Tag Archives: NUTRIENT DEFICIENCY RELATED DISORDERS

What Is Vitamin C? Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid or ascorbate, is an essential water soluble vitamin. Fresh supplies of vitamin C are required every day to perform vital roles throughout the body among which are the production of ...

What Is EPA? EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) is an essential omega-3 fatty acid that is crucial for fetal brain and retina development and the child’s subsequent neurodevelopment among very many other activities in people of all ages. Omega-3 fatty acids  are ...

What Is DHA? Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an essential omega-3 fatty acid that is abundant in the brain, being crucial in brain structure. As such DHA is a key component of neuronal membranes together with arachidonic acid (a major opposing ...

What Is Calcium? Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body, with 99% residing in teeth and bones where it constitutes 40% of skeletal bone weight along with 45% phosphorus. As a component of hard tissues, calcium fulfills a ...

What Is Alpha-Linolenic Acid? Alpha-linolenic acid is an essential (need/can’t make) polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acid that must be obtained in the diet. Alpha-linolenic acid is found in plant sources only. Alpha-linolenic acid is required for normal brain function and nervous system health. It ...

What Is Vitamin E? Vitamin E is not a single vitamin but naturally occurs as a fat-soluble vitamin family that consists of at least 8 distinct molecules. These molecules include 4 tocopherols (alpha, beta, gamma, and delta) and 4 tocotrienols ...

What Are Essential Amino Acids? Amino acids are small molecules, or subunits, that link together in various combinations to make up big, complicated proteins. As such, amino acids are commonly referred to as “the building blocks” of proteins. Q: How ...

What Is Thiamin? Thiamin, also called vitamin B1, is an essential vitamin that is required to convert foodstuffs into energy and for the health and proper functioning of the nervous, muscular and cardiovascular systems. In the bloodstream, 90% of active ...

What Is Vitamin D? Vitamin D is the principle regulator of calcium homeostasis (balance) in the body.  This “vitamin” is really a prohormone, meaning it acts like a hormone but is not. Vitamin D does, however, contain cholesterol in its molecular ...

What Is Vitamin B3 (Niacin)? Niacin is an essential water-soluble B vitamin that is required by all cells of the body. During digestion of food containing it, niacin (the form in food) is changed in the small intestines to the active form niacinamide (niacin ...

What Is Potassium? Potassium is a mineral that is crucial for life being essential for every cell, especially nerve and muscle function. Most potassium is intracellular, meaning it is found within cells while sodium, its opposing mineral (both electrolytes), is ...

What Is Phosphorus? Phosphorus is an essential mineral present in every cell of the body mostly in the form of phosphate. About 85% of phosphorus is present in bone making up a major component of bone formation. As a component of ...

What Is Iron? Iron is an essential mineral that is required for normal body function. Almost two-thirds of iron in the body is found in hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to tissues. Smaller amounts of ...

What Is Chromium? Chromium is a mineral that the body absolutely requires in trace amounts for normal metabolism, meaning the physical and chemical processes by which energy is produced and used. Chromium is especially involved in the use of glucose sugar ...

What Is Copper Deficiency? Copper is an essential trace element that is required for a number of enzymes which are necessary for normal metabolic function. In the body almost all the copper is present as a component of copper proteins ...