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Vitamins

The word “vitamin” goes back to the Polish scientist Casimir Funk in 1912. He was studying a substance in the layer that covers rice. This substance was believed to cure a disease called beriberi.

Funk believed the substance belonged to a group of chemicals known as amines. He added the Latin word «vita,» meaning life. So he called the substance a “vitamine” — an amine necessary for life.

Scientists have discovered fourteen kinds of vitamins. They are known as vitamins A, the B group, C, D, E and K. Scientists say vitamins help to carry out chemical changes in cells. If we do not get enough of the vitamins we need in our food, we may develop a number of diseases.

This brings us back to Casmir Funk. His studies of rice were part of a long search for foods that could cure disease.

One of the first people involved in that search was James Lind of Scotland. In the 1740s, Lind was a doctor for the British navy. He investigated a problem that had existed in the navy for many years.

The problem was the disease scurvy. So many sailors had scurvy that the navy’s lost some of its strength. The sailors were weak from bleeding inside their bodies. Even the smallest wound would not heal. Doctor Lind thought the sailors were getting sick because they failed to eat some kinds of foods when they were at sea for many months.

Doctor Lind separated twelve sailors who had scurvy into two groups. He gave each group different foods to eat. One group got oranges and lemons. The other did not. The men who ate the fruit began to improve within seven days. The other men got weaker. Doctor Lind was correct. Eating citrus fruits prevents scurvy.

Types of Vitamins

Vitamin A helps prevent skin and other tissues from becoming dry. It is also needed to make a light-sensitive substance in the eyes. People who do not get enough vitamin A cannot see well in darkness. Their eys may get dry. This can result in infections and lead to blindness.

Vitamin A is found in fish liver oil. It also is in the yellow part of eggs. Sweet potatoes, carrots and other darkly colored fruits and vegetables contain substances that the body can change into vitamin A.

Vitamin B-one is also called thiamine. Thiamine changes starchy foods into energy. It also helps the heart and nervous system work well. Without it, we would be weak and would not grow. We also might develop beriberi. Apart from rice thiamine is found in beans , peas, nuts, meat and fish.

Another B-vitamin is niacin. It helps cells use food energy. It also prevents pellagra -a disease that causes weakness, reddish skin and stomach problems. Niacin is found in meat, fish and green vegetables.

Vitamin B-12 helps produce red blood cells. It is found naturally in foods such as eggs, meat, fish and milk products. It also helps babies of pregnant mothers before they are born . Vitamin B-12 is found in green leafy vegetables and other foods and citrus fruits. In some countries, it is added to products like bread.

Vitamin C is needed for strong bones and teeth, and for healthy blood. It also helps wounds heal quickly. Because our body stores little vitamin C we must get it every day in foods such as citrus fruits, tomatoes and cabbage.

Vitamin D helps make calcium in the blood. Calcium is needed for nerve and muscle cells to work normally. It also is needed to build strong bones. Ultraviolet light from the sun changes a substance in the skin into vitamin D. Fish liver oil also contains vitamin D. In some countries, milk producers add vitamin D to milk so children will get enough.

Vitamin K is needed for healthy blood. It thickens the blood around a cut to stop bleeding. Bacteria in the intestines normally produce vitamin K. It can also be found in pork products, liver and in vegetables like cabbage, and spinach.

Some people fear they do not get enough vitamins from the foods they eat. So they take products with large amounts of vitamins. They think these products or vitamin supplements will improve their health and protect them from disease.

Experts note that taking too much of some vitamins can be harmful. People should be sure to discuss what vitamins they take with their doctors. This is because some vitamins can cause harmful effects when mixed with medicines.

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The vitamins information pages — Vitamin E

Description Vitamin E

Vitamine E is a name for eight antioxidants, of which the only one active in the human body is referred to as α-tocopherol.

Functions of Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antioxidant which intercepts free radicals and therefore prevents lipid destruction chain reactions. It maintains the integrity of cell membranes. Vitamin E is essential for the maintenance of the heart function, for functioning of sex organs and for cell protection. It is part of the immune system and protects persons from skin and scar tissue and inflammation. Vitamin E deficiency occurs as a result of malnutrition, genetic defects or fat malabsorption syndromes. A vitamin E deficiency is hard to recognize as it has no visible indication. It may result in impaired balance and coordination or muscle weakness.

Vitamin E in food

Vitamin E can be found in vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, soy beans, beans, avocados, margarine, egg yolk, flour, whole grains and green leafy vegetables. All eight forms of vitamin E, including α-tocopherol, occur naturally in food stuffs in varying amounts.

Vitamin E as a supplement

Vitamin E can be used to prevent or aid the treatment of cardiovascular disease, Post Menstrual Syndrome (PMS), menstrual pains, muscle and joint pains, dementia and menopausal troubles. It may also be useful for stroke victims, children with eczema or asthma and premature babies. Extra vitamin E must be taken by people suffering from the flu because α-tocopherol has the ability to enhance antibody formation.

Interactions

After reactions with free radicals the antioxidant function of vitamin E is lost. However, vitamin C may regenerate vitamin E active groups. The impact of a vitamin K deficiency can be enhanced by vitamin E supplements. Vitamin E absorption may be decreased by a number of medicins, such as cholestyramine, isoniazid, mineral oil, sucralfate, and the fat substitute olestra. Plasma levels of vitamin E may be decreased by anticonvulsant drugs.

Warning

People on blood thinnes should not take vitamin E, because it increases the risk of haemorrhaging. Vitamin E can affect insulin requirements, so it may also be a risk for diabetics.

Descriptions of vitamins on this website are based on information provided by BBC Health and The Linus Pauling Institute.

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Сообщение про витамины на английском

Сочинение на английском языке с переводом на русский.
Автор текста: rita999 (специально для tooday.ru)

Topic: The Role of Vitamins in Our Life

Тема: Роль витаминов в нашей жизни

The importance of vitamins for our health can hardly be overestimated. Probably, everyone has heard that vitamins and minerals are part and parcel of a healthy diet. Unfortunately, statistics says that today people all over the world consume too much calories and too little essential nutrients and vitamins. Lack of vitamins, known as vitamin deficiency, influences the state of our skin, hair, nails, teeth and bones. In more serious cases it can cause heavy diseases – spasms, loss of hair and teeth, loss of vision, hepatic disorders, skin diseases, and many others.

Значение витаминов для нашего здоровья сложно переоценить. Наверное, все слышали, что витамины и минералы являются неотъемлемой частью сбалансированной диеты. К сожалению, статистика говорит о том, что сегодня люди во всем мире употребляют слишком много калорий и слишком мало важных питательных веществ и витаминов. Недостаток витаминов, известный как авитаминоз, влияет на состояние кожи, волос, ногтей, зубов и костей. В более тяжелых случаях он влечет за собой серьезные заболевания – мышечные спазмы, выпадение волос и зубов, потерю зрения, заболевания печени, кожные болезни и прочие.

All in all, there are over thirty vitamins, and some of them are incorporated into groups. Vitamins themselves don’t have any nutritional value, in other words, they don’t contain any calories and can’t serve as sources of energy. They relate to micronutrients that are contained in food. So, to be healthy, we need to eat several types of food: fruit and vegetables, fish and meat, and milk products. Vitamins can be divided into two large groups: fat-soluble and water soluble ones. As the term suggests, water soluble vitamins are dissolved in water, while the fat-soluble ones are dissolved only in fats. The first group includes vitamin C and B-group vitamins. Such vitamins as A, E, D and K belong to the second group, and they can be stored in our organism. That’s why we lack vitamins of the first group more often.

Всего существует более тридцати витаминов, а некоторые из них объединены в группы. Сами по себе витамины не имеют никакой питательной ценности, другими словами, они не содержат калорий и не могут служить источником энергии. Они относятся к микронутриентам, содержащимся в пище. Поэтому, чтобы быть здоровыми, мы должны употреблять различные виды пищи: фрукты и овощи, рыбу и мясо, молочные продукты. Витамины подразделяют на две большие группы: жирорастворимые и водорастворимые. Как следует из названия, водорастворимые витамины могут растворяться в воде, а жирорастворимые – только в жире. К первой группе относится витамин С, а также витамины группы В. Такие витамины как A, D, E и K принадлежат ко второй группе и имеют свойство откладываться в организме. Поэтому мы чаще испытываем недостаток в витаминах первой группы.

The most essential vitamins for children are D, C and A. For example, vitamin D is responsible for the healthy development of bone tissues and teeth, as well as for calcium absorption. Its deficiency often causes rickets, which is especially dangerous for girls. People get it with sunshine, but if you live in the northern regions, where sunny days occur not very often, you should take enough D vitamins with food. It is contained, for example, in egg yolk, butter, cod liver oil. Babies get all vitamins with breast milk, so, breastfeeding women should eat these products. Vitamin A is responsible for the growth and good vision. It’s contained in beef liver. Greenery, carrots, tomatoes, and some other vegetables contain a lot of carotene, which if taken inside with any fat, is converted into vitamin A. As for vitamin C, it’s very important for the immune system. It can be found almost in all fresh fruit and vegetables, especially in kiwi, black currant, briar, and sweet pepper.

Самыми важными для детей являются витамины D, C, и A. Например, витамин D отвечает за правильное развитие костных тканей и зубов, а также усвоение кальция. Его недостаток часто вызывает рахит, который особенно опасен для девочек. Люди получают его с солнечным светом, но если вы проживаете в северных регионах, где солнечные дни случаются не слишком часто, вы должны употреблять достаточное количество витамина D с пищей. Он содержится в яичном желтке, сливочном масле и рыбьем жире. Младенцы получают все витамины с грудным молоком, поэтому кормящей матери следует употреблять эти продукты. Витамин A отвечает за рост и хорошее зрение. Он содержится в говяжьей печени. Зелень, морковь, помидоры и некоторые другие овощи содержат много каротина, который при приеме внутрь вместе с любым жиром превращается в витамин A. Что касается витамина C, он очень важен для иммунной системы. Его можно найти почти во всех сырых фруктах и овощах, особенно в киви, черной смородине, шиповнике и сладком перце.

Vitamin B9, which is also known as folic acid is a very important element for women. It is absolutely indispensable during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Also it regulates nervous system activity and helps to combat depression. It is contained in green vegetables, liver, wholemeal bread, honey. Vitamin E is one more “female” vitamin. It is a natural anti-oxidant, which inhibits the process of senescence, regulates the reproductive system activity and has a good effect on the state of skin, hair and nails. Sometimes it is even described as the “vitamin of beauty”. It can be found in crude vegetables oils, nuts, and wheat germ.

Витамин B9, который также известен как фолиевая кислота, является важным элементом для женщин. Он абсолютно незаменим во время беременности и грудного вскармливания. Также он регулирует деятельность нервной системы и помогает бороться с депрессией. Он содержится в зеленых овощах, печени, цельнозерновом хлебе и меде. Витамин Е – является еще одним «женским» витамином. Это натуральный антиоксидант, который тормозит процесс старения, регулирует деятельность репродуктивной системы и оказывает благотворный эффект на состояние кожи, волос и ногтей. Иногда его даже называют «витамином красоты». Его можно найти в нерафинированных растительных маслах, орехах и зародышах пшеницы.

So, if you wish to be healthy, energetic and have a healthy appearance, pay careful attention to your diet. Try to choose natural food containing all basic vitamins and minerals. Your daily ration must include enough fresh fruit and vegetables, crude oil and wholegrain bread. Also try to eat fish or sea products at least twice a week.

Итак, если вы хотите быть здоровыми, полными энергии и иметь здоровую внешность, обращайте внимание на свою диету. Старайтесь выбирать натуральную пищу, содержащую все базовые витамины и минералы. Ваш дневной рацион должен включать достаточное количество свежих фруктов и овощей, нерафинированного масла и цельнозернового хлеба. Также старайтесь есть рыбу или морепродукты по меньшей мере два раза в неделю.

Текст на английском языке с переводом на русский язык «Роль витаминов в нашей жизни (The Role of Vitamins in Our Life)» по теме «Health / Здоровье» является авторским сочинением пользователя rita999. Будем благодарны, если вы укажите на обнаруженные ошибки в тексте. Автор текста несогласный с исправлениями тоже может высказать свое мнение.

Correct the mistakes / Исправление ошибок:

The word “vitamin” goes back to the Polish scientist Casimir Funk in 1912. He was studying a substance in the layer that covers rice. This substance was believed to cure a disease called beriberi.

Funk believed the substance belonged to a group of chemicals known as amines. He added the Latin word «vita,» meaning life. So he called the substance a “vitamine” — an amine necessary for life.

Scientists have discovered fourteen kinds of vitamins. They are known as vitamins A, the B group, C, D, E and K. Scientists say vitamins help to carry out chemical changes in cells. If we do not get enough of the vitamins we need in our food, we may develop a number of diseases.

This brings us back to Casmir Funk. His studies of rice were part of a long search for foods that could cure disease.

One of the first people involved in that search was James Lind of Scotland. In the 1740s, Lind was a doctor for the British navy. He investigated a problem that had existed in the navy for many years.

The problem was the disease scurvy. So many sailors had scurvy that the navy’s lost some of its strength. The sailors were weak from bleeding inside their bodies. Even the smallest wound would not heal. Doctor Lind thought the sailors were getting sick because they failed to eat some kinds of foods when they were at sea for many months.

Doctor Lind separated twelve sailors who had scurvy into two groups. He gave each group different foods to eat. One group got oranges and lemons. The other did not. The men who ate the fruit began to improve within seven days. The other men got weaker. Doctor Lind was correct. Eating citrus fruits prevents scurvy.

Types of Vitamins

Vitamin A helps prevent skin and other tissues from becoming dry. It is also needed to make a light-sensitive substance in the eyes. People who do not get enough vitamin A cannot see well in darkness. Their eys may get dry. This can result in infections and lead to blindness.

Vitamin A is found in fish liver oil. It also is in the yellow part of eggs. Sweet potatoes, carrots and other darkly colored fruits and vegetables contain substances that the body can change into vitamin A.

Vitamin B-one is also called thiamine. Thiamine changes starchy foods into energy. It also helps the heart and nervous system work well. Without it, we would be weak and would not grow. We also might develop beriberi. Apart from rice thiamine is found in beans , peas, nuts, meat and fish.

Another B-vitamin is niacin. It helps cells use food energy. It also prevents pellagra -a disease that causes weakness, reddish skin and stomach problems. Niacin is found in meat, fish and green vegetables.

Vitamin B-12 helps produce red blood cells. It is found naturally in foods such as eggs, meat, fish and milk products. It also helps babies of pregnant mothers before they are born . Vitamin B-12 is found in green leafy vegetables and other foods and citrus fruits. In some countries, it is added to products like bread.

Vitamin C is needed for strong bones and teeth, and for healthy blood. It also helps wounds heal quickly. Because our body stores little vitamin C we must get it every day in foods such as citrus fruits, tomatoes and cabbage.

Vitamin D helps make calcium in the blood. Calcium is needed for nerve and muscle cells to work normally. It also is needed to build strong bones. Ultraviolet light from the sun changes a substance in the skin into vitamin D. Fish liver oil also contains vitamin D. In some countries, milk producers add vitamin D to milk so children will get enough.

Vitamin K is needed for healthy blood. It thickens the blood around a cut to stop bleeding. Bacteria in the intestines normally produce vitamin K. It can also be found in pork products, liver and in vegetables like cabbage, and spinach.

Some people fear they do not get enough vitamins from the foods they eat. So they take products with large amounts of vitamins. They think these products or vitamin supplements will improve their health and protect them from disease.

Experts note that taking too much of some vitamins can be harmful. People should be sure to discuss what vitamins they take with their doctors. This is because some vitamins can cause harmful effects when mixed with medicines.

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Words

• amount =how much of something
• bean =green or yellow seeds that come from a climbing plant and are used as food
• beriberi = a disease of the nerves that you get if you don’t get enough vitamins
• bleeding = when you lose blood form your body
• cabbage = a large round vegetable with thick green and purple leaves
• cause =lead to
• contain = have
• cure = to make an illness go away
• develop = grow
• discover = to find for the first time
• disease = illness
• fail = here: not to do something
• harmful = dangerous
• heal = to grow back together
• improve = to get better
• intestine = the long tube in your body through which food passes after it goes through your stomach
• investigate = to try to find out how something works or the cause of something
• involve = here: to be a part of something
• leafy = looks like a leaf
• lemon = a fruit with a hard yellow skin ; it is sour
• light-sensitive =it reacts to very small changes of light
• necessary = very important and needed
• nervous system =all of your nerves in the body, brain and back with which your body feels pain; your movements are controlled here
• note = say
• pea = round green seed that can be cooked and eaten as a vegetable
• pork = meat from a pig
• prevent = to stop something from happening
• scientist =a person who is trained in science
• scurvy = a disease that you get by not eating food that gas vitamin C
• spinach = a vegetable with large dark green leaves
• starchy =food that has carbohydrates in it or a substance which gives you energy
• store = to keep something in a place and get it when you need it
• substance =material
• thicken = to make thicker
• tissue = parts of the body that exist between or join organs and other body parts
• vitamin supplement = something that you take that has the same effects as if you ate food with real vitamins
• wound =an injury to your body

Vitamins are a group of organic substances required in our diets in small amounts for growth and nutrition. They are usually found in foodstuffs or taken as supplements. Yet vitamins probably present a wider gap between myth and reality in the layman’s understanding than almost any other area of our diet. Most people have a recognition that Vitamin C prevents scurvy, that Vitamin A is found in fish-liver oils, or that Vitamin D is found in dairy products; many people believe that Vitamin E preserves youth and prevents sterility, or that Vitamin C can present colds and cancer. Beyond this, however, there is still considerable ignorance and widespread myth. The reality behind the common practice of taking vitamin supplements is less dramatic, although vitamins do represent an important component of the necessary human diet.

The word vitamin was formed from the Latin word «vita» («life») and the Greek word «amine» because 19th-century scientists believed that they were formed only from amino acids. Amino acids are the twenty essential code elements which arrange themselves in varied sequences or chains to form complex proteins, the basic foodstuff of life. These organic acids (containing the essential ingredient NH2), in conjunction with the nucleic acids (DNA material being composed of the four bases adenine, guanine thymine, and cytosine), «translate» the genetic instructions from the DNA of the chromosome to the RNA transcript, and in turn transfer these instructions from the transcript to proteins.

If proteins are the building blocks of life, then amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Plant cells form amino acids from the compounds which the plant draws up from the ground, such as the nitrates and ammonia salts. Animals, however, cannot perform this conversion of simple inorganic substances to amino acids, so they must ingest them in the form of food — with herbivorous animals consuming plant proteins in vegetables and carnivorous animals consuming animal proteins in the bodies of their prey.

Vitamins are essential aids in many body processes, converting food the energy, building and maintaining cells, and other functions.

Vitamins can thus be looked at as a crucial ingredient in the long-term maintenance of health. Vitamins come in two main forms — water soluble and fat soluble. The fat-soluble vitamins, including A, D, E, and K, «are absorbed by the body with the aid of fat and then stored in body fat». Because they are stored in this way, we do not need to take these vitamins daily, and it is usually possible to maintain adequate amounts in the body through a normal, well-balanced diet. But for the same reason, it is possible to overdose on these vitamins by taking too many as supplements, in which case they can build up to toxic levels and actually cause harm to the person taking them.

The water-soluble vitamins, including Vitamin C and all of the B complex vitamins, are «used up quickly or excreted in urine and perspiration; they are not stored and should be consumed daily. They break down quickly and can be partially lost through premature harvesting, long and improper storage, processing, overcooking, and cooking in the water». The high amounts of both water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins found in raw vegetables and fruits are often lost when they are processed, with a few exceptions such as carrots, which actually gain in vitamin A by being cooked.

The best sources of the different vitamin groups are now well-known. Vitamin A, including retinol and «provitamin carotenoids,» is found in liver, butter, whole milk, cheese and egg yolks (retinol) and in carrots, leafy greens, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, cantaloupes, and so on (provitamin carotenoids). Vitamin A is extremely important information and maintenance of skin and mucous membranes, in visual functions, and in bone and tooth development. A deficiency of Vitamin A can cause impaired growth, night-blindness, diarrhea, and increased mortality in the worst cases. Experiments in giving large Vitamin A supplements for malnourished children have had mixed results; some reported a reduction in infant and child mortality, but a recent study of Sudanese children between 9 and 72 months found little difference in a test group that was given mega doses of A (200,000 units), and a placebo group that was given only small amounts of Vitamin E.

Vitamin D (calciferol), found mostly in fortified dairy products but also in fish oils an egg yolks, is particularly important for hardening of bones and teeth and aiding in the intestine’s absorption of calcium. Deficiencies of D can cause rickets in children and more rarely, osteomalacia in adults; overdoses are known to cause retarded growth, kidney damage and calcium deposits in the soft tissues. Vitamin E (Tocopherol), is found in vegetable oil, green leafy vegetables, wheat germ, egg yolk, butter, and liver. It functions as an «antioxidant» for other vitamins, preventing C and A and other fatty-acid proteins from being burnt up prematurely; in this way, it helps prevent cell-membrane damage. Most experts believe that Vitamin E deficiency can only occur in extreme cases of malnutrition, but this doesn’t mean that supplements might not be useful. One recent study found that Vitamin E‑rich blood helped to prevent angina (cardiovascular distress), for reasons not yet understood.

The B vitamin group is very important. B1 or thiamin, found in meats, whole grains, and nuts, serves in carbohydrate metabolism and production of ribose for RNA and DNA. B2 or Riboflavin, in the liver, milk, cheese, meat, and fortified grains, functions as a coenzyme to help cells use oxygen to get energy from food. B6 or pyroxidine, found in meats, shellfish, whole grains, and vegetables, also serves as a coenzyme in protein metabolism. B12, found in the same foods and in milk products, serves as a coenzyme in nucleic acid synthesis and development of red blood cells. Deficiencies of the B group can cause anemia, skin problems, and other diseases.

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