Vitamins vital for health care

Vitamins are one of the essential nutrition requirements.
Experts define vitamins as organic compounds which are required in small amounts for the proper functioning of the human body and which cannot be synthesized by it.
The lacking of or insufficiency of the vitamins can cause debility and diseases.
 The vitamins have diverse forms and functions.
Vitamins are divided into two types, namely, water soluble vitamins and fat soluble vitamins.
The water soluble vitamins are required in our daily intake as any excess is excreted.
The fat soluble vitamins are stored in the body and the excess consumption of them can cause toxicity, specially in the case of vitamin A.
Water soluble vitamins are all the sub groups in Vitamin B complex and vitamin C.
Fat soluble vitamins are vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin K.
Vitamins are very essential for skin care, hair care and dental care.
Some vitamins are antioxidants.
The individual vitamins will be discussed in the later posts of this blog.

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Cobalt

In healthcare, cobalt as a trace mineral is a vital element in the production of a very essential vitamin cobalamin (vitamin B₁₂). Itt is a component of the vitamin B₁₂ molecule.
Nerve cells are surrounded and insulated by myelin layer and cobalt is necessary for the formation of myelin and its repair.
This cobalt containing vitamin helps the production of red blood corpuscles.
The protein synthesis is achieved with the help of cobalamin.
Carbohydrate and fat metabolisms are controlled by cobalamin.
In treating certain infections and anemia, cobalt has been found to be effective.
This mineral is also found to stimulate and regulate certain enzymes.
Cobalt deficiency is B₁₂ deficiency.
Its deficiency on the long run can cause loss of myelin from nerve cells.
The white blood cells and blood platelets numbers get reduced.
The enlargement of red blood cells is also noticed in deficiency.
If the deficiency is continued for long time the damaging changes become irreversible especially of the nervous system.
Cobalt can cause toxicity in excess while supplemented.
The symptoms may include asthma, anxiety and general weakness.
Cardiac symptoms like chest pain and pain running down the shoulder to arms may be experienced.
The solution is immediate withdrawal of B₁₂ supplementation.
Cobalt is available in our diet from animal sources like sea foods, organ meat, eggs, dairy products and poultry products.
Cobalamin is also synthesized by gut bacteria.

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Postmenopausal osteoporosis

The postmenopausal osteoporosis has to be tackled properly in the elderly women fulfilling their requirements for their mental and physical health care.
Menopause means cessation of mensuration and related conditions.
In a normal woman with old age ova in her ovaries get exhausted leading hormonal changes.
In turn, over a period her menstrual cycle become erratic and finally stops.
These menopausal changes initially bring about an increase in the level of hormones like luteinizing hormone(LH) and follicle stimulating hormone(LSH) leading to decrease in the production of estrogen.
Decrease of estrogen leads to osteoporosis and other physiological and mental disorders.
As we have discussed in our earlier post these hormonal factors lead to bone resorption causing osteoporosis.
The lack of estrogen increases the bone resorption and retards the deposition of bone.
This happens mostly in the weight bearing skeletal bones.
Though the supplements of estrogen seem to work, many side effects negate their usefulness.
Calcium,minerals and vitamin D supplements help in gaining density of bone to some extent.

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