to fracture when you are older.
This is particularly important for
older people, especially women, who
are already at risk of osteoporosis. This important functions. For example,
and you have a higher risk of fractures.
If you eat liver or liver pâté more
than once a week, you may be getting
too much vitamin A.
If you do not get enough vitamin
D, you could be more at risk of the
harmful effects of too much vitamin A.
People who may be particularly short of
vitamin D include:
•all pregnant and breastfeeding
women
•all people aged 65 and over
•people who are not exposed to
much sun, for example those who cover
up their skin for cultural reasons, or
those who are housebound or confined
indoors for long periods
•people with darker skin, such as
people of African-Caribbean and South
Asian origin
vitamin D. Vitamin D has several
important functions. For example, it
helps regulate the amount of calcium
and phosphate in the body.
These nutrients are needed to keep
bones and teeth healthy.
A lack of vitamin D can lead to bone
deformities such as rickets in children,
and bone pain and tenderness as a
result of a condition called osteomalacia needed for blood clotting, which means
in adults.
Good sources of vitamin D. We get
most of our vitamin D from sunlight
on our skin. The vitamin is made by
our body under the skin in reaction to
summer sunlight. However, if you are
out in the sun, take care to cover up or
protect your skin with sunscreen before
you turn red or get burnt.
Vitamin D is also found in a small
number of foods. Good food sources
•oily fish, such as salmon, sardines
and mackerel
•eggs
•fortified fat spreads
•fortified breakfast cereals
•powdered milk
How much vitamin D do I need?
Most people should be able to get all
September 2017 / Fortnightly – No. 18 • UK & Europe Edition
the vitamin D they need by eating a
healthy balanced diet and by getting
some summer sun.
Groups of the population at risk of
not getting enough vitamin D are:
•all pregnant and breastfeeding
women
•babies and young children under
the age of five vitamin K you need by eating a varied
•older people aged 65 years and
over
•people who are not exposed to
much sun, such as people who cover up
their skin when outdoors, or those who
are housebound or confined indoors for
long periods
•people who have darker skin such
as people of African, African-Caribbean
and South Asian origin
Vitamin E. Vitamin E has several
it helps maintain cell structure
by protecting cell membranes.
Good sources of vitamin E. Vitamin
E is found in a wide variety of foods.
The richest sources are plant oils such
as soya, corn and olive oil.
Other good sources include:
•nuts and seeds
•wheat germ, found in cereals and
cereal products
How much vitamin E do I need?
The amount of vitamin E you need is:
•4mg a day for men
•3mg a day for women
You should be able to get all the
vitamin E you need from your daily diet. especially boiling them, we lose many
Any vitamin E your body does not
need immediately is stored for future
use, so you do not need it in your diet
every day.
What happens if I take too much
vitamin E? There is not enough
evidence to know what the effects
might be of taking high doses of vitamin vitamins that are an important part of
E supplements each day.
Vitamin K. Vitamin K has several
important functions. For example, it is
it helps wounds heal properly.
There is increasing evidence that
vitamin K is also needed to help build
strong bones.
Good sources of vitamin K. Vitamin
K is found in:
•green leafy vegetables, such as
broccoli and spinach
•vegetable oils
•cereals
Small amounts can also be found in
meat and dairy foods.
How much vitamin K do I need?
Adults need approximately 0.001mg a
day of vitamin K for each kilogram of
their body weight.
For example, someone who weighs
65kg would need 0.065mg a day of
vitamin K, while a person who weighs
75kg would need 0.075mg a day.
You should be able to get all the
and balanced diet.
Any vitamin K that your body does
not need immediately is stored in the
liver for future use, so you do not need
it in your diet every day.
What happens if I take too much
vitamin K? There is not enough
evidence to know what the effects
might be of taking high doses of vitamin
K supplements each day.
Water-soluble vitamins. Water-
soluble vitamins are not stored in the
body, so you need to have them more
frequently.
If you have more than you need,
your body gets rid of the extra
vitamins when you urinate. As the
body does not store water-soluble
vitamins, these vitamins are generally
not harmful. However, this does
not mean that all large amounts are
necessarily harmless.
Water-soluble vitamins are found in
fruit, vegetables and grains. Unlike fat-
soluble vitamins, they can be destroyed
by heat or by being exposed to the air.
They can also be lost in water used for
cooking.
This means that by cooking foods,
of these vitamins. The best way to keep
as many of the water-soluble vitamins
as possible is to steam or grill foods,
rather than boil them.
Water-soluble vitamins are vitamin
C, the B vitamins and folic acid.
There are also many other types of
a healthy diet.
What are minerals? Minerals are
necessary for three main reasons:
•building strong bones and teeth
•controlling body fluids inside and
outside cells
•turning the food you eat into
energy
Minerals are found in foods such as
meat, cereals (including cereal products
such as bread), fish, milk and dairy
foods, vegetables, fruit (especially dried
fruit) and nuts.
Essential minerals include calcium
and iron, although there are also
many other types of minerals that are
an important part of a healthy diet.
What are trace elements? Trace
elements are also essential nutrients
that your body needs to work properly,
but in much smaller amounts than
vitamins and minerals.
Trace elements are found in small
amounts in a variety of foods such as
meat, fish, cereals, milk and dairy foods,
vegetables and nuts. n NHS Choices