Vitamins

What Vitamins covers

Vitamins is examined in Unit AS 1, Principles of Nutrition — examined, compulsory. It covers vitamin solubility, absorption and bioavailability, vitamin A and beta-carotene, vitamin D and sunlight, vitamins E and K, thiamin, riboflavin and niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and folate and vitamin C and scurvy.

The 7 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Vitamin solubility, absorption and bioavailabilityFat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins, storage and toxicity, antioxidant vitamins, bioavailability, and how preparation, cooking, light and bicarbonate of soda affect vitamin losses.Open →
• Vitamin A and beta-caroteneRetinol and beta-carotene, vitamin A's roles in vision and epithelial tissue, food sources, night blindness and global deficiency, and the risks of excess retinol in pregnancy.Open →
• Vitamin D and sunlightVitamin D from sunlight and food, calcium regulation, the 10 microgram recommendation and who needs a supplement, rickets, osteomalacia, osteoporosis and excess.Open →
• Vitamins E and KVitamin E as an antioxidant and its sources, vitamin K in blood clotting and bone, phylloquinone and menaquinones, vitamin K for newborns and warfarin.Open →
• Thiamin, riboflavin and niacinThe roles and sources of thiamin, riboflavin and niacin in energy release, beriberi and pellagra, tryptophan as a niacin source, and the effects of excess.Open →
• Vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and folateVitamin B6 and protein metabolism, vitamin B12 absorption and pernicious anaemia, folate and folic acid, their sources, deficiency anaemias and risks for vegans.Open →
• Vitamin C and scurvyVitamin C's roles in collagen, wound healing and iron absorption, sources including potatoes, scurvy, groups at risk, the adult RNI and losses in cooking.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Vitamins further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Fat-soluble vitamins vs Water-soluble vitamins

  Fat-soluble vitamins: micronutrients carried in dietary lipid and stored in the liver and body tissues. Water-soluble vitamins: micronutrients dissolved in body fluids, held only in small amounts and excreted in urine.

• Retinol vs Beta-carotene

  Retinol: the preformed active form of vitamin A found in animal foods. Beta-carotene: an orange plant pigment the body converts into vitamin A as needed.

• Rickets vs Osteomalacia

  Rickets: a childhood disease in which growing bones soften and bow from lack of vitamin D. Osteomalacia: softening of fully grown adult bones from lack of vitamin D, causing pain and weakness.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is a vitamin?

   Model answer

   A vitamin is an organic compound needed in tiny amounts for normal metabolism, growth and health. Most vitamins cannot be made by the body in sufficient amounts, so the diet must supply them.

2. 2

   Which vitamins are fat-soluble and which are water-soluble?

   Model answer

   Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble. The B vitamins and vitamin C are water-soluble.

3. 3

   How does the body store fat-soluble vitamins compared with water-soluble vitamins?

   Model answer

   Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the liver and fatty tissue, so a daily intake is not essential. Water-soluble vitamins are held only in small amounts and the excess is excreted in urine, so they are needed regularly.

4. 4

   Why are fat-soluble vitamins more likely than water-soluble vitamins to reach toxic levels?

   Model answer

   Fat-soluble vitamins accumulate in the liver and fatty tissue when intake is high. Surplus water-soluble vitamins are mostly lost in urine, so a toxic build-up is less likely.

5. 5

   Which water-soluble vitamin is an exception to the rule that water-soluble vitamins are not stored?

   Model answer

   Vitamin B12 is stored in the liver. Liver stores of vitamin B12 can last several years, so deficiency develops slowly.

6. 6

   Describe the general role of the B vitamins in the body.

   Model answer

   Many B vitamins act as coenzymes that help enzymes release energy from carbohydrate, fat and protein. Several B vitamins are also needed for healthy nerves, skin and red blood cells.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Vitamins revision questions

What does Vitamins cover in CCEA A-Level Nutrition and Food Science?

7 subtopics: vitamin solubility, absorption and bioavailability, vitamin a and beta-carotene, vitamin d and sunlight, vitamins e and k, thiamin, riboflavin and niacin, vitamin b6, vitamin b12 and folate and vitamin c and scurvy. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Vitamins organised?

By the CCEA 3310 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.