Calcium can be absorbed through two major transport systems: active transport and passive diffusion; about 60% of calcium is absorbed in the small intestine (duodenum and proximal jejunum) (1,2). An important player in calcium absorption is Vitamin D, more specifically in the intestine calcium absorption. Vitamin D in calcitriol form was historically limited to muscle tissue of bones, the kidneys, and the intestine. However, it is now know that calcitriol plays an important roll is other tissue function such as the brain, heart, skin, colon, central nervous system, and pancreas, when receptors were found on these tissues as well. Vitamin D can be obtained in a multitude of ways such as through the sun, supplementation, fortified food sources such as milk and grains, as well as in animal products. This paper will review the ways that Vitamin D maintain calcium levels, types of calcium absorption via vitamin D, vitamin D’s effects on calcium absorption (primarily in the intestine) during deficiency, calcium absorption via vitamin D in the elderly, healthy women, and pregnant women. It is important to focus on women because women overall have a lower bone density than men as well as experience drastic estrogen changes later on in life which both directly correlate with calcium and vitamin D consumption and absorption.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The Role of Vitamin D in Serum Calcium Homeostasis
Normal serum calcium concentration is usually about 8.5-10.5 mg/dL, when this level drops the parathyroid gland releases PTH by activating the calcium receptors (1,2,3). Vitamin D on the other hand influences PTH as well when in high concentrations inhibiting transcription of the PTH gene. The homeostasis of serum calcium through calcitri...
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...ting the hypothesis that age plays a large factor in absorption of calcium in the body (primarily intestinal calcium absorption) (15,16). Elderly, menopausal, and postmenopausal women are at a greater risk of calcium and vitamin D deficiency during those times in their lives. After multiple studies were conducted, the idea that women are at a lesser risk of bone issues (such as fractures) if they follow a regiment of daily doses of calcium and vitamin D either naturally or through supplementation. Pregnant women also have a greater need for vitamin D since the need for more calcium for a growing baby. Conclusion drawn from Fudge et al’s study showed interesting information that Overall, VDR null mice adapted to pregnancy through the up-regulation of duodenal Trpv6 and intestinal calcium absorption and VDR was not crucial during pregnancy for calcium absorption.
Read Case 12 The Folic Acid Fortification Decision: Before and After on pages 351-363 of your text. Once you have read the case, you are to address these questions. The word limit per response is 200 words.
Her findings from this research was praised as she concluded that small supplementary feeding with fruits, milk and wheat germ improved the growth of school children. She also found out that the over dosage of Vitamin D produced brittle bones and calcification of soft tissues. If that wasn’t enough, she continued her extensive research and showed that pantothenic acid is essential for normal pigmentation of hair and skin. Lastly she was intelligent enough to prove that the bone density of woman decreased between 50 and 65 years of
Context: Hypercalcemia is a commonly encountered clinical problem. In the majority (90%) of the cases it is either due to malignancy or primary hyperparathyroidism and is rarely due to granulomatous disease.
In 2011, the University Of Minnesota took women who take vitamins daily and studied them(Offit, Paul., 2013). The result was the same in that there was no supporting evidence that favors Pauling’s claims and statements. In conclusion, the general public believed the words of a man who had no specific evidence to support his own claims over researches done by trusted establishments who had evidence towards their own claims against Linus Pauling. Vitamin D is essential in many aspects especially during growth periods such as adolescents and infancy as indicated by Winston Koo and Nitin Walyat who are the respective authors of “Vitamin D and Skeletal Growth and Development”. Vitamin D is essential for the body as it helps development organ cells; without the development of organ cells, the body cannot fight against harsh diseases and it will eventually cause severe diseases which can lead to delayed growth rate(Koo, Winston ., 2013, p.188).. Children who drink breast milk are more prone to vitamin D deficiency because breast milk does not contain as many vitamins as mineral (Koo,
Since ancient times vitamin D has been the predominant cause of bone deficiencies.1 However, it was not in till the seventeenth century when both Dr. Daniel Whistler and Professor Francis Glisson made the first scientific description of a vitamin D deficiency.2 During the mid-seventeenth century there was an increase amount of children that were diagnosed with the bone disease called rickets.2 The cause of the rickets was determined to be associated to the lack of sunlight. A German researcher Kurt Huldschinsky came to the conclusion that when infants were exposed to ultraviolet light rays they became cured of rickets2. He stated that a substance in the skin was the potential source of the cure.2 In 1922, American scientist Elmer McCollum proved that when cod liver oil was heated; the beneficial effects of vitamin A in the oil were reduced.2 However, the oil remained effective in curing rickets leading McCollum to reason that a nutrient different from vitamin A was present in the oil. As a result, he named this nutrient vitamin D, which became the fourth vitamin to be discovered and named.2 Additionally, shortly after 1918, vitamin D was also discovered by an accidental experiment that included a group of scientists curing dogs affected with rickets by feeding cod liver oil to them.1
When one hears the three words: vitamins, nutrients, and minerals, they think of one thing-being healthy and noticing what your intake is daily. Nutrition is all about vitamins and nutrients. Firstly, vitamins are an organic compound required by the body in small amounts of metabolism, to protect health, and for proper growth of children. Vitamins also assist in the formation of hormones, blood cells, nervous systems chemicals, and genetic material. There are 13 well-identified vitamins. Some examples of the 13 well-identified vitamins are: A, D, E, and K-fat contained foods, B, C-consumed immediately. A well known and commonly used in commercials for orange juice vitamin is vitamin C. Vitamin C or ascorbic acid is important in the synthesis and maintenance of connective tissues. The lack of vitamin C will result in a sickness called scurvy. Scurvy harms the gums, mucous membranes, and the skin. Another well-known vitamin and is also used to commercial to give more information about this beverage is the vitamin in milk. The vitamin in milk is vitamin D. If you do not drink milk and obtain this vitamin, your bones and teeth will become soft and weak. Lacking one or more of the 13 well-identified vitamins will cause sickness and weakness to your body. Secondly, nutrients are how the body assimilates certain compounds. Nutrients are classified in 5 major groups: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals. One of the five nutrients is carbohydrate. The carbohydrate group principally consists of sugar, starch, dextrin, cellulose, and glycogen. In more basic terms, carbohydrates are sugars needed by human and other living organisms. Some types of foods that contain carbohydrates would be candies, ice cream, fruit juice, soda, chocolate bars etc. Lastly, vitamins are connected to minerals. Minerals are also a very important part of a healthy person. There are 11 major groups of minerals. They are: calcium, chromium, copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, selenium, and zinc. All these terms look very familiar if one has taken chemistry. These are the elements of our world. One of the more common minerals that most people have heard of is calcium. Calcium also helps with the structure and strength of teeth and bones. Vitamins and minerals work together to help humans maintain a healthy body. For example, vitamin D works with calcium to help for and maintain the strength of teeth and bones.
Vitamin, any of the organic compounds required by the body in small amounts for metabolism, to protect health, and for proper growth in children. Vitamins also assist in the formation of hormones, blood cells, nervous-system chemicals, and genetic material. The various vitamins are not chemically related, and most differ in their physiological actions. They generally act as catalysts, combining with proteins to create metabolically active enzymes that in turn produce hundreds of important chemical reactions throughout the body. Without vitamins, many of these reactions would slow down or cease. The intricate ways in which vitamins act on the body, however, are still far from clear.
Since humans are heterotrophs, they rely on the food they eat to provide their bodies with the energy needed to carry out vital cellular functions. Humans require six essential nutrients for survival: water, vitamins, minerals and three macronutrients; carbohydrates, lipids and proteins (Bowers et al, 2002). These macronutrients are often ingested as polymers, long chains of repeated basic molecular units called monomers, which are too large to be absorbed by cells directly. The digestive system is responsible for breaking these polymers down into monomers so that the nutrients can be absorbed into the bloodstream and transported throughout the body. This breakdown of nutrients is achieved through mechanical and chemical digestion. Mechanical digestion for all macronutrients begins in the mouth and it involves the physical breakdown of food through tearing, chewing, mixing and churning (Bowers et al., 2002). Mechanical digestion prepares the food for chemical digestion by increasing the surface area upon which the digestive enzymes can act (Bowers et al., 2002). In chemical digestion, polymers are broken down chemically through the process of hydrolysis with the aid of digestive enzymes which accelerate the process (Collin County Community College, 2014):
Education plays a dominant role in the lives of students all over the United States. Since most students spend roughly eight to twelve hours in school, it is important to make sure that they are provided with a healthy and nutritious breakfast, lunch and snack.
These two hormone helps to regulate the calcium levels in the body. These two hormones work together to control the two cells (osteoblasts and osteoclasts) which allows the body to maintain the calcium levels going in and out of the bones. The calcitonin is the hormone which stops the osteoclasts from occurring but stimulates the osteoblast which results in the calcium level decreasing and the other hormone parathyroid stops the osteoblasts but stimulates the osteoclasts which increases the level of
Rickets is a bone disease that occurs in children as a result of a Vitamin D deficiency. This disease, which was nearly eradicated in the early 20th century, has become a re-emerging health concern for various countries in the past ten years. Certain factors such as poor nutrition as a result of low socioeconomic status or high concentrations of melanin in the skin can increase the chances of getting rickets. Sufficient Vitamin D levels are crucial to the functioning of the body, especially in the absorption of calcium. This essay will examine the causes, symptoms, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of rickets; as well as the importance of Vitamin D and calcium in the prevention and treatment of this disease.
Calcium is essential to normal functioning in a healthy individual; this only leaves the question of where to get it. There are many sources available to meet daily requirements, two of which are dairy products and supplemental vitamins. Both of these options have qualities that make them appealing, so choosing might be difficult or even come to a middle ground. Some of the considerations to be made are: what calcium is, the types of calcium in each source, how much should be ingested daily, the body’s ability to absorb and tolerate calcium from the chosen source, and the interactions that might occur with other medicines and required daily nutrients. In both cases a decent nutritional diet still needs to be incorporated. It may seem like a simple choice between a couple of pills a day or 3-4 glasses of milk, but there is quite a bit more
Vitamin D is a necessary component for calcium absorption to prevent boss loss. Nutritionally our body can create vitamin D by sun exposure however many factors can prevent our bodies to create vitamin D such as using sunblock or not getting enough sun exposer from daily routine. Vitamin D can be found in many foods that we such as milk including almond milk, eggs yolks, saltwater fish, and liver. Other vitamins that can help prevent bone loss are vitamin A and C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant which helps reduce oxidative stress which can have a negative effect on the cells in the body. This helps protect against inflammation which takes away calcium from the bones. Vitamin C can be found in many foods such as papaya, bell peppers, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, strawberries, pineapples, oranges and kiwifruit and fruit juices have supplement vitamins. Vitamin A is important for bone growth, vision, cell division and cell differentiation. There are two different forms of vitamin A are retinol and beta-carotene. Retinol can be found in meat, poultry, fish and dairy products while beta-carotene can be found in fruits, vegetables and
Since we have been learning about nutrition in class, our task was to record a food log. Nutrition requires a well-balanced diet containing nutrient and vitamins like amino acids and fatty acids. Over the past seven days I have been recording and have been looking very carefully at my intake of nutrients, minerals, vitamins, and fats. In our task, the objective was to record the basic foods we ate during the period of seven, but it did not require recording every single detail or our intake of food. Doing this food log was a pain and it was disturbing because I never wrote about what I ate like breakfast, lunch, dinner, or additional meals. I found this food log useful because it helped me learn what I can change in my intake of foods to make my diet healthy and to see what about my diet is affecting me from being healthy because I could affect me in the future.
The thyroid secretes several hormones, collectively called thyroid hormones. They help to generate heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and the rate in which food is converted into energy. The 2 main thyroid hormones are T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxin). The amount of thyroid hormones secreted is controlled by another hormone, called thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), which is released from the pituitary gland in your head ("How Your Thyroid Works"). Thyroid hormones act throughout the body, influencing metabolism, growth and development, and body temperature. During infancy and childhood, adequate thyroid hormone is crucial for brain development (Tree, 2013). The thyroid gland also makes the hormone calcitonin, which is involved in calcium metabolism and stimulating bone cells to add c...