Vitamins are chemical substances in vegetables (and other foods) that have a variety of jobs in the body, from as sisting the chemical reactions that make your body function to promoting growth to preventing infection. There are two kinds of vitamins: water soluble and fat soluble.
Water-soluble vitamins dissolve in water and move through your bloodstream quickly. These vitamins, which include thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B , folacin, vitamin B 12 6 , biotin, pantothenic acid, and vitamin C, must be ingested regularly because the body doesn’t store them. Among the many life-supporting functions of water-soluble vitamins, folacin and vitamin C have been shown to have anticancer functions, especially when paired with the fatsoluble vitamin E and beta-carotene (a form of vitamin A).
The fat-soluble vitamins—A, D, E, and K—dissolve in fat and are stored in your body for longer periods of time. (For example, the body is capable of storing up to a year’s supply of vitamin A.) Beta-carotene (a form of vitamin A found in vegetables) and vitamin E have been given a lot of attention lately as powerful antioxidants (more on antioxi dants later). Many studies have linked these nutrients with the prevention of certain chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Although the major food sources of vitamin E are nuts (especially the almond), seeds (especially sunflower seeds), wheat germ, and certain oils, there are a few vegeta bles that also contain appreciable amounts of vitamin E, most notably the sweet potato and avocado. Because many vegetables contain vitamin A, we will highlight this power ful nutrient (along with the other cancer-fighting vitamins, C and folacin) next articles.
In keeping with the spirit of the traditional Mediterranean diet, we recommend getting your vitamins from vegetables (and the other foods listed in the daily and weekly sections of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid) rather than from supple ments. Unheard-of in traditional Mediterranean culture, supplements would have been unnecessary anyway, given the nutrient density of the diet. We suggest getting your vitamins and other nutrients the way nature intended!
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