VITAMIN A

Low levels or lack of Vitamin

A in a human body causes
Vitamin A deficiency and it is
the number one cause of what
is known as preventable
blindness in children and
severe visual impairment.
Vitamin A deficiency also
increases the risk of death in
infants.

It is known to cause night

blindness in pregnant women and escalates the chances of maternal mortality. It is
usually the third trimester when the nutritional demands of both the mother and the
unborn child become the highest. During this time if the body is suffering from
Vitamin A deficiency then the mother can be at severe risk of night
blindness.Vitamin A, therefore, is necessary for the body mainly to maintain normal
visual function.

However it has become evident that Vitamin A deficiency can also lead to the body’s
growing inability to fight against infections. That will eventually result in many
other illnesses and diseases. Children who suffer from it can even die from measles,
extreme diarrhea or respiratory infection. Even a slight deficiency can affect them in
the development of bones and their overall growth.

The Statistics of Vitamin A Deficiency

Vitamin A deficiency is mostly registered in the developing countries and is rare in

most of the developed ones. As it is, vitamin A deficiency has been diagnosed in
almost half of all countries on the earth with most of them located in South Asia,
South-East Asia and Africa. For some reason Vitamin A deficiency mainly affects
children of small ages and pregnant women.
VITAMIN B

Vitamin B12 has many important functions

in the body. It works with the B vitamin
folate to make our body's genetic material. It
helps keep levels of the amino acid
homocysteine in check, which may help
decrease heart disease risk, and it is essential
to the production of red blood cells, which
carry oxygen through the blood to the body's
tissues.

But many people are deficient in this

important vitamin.

Causes of Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Vitamin B12 deficiency can have a number of possible causes. Typically it occurs in
people whose digestive systems do not adequately absorb the vitamin from the
foods they eat. This can be caused by:

 Pernicious anemia, a condition in which there is a lack of a protein called

intrinsic factor. The protein, which is made in the stomach, is necessary for
vitamin B12 absorption.
 Atrophic gastritis, a thinning of the stomach lining that affects up to 30% of
people aged 50 and older.
 Surgery in which part of the stomach and/or small intestine is removed.
 Conditions affecting the small intestine, such as Crohn's disease, celiac
disease, bacterial growth, or a parasite.
 Excessive alcohol consumption.
 Autoimmune disorders, such as Graves' disease or systemic lupus
erythematosus
 Long-term use of acid-reducing drugs.
VITAMIN C

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a

water-soluble vitamin essential
in the human diet because the
body is unable to synthesise it.
It is found in a wide variety of
fruit (especially grapefruit,
lemons, limes, blackcurrants,
oranges and kiwi fruit) and
vegetables (eg, broccoli, green
and red peppers, tomatoes,
cabbage, sprouts, and sweet
potatoes). It is also found in
fresh milk, fish and offal such as liver and kidney.

Vitamin C is essential for collagen formation and helps to maintain the integrity of
skin and connective tissue, bone, blood vessel walls and dentine. It is essential for
wound healing and facilitates recovery from burns. It also facilitates the absorption
of iron. Vitamin C is an antioxidant. Despite claims of benefit, very high doses of
vitamin C have not been shown to decrease the incidence of the common cold in the
general population. It may slightly reduce the duration of the cold. In people
exposed to brief periods of severe physical exercise or cold environments, there may
be some benefit to supplementation to ward off colds.Very high doses of vitamin C
can acidify the urine, may cause diarrhoea, can predispose to urinary calculi and can
cause iron overload.

Chronic, severe deficiency of vitamin C results in scurvy, which is characterised by

haemorrhages and abnormal bone and dentine formation. The adverse effects of
more mild degrees of vitamin C deficiency are not known. The body's pool of
vitamin C can be depleted within 1-3 months. [1] People suffering with vitamin C
deficiency may also have other vitamin deficiencies and malnutrition.

VITAMIN D
 If you shun the sun,
suffer from milk
allergies, or adhere
to a strict vegetarian
diet, you may be at
risk for vitamin D
deficiency. Known
as the sunshine
vitamin, vitamin D
is produced by the body in response to sunlight. It is also occurs naturally in a few
foods -- including some fish, fish liver oils, and egg yolks -- and in fortified dairy and
grain products.

Vitamin D is essential for strong bones because it helps the body use calcium from
the diet. Traditionally, vitamin D deficiency has been associated with rickets, a
disease in which the bone tissue doesn't properly mineralize, leading to soft bones
and skeletal deformities. But increasingly, research is revealing the importance of
vitamin D in protecting against a host of health problems.

Symptoms and Health Risks of Vitamin D Deficiency

Symptoms of bone pain and muscle weakness can mean you have a vitamin D
deficiency. However, for many people, the symptoms are subtle. Yet even without
symptoms, too little vitamin D can pose health risks. Low blood levels of the vitamin
have been associated with the following:

 Increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease

 Cognitive impairment in older adults
 Severe asthma in children
 Cancer

Research suggests that vitamin D could play a role in the prevention and treatment
of a number of different conditions, including type1 and type 2 diabetes,
hypertension, glucose intolerance, and multiple sclerosis.