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Course: High school biology > Unit 1
Lesson 2: Important molecules for biology- Elements and atoms
- Introduction to carbohydrates
- Introduction to proteins and amino acids
- Introduction to lipids
- Introduction to nucleic acids and nucleotides
- Introduction to vitamins and minerals
- Biological macromolecules review
- Biological macromolecules
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Introduction to vitamins and minerals
Vitamins and minerals are essential nutrients our bodies need but can't produce. Vitamins, organic compounds, aid in cell functions and reactions. Minerals, inorganic elements, are found in everything from DNA to muscle contractions. Foods like carrots and milk provide both vitamins and minerals. Overdosing is easier with fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) than water-soluble ones (C) as they stay longer in the system. Created by Sal Khan.
Want to join the conversation?
- whats scurvy? I know its a disease but what does it effect(7 votes)
- Scurvy is a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C. Sailors in ye olden days used to contract it regularly before everyone figured out you can't go on two year voyages and never eat any fruit.
It's symptoms are anemia, exhaustion, spontaneous bleeding, limb pain, swelling, and bleeding gums and loss of teeth and hair. No wonder pirates always look a bit rough! Vitamin C is necessary to make collagen, an important part of connective tissues. Connective tissues are essential for structure and support in the body, like in blood vessels.
A lack of vitamin C will also harm immune system, iron absorption, cholesterol metabolism, and causes all sorts of mood swings and depression. It was a truly scary time back when we didn't understand vitamins and minerals. There are lots of great articles that go deeper only a google search away if you want to explore. Hope I helped!(49 votes)
- what are the monomers for vitamins and minerals?(13 votes)
- There are no monomers for vitamins and minerals. Vitamins and minerals function as single molecules interacting with macromolecules (DNA, RNA, enzymes, cholesterols, hormones, etc). Vitamin and mineral molecules do not form macromolecules. Macromolecules are made up of many monomers. Monomers are by definition, like molecules (sub-units) that are able to bind in long chains through the process of polymerization. Vitamins do not polymerize to form macromolecules, and neither do minerals.(28 votes)
- was scurvy contagious?(7 votes)
- Nah, It was lack of Vitamin C That's why sailors Mainly got it because Not much Fresh Fruit Around them to eat Such as Oranges (Kakadu Plums hold the most Vitamin C tho) :) So yea It can't be contagious Because you lack Vitamin(15 votes)
- is vitamin C better for you then vitamin A(0 votes)
- Yes and no.
They are used for different things, so for some things, yes absolutely, but for others, no.
For example, if you lack collagen, vitamin C is better, but if you want to strengthen your immune system, vitamin A is better.
(I'm no expert, so please correct me if I am wrong, but this is my conclusion :))(12 votes)
- Why wasn’t vitamin B mentioned?(5 votes)
- Probably because there are too many of them to list, but would've been helpful for someone who is unfamiliar w/ small facts about them. Such as they are also water soluble.(8 votes)
- If beta-carotene gives carrots their orange color, then does that mean that purple and white carrots are not as good for you?(8 votes)
- while yes, purple carrots and white carrots don't have as much vitamin A, the other carrots have more minerals. Basically On one hand, more vitamin A. On the other, More minerals. It depends on what you are trying to get.(1 vote)
- @3:52-4:00, How can minerals be inorganic?(5 votes)
- Vitamins come from living things. Vita means life in Latin. Minerals do not come from living things (Sal had mentioned that minerals are also part of geology at4:00).(5 votes)
- What is the connection between organic(foods/methods of creation without pesticides, preservatives, and other artificial chemicals) and organic(molecules of life that involve carbons0:44)?
Also, if minerals are not organic, than how are they found in organic foods?
Just looking for clarification on these various uses of the word organic.(5 votes)- The term “organic” can indeed have different meanings depending on the context. In the context of chemistry, “organic” refers to molecules that contain carbon atoms. This includes carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids, which are all essential components of living organisms.
In the context of food production, “organic” refers to methods of farming that do not use synthetic chemicals, such as pesticides, antibiotics, and preservatives. Organic farming methods are based on principles that can affect the chemical composition of the organic foods. For example, organically grown crops tend to use natural fertilizers like manure to improve plant growth.
As for minerals, they are inorganic elements that originate from rocks, soil, or water. Plants obtain minerals from the surrounding rocks, soil, and water, while animals consume them in the foods they eat. So, even though minerals are not organic in the chemical sense, they can still be found in organic foods because they are essential for the growth and health of plants and animals.
I hope this helps clarify the different uses of the word “organic”!(3 votes)
- at2:28when he said "carrots are good for your eyes" It made me think of the asdfmovie skit.(4 votes)
- What are water-soluble vitamins, and how are they different from fat-soluble vitamins?(3 votes)
- water-soluble vitamins can be dissolved in water, while fat-soluble vitamins can be dissolved in fat. When Sal said it's easier to overdose on fat-soluble vitamins, he meant that more fat-soluble vitamins are stored in your body compared to water-soluble. This is bc water-soluble vitamins can be flushed out easily (urination, etc.) while fat-soluble cannot(4 votes)
Video transcript
- [Instructor] We've been
told throughout out lives to eat certain foods because
they contain vitamins or sometimes people might
say they also contain some minerals that you need, and so the obvious question
is, well what are vitamins? And what are these minerals
that folks are talking about? Well the big picture idea is,
that there's certain things that your body needs and
we'll talk in a second about why your body needs these things, but also, there are things
that your body needs and your body does not produce them. Body does not produce. There's a lot of things
your body needs that your body is capable of producing
but there's certain things that it needs that it
cannot produce itself. Now if these things that they need, that the body needs and it cannot produce, if they are organic, and organic is just a very fancy way of saying if there are compounds that involve carbons in them, and most molecules in life
involve a lot of carbons, that's why they're
called organic molecules. There's a whole field of chemistry, of organic chemistry which
is studying the chemistry of life for the most part. If these molecules, if these
things that the body needs that it does not produce,
itself are organic, we call these things vitamins. And some of the common vitamins
that you'll hear people talk about are things
like Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Vitamin
C, and you can further divide these vitamins based on
whether they are soluble in fat or not. So, for example, Vitamins A, D, E and K, and this is by no means an
exhaustive list of vitamins, these are fat soluble. What does that mean? Well, to be soluble means you could be dissolved in that thing. So it can be dissolved in fat. And Vitamin C is water soluble. Now the reason why this
might be relevant for you, living as an individual,
trying to keep your health in good shape, is that you do
need all of these vitamins, and we'll talk in a little
bit about why you need them, but fat soluble vitamins,
they're actually easier to overdose on, because
they're soluble in fat, they can stay in your system a lot longer, while water soluble vitamins are easier to flush out of your system. Now, with that out of the
way, let's think about some of these common foods you might see, and some of the vitamins
that they are known for. For example, right over
here you have carrots, and you might have had people tell you, "Hey, eat carrots. "It's good for your eyes." And that is true, but the reason why it's good for your eyes, is that carrots contain
something known as betacarotene, and the carotene part of
betacarotene is not a coincidence. It literally comes from Latin for carrot, and carotenes are these pigment molecules. It gives the carrot this
orange color right over here, and betacarotene, once
it's consumed by your body, it's a precursor for Vitamin A, which is essential for your eyes and many, many other things in your body. And a precursor's just a
very fancy way of saying that if you consume
betacarotene, you're body can turn it into the Vitamin A that it needs. Oranges, famous for
Vitamin C, and this isn't an exhaustive list of things
that these foods contain, but this is some of the things
that they're most famous for, and Vitamin C as we talked about
is a water soluble vitamin. It's very valuable for immune system, and in a situation where
you have a severe deficiency of Vitamin C, you could get
a disease known as scurvy. And scurvy is not too common
anymore, but several hundred years ago, sailors would
often get scurvy because they had very limited diets. They did not get fruits and vegetables, and because of that Vitamin C deficiency, their collagen, their connective
tissue would break down. So it was a very horrible
and painful disease. But what if there's
something your body needs that it does not produce
that is not organic? Well those are the things
that we call minerals. And, of course, the term
minerals, it's also used in a geological sense, but
if were talking in terms of biology, that's what we mean. And most of the typical
minerals are really elements that you will see on the periodic table. They will be things like phosphorous, and I'm just gonna write
their element symbol. Phosphorous, calcium,
potassium, magnesium, iron, and again, this is not an exhaustive list, but these are all essential for your body. As we go further in our study of biology, you will see how phosphorous is useful in molecules like ATP, the energy store. It's even in the backbone of DNA and RNA. We'll see how calcium is
useful, not just for your bones, but even for things like
muscle contractions. To send signals down
neurons, you're going to need your potassium and also sodium. Magnesium, also important
for muscle contraction. Iron, this is in your
hemoglobin, bonds to the oxygen, allows you to transport
oxygen in your bloodstream and red blood cells. So these are all very valuable. And a lot of those foods
that we just talked about that contain vitamins,
they'll also contain minerals. For example, not only do
carrots contain betacarotene, they also contain potassium,
which we mentioned is essential for things
like nerve function. Things like milk, it has
vitamins, like Vitamin D, but it also has minerals like calcium, which we talked about as
essential for your bones and for muscle function. And so the big picture here is, is that vitamins and
minerals are both things that your body needs, that
it does not produce itself, and we're going to see them
over and over again in biology. So keep a lookout for them. The vitamins as we go further
in our study of biology, we're going to see them as co-enzymes, things that help facilitate
functions of the cell, help facilitate reactions and the minerals you're going to see in
everything from the powerhouse of the cell, the backbone of DNA, you're going to see it
in muscle contraction and how bones are formed. You're gonna see it in hemoglobin. You're gonna see it in nerve function.