Food Fortification with Vitamins and Minerals Essay

Food Fortification with Vitamins and Minerals - Essay Example Vitamins help fortify the body's walls against the attacks from viruses, bacteria and other health dangers. In terms of minerals, the body needs a the minimum of 200mg daily reference daily intake(RDI) of Calcium (He), Magnesium and Potassium. And, the body also needs other trace elements of less than 200mg daily reference daily intake of copper, zinc and iron (Francis). Vitamin D is a very popular and much needed vitamin. The following paragraphs explains the history, progress and the current situation of vitamins that have been included to fortify food products like milk and others. It had been discovered that the human body needs minimum daily requirements of both vitamins and minerals. The more popular vitamins that have been fortified in food are A, B -complex, D, E, and C. Vitamins increase the body's defense mechanism against the onslaught of beriberi, anemia and scurvy and other vitamin deficiency diseases (Fennema). Vitamins are substances that are needed by the body to maintain normal body metabolism, regulation of cell function, growth and development (Mitchell). And, vitamins are classified as organic elements which means that they have carbon components in them. Also, vitamins are the catalysts of the human body. Clearly, the human body cannot produce its own vitamins and must get them from organic substances found in plants and animals. Today, we can swallow vitamins that have been processed and sold in drugstores. Vitamins help in the fast and high quality formation of human bones and tissues. Vitamins also increase the energy and vitality of a person. Further, Vitamins help fix nutritional deficiencies. Unfortunately, it is believed that vitamins do not reverse cancer and other diseases. Vitamins are more effective in the preventive and not curative means. Currently, studies are continuing on the different aspects of vitamins and minerals. Vitamin AVitamin A can be found in large amounts in carrots. This vitamin is also known as beta carotene. Vitamin A is a fat soluble and is needed by the body to combat against night blindness, corneal drying or xerosis, corneal degeneration, triangular eye spots, impaired immunity and hypokeratosis and the softening of the eyes' cornea (Goldstein, M., Goldstein, M., ). Also, Crude palm oil is the world's richest source of beta carotene or Vitamin A. Lastly, Vitamin aids in the body's anti oxidation process to slow the effects of a person's growing old process. Vitamins can be found fortifying such foods as margarine, sugar, fats and oils, milk, spice mix and instant noodles. Adversely, foods fortified with Vitamin A cause the vitamin to disintegrate if the food's moisture content overshoots the dangerous seven percent mark. Also, reheating the food reduces the Vitamin A in the food. Furthermore, Vitamin A fortifies milk and dairy products like cheese and margarine as well as food ce reals in some developing countries. The standard fortification of Vitamin A in food is six mg beta carotene for every one mg of retinol. Vitamin fortification in sugar had been a success in Guatemala (Bauernfeind, J., Arroyave, G.,). For, Monodosium Glutamate was discovered to be good connecting link to Vitamin A in the Philippines (Solon et al.,) and Indonesia. Furthermore, Also, Vitamin fortifica