1. Explain how some vitamins act as cofactors. Begin by explaining what a cofactor is and how it influences metabolic reactions.
2. The B vitamins' roles in energy metabolism are often misunderstood to mean that B vitamins provide energy. How would you explain the roles of the B vitamins in metabolism while making it clear that B vitamins are not sources of energy?
3. List the differences between water- and fat-soluble vitamins including how diet influences absorption and how preparation influences availability.
4. You are currently taking care of a patient that is a 65 y/o female from Buffalo, New York. She presents with a fractured spine and states that she has lived closed up, inside, and alone for quite some time now since her husband died. Her appetite has been poor. From this information, what vitamin or vitamins might she be missing? What are your suggestions for her?
5. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin important for vision, cell differentiation, and growth and development. Discuss the different forms of vitamin A and its precursors and how they are activated. Then discuss the variety of roles that vitamin A plays in the body.
6. If an individual overdoes his intake of vitamins E and K, this can cause significant problems in the body. Discuss what these problems are.
Answer the following questions by considering how different vitamins work together to perform larger functions.
Function: BLOOD HEALTH
Blood is the body fluid supplying tissues with oxygen, nutrients, and energy through circulation within the cardiovascular system. It is comprised of water, red and white blood cells, oxygen, nutrients, and other formed substances. Always moving, blood gathers and distributes nutrients and oxygen to all cells and disposes of waste products. Deficiency of any of these nutrients will affect overall blood health.
Provide the correct vitamin for the function listed below:
7. Coenzyme in folate and homocysteine metabolism.
8. Needed for red blood cells to be able to replicate their DNA and divide.
9. Main vitamin responsible for breakdown of homocysteine.
10. Cofactor in synthesis of blood clotting factors.
11. Maintains the integrity of red blood cells by acting as an antioxidant.
Function: BONE HEALTH
As living tissue, bone requires nutrients to maintain cellular structure. Blood circulates through bone capillaries, delivering nutrients while removing waste materials no longer needed by cells. Hormones regulate the use of minerals either for storage and structural purposes in bone or for regulating body processes. Specific vitamins are indispensable for these functions to occur.
Which vitamin fulfills each of the following functions?
12. Maintains levels of calcium and phosphorus in the blood that favor bone mineralization.
13. Needed for the synthesis of proteins involved in bone formation and breakdown.
Function: ENERGY METABOLISM
In order to metabolize carbohydrates, lipids, and protein for energy and other needs, the body depends on many nutrients to support the process, create new cells, and implement various related functions.
Which vitamin fulfills each of the following functions?
14. Coenzyme in glucose and energy metabolism needed for neurotransmitter synthesis and normal nerve function.
15. Coenzymes are needed for the synthesis of DNA and the metabolism of some amino acids.
16. One form, NAD, functions in glycolysis and the citric acid cycle by accepting released electrons and passing them on to the electron transport chain.
17. Forms coenzyme pyridoxal phosphate for energy metabolism.
18. Forms the active coenzymes FAD which is important in the breakdown of fatty acids.
19. Necessary for the synthesis of fatty acids and some amino acids.
20. Part of coenzyme A. Necessary for the activation of acyl carrier protein needed for the synthesis of cholesterol and fatty acids.