History of Food Fortification with Vitamins and Minerals - Essay Example

Topic: History of food fortification with vitamins and minerals INTRODUCTION: The Biochemist from England, Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins (Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins), discovered that certain foods improved the health of many people in 1906. Further, Cashmir Funk, the scientist from Poland, coined the name vitamine for these valuable ingredients in food (Obikoya). Vita means life and amine is related to his research on thiamine or Vitamin B1. The current name is now vitamin. For, Hopkins and Funk concluded that the lack of vitamins will cause a person to be weak and frail. Definitely, the body is in need of vitamins and minerals. 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. BODY: Discovery and food fortification of vitamins A, C, E, B -complex 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 A Vitamin 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 cereals 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 fortification of Rice was successfully done in the Philippines (Murphy et al.,). All this was possible because the governments of these Asian countries were aided by the government. Vitamin E And, Vitamin E is also used to fortify fats and oils. It can be found advertised in margarine, fat cereals and fat spreads. Vitamin helps the body to absorb other ingredients like fat. It also aids in the permeation and conversion of carotenoids found in Vitamin A. Also, Vitamin E is needed by the body to fight against many diseases. Vitamin E can also be found in rice. Vitamin E was discovered by researchers Herbert Evans and Katherine Bishop of the University of California in 1922 (Walford). Vitamin C Vitamin C is very popular for it increases the body's immune system against diseases like colds and flu. Vitamin C can be found fortifying such food products as fruit juices, dairy products, beverages and even cereals (Wanjek). However, if the cereals reach a moisture content over seven percent, the vitamin C loses some of its efficacy. Also, there has to be more study on the stability of Vitamin C in foods. Vitamin was accidentally discovered in 1747 by the Dr. James Lind of Scotland. He realized that scurvy can be cured by taking citrus fruits. Scurvy has the symptoms of spontaneous bleeding hurting joints laziness and loosening teeth. However, his discovery had landed on deaf ears for more than thirty nine years. Consequently, many people died from scurvy and other Vitamin C related disease during this time. Also, Vitamin C was again rediscovered by Scientists from Norway, A. Hoist and T. Froelich, in 1912. Technically, Vitamin C has been successfully synthesized in 1935 by Dr. Tadeusz Reichstein in Switzerland' Swiss Institute of Technology. Vitamin B Complex Vitamin B Complex can be found in cereals and grains. Thiamine is another name for Vitamin B1. Vitamin B was discovered by Elmer V. McCollum in 1915. Also, there are no problems related to the technology of the addition of B -Complex vitamins to cereals and grains. The development of off-flavours due to the thermal instability of thiamine is easily circumvented by adding this vitamin following all heat treatments. Historically, Thiamine was discovered in 1910 by the Japanese scientist Umetaro Suzuki. He stumbled on Vitamin B1 during his study of the beneficial effects of rice bran to beriberi -inflicted persons (Carpenter). It was later crystallized by Donath Jansen in 1926. It had other names like Aneurin and aberic acid before it was finally called thiamine. Robert Williams coined the name Thiamine in 1935. Vitamin B2 is also called Riboflavin. This vitamin is used to stop the onset of anaemia. This Vitamin B complex can be found in less amounts in people that do not eat animal foods such as cows, pigs goat, fish and the like. And, Riboflavin is thought to be associated with anaemia prevention and its role in this association needs to be clarified. However, Vitamin B complex can be found in less concentration in poor people for they could not afford to buy animal foods and milk. Animal food also includes milk products. Thus, Food fortification is a good way to infuse Vitamins to these low income people. Vitamin was discovered by E. G. Hendrick in 1926. Whereas, Max Tishler successfully studied ways of synthesizing vitamin B2. Also, Niacin (Flanagan) was discovered by the American Conrad Elvehjern in 1937. Folic Acid was discovered by Lucy Wills in 1933 while Vitamin B6 was stumbled upon by Paul Gyorgy in 1934 Historically, America has thought as the junk capital of our planet. America may be the junk food capital (Howell) of the world. The hungry public would swallow tons of greasy fast food or calorie -filled candies. Consequently, obesity became a major population problem due to too much unnecessary fat intake. Next, malnutrition followed due to the body's lack of the minimum daily requirements in terms of vitamins and minerals. This prompted the food manufacturers to help by fortifying their products with the much needed vitamins and minerals. Statistically, The beverage and food industry in the United States reached the $ 27 billion mark. This rate has been increase by forty percent starting the year 2000. Surely, Julian Mellentin, a world recognized food specialist and author of Ten Key Trends in Functional Foods 2006 for the London -based nutrition research group Centre for Food & Health Studies stated "Health is the future of food, for now and forevermore. Any company that doesn't have some kind of health strategy will find itself left further and further behind," Currently, the Mac and cheese foods are packed with vitamins. Also, foods like whole grains and dried cranberries have been fortified with Omega - fatty acids. This trend of fortifying food with vitamins and minerals will increase into the very far future. Also, calcium is a favorite food fortification item (Berry). For, Calcium is the hottest food fortification ingredient in Juices, Breakfast bars, cereal and waffles. But, Kellog Cereals could not successfully entice their current clients to buy more Kellog products so that the customers could meet their daily minimum requirements. Calcium is one of the basic bone -building materials. Further, experiments have shown that calcium can be easily obtained in low doses from milk and other dairy products like yogurt and cheese. In fact, Kraft Foods Inc., has increased by 100% the calcium content in its milk and dairy products. Another milk and dairy product company Sargento Foods Inc., of Plymouth Wisconsin has also increased the calcium content in its MooTown Cheeze from 4% to the whopping 30% with the infusion of calcium phosphate and whey products. Some of the products sold include " Horizon Organic Dairy, Boulder, Colo., is the first to manufacture a nationally branded low-fat blended yogurt enhanced with supportive levels of such ingredients. Sold in 6-oz cups, flavors are Apricot Mango with Ginger; Cherry with Cranberry; Orange Pineapple with Beta-Carotene and Vitamins C & E; Peach with Chamomile; Raspberry with Rosehips; and Strawberry with Hibiscus and Ginseng."(Berry) Furthermore, Maeil Dairy Industry of South Korea fortified its milk with Iron. For, iron is needed by babies and toddlers so they can grow faster and healthier. In fact, The First Milk includes 0.37mg/100ml. Whereas, the Growth Milk variety has 0.42mg/100ml. Thus, is definitely around four times more than the usual iron amounts found in local Korean milk products of 0.1 mg/100ml(Berry). Vitamin and mineral fortification fills the strong demand of the American Consumers for their health and wellness consciousness needs. History of fortification of vitamin D Vitamin D was discovered by Edward Mellanby in 1922 while studying how to remedy the disease called rickets. Rickets was a bone disease that afflicted many children in the United States. Indeed, it was then a very seriously public health headache in the United States (Ebell). In retaliation to this disabling disease, Milk in the United States had to be immediately fortified with 10 micrograms or four hundred IU of Vitamin D per milk quart. Triumphantly, rickets was very rare in the United States since 1930 to the present after the timely implementation of Vitamin D fortification. This vitamin can be found fortifying such foods as margarine, milk products and vegetable oils. Surely, one cup of milk that has been fortified with vitamin D can supply twenty -five percent of the daily minimum requirement of each mature person. And, other dairy products have also been fortified with vitamin D such as ice cream, yogurt and cheese (Sims). Naturally, some foods contain vitamin D. These naturally vitamin D fortified foods include fatty fish and fish oils. Vitamin D helps in the metabolism of the body as it helps the body absorb calcium and the very important parathyroid hormone. The best source of Vitamin D is sunlight. Further, Cow's milk is a good source of vitamin D(Howell). And, Cow's milk can improve a human's health with its combination of milk and dairy products plus the additional Vitamin D. This vitamin aids in the calcium permeation in the gut. Thus, many cow's milk products are advertised "with added calcium and vitamin D". Further, Vitamin D is very effective in maintaining the normal calcium levels of blood. This vitamin also helps in the maintenance therapy of phosphorus. For, Vitamin D helps make strong bones and teeth. Vitamin D needs other vitamins, hormones and minerals to produce strong sturdy bones (Dabbah). On the other hand, the absence of Vitamin D will cause thin, wrongly shaped, soft and brittle bones and teeth. Finally, Vitamin D prevents the onset of osteomalacia in adults. This disease is characterized by weak and other bone defects. In women, lack of vitamin D and Calcium will cause osteoporosis (Burke, M., L., Laramie, J., ). This mostly women's disease is characterized by weak backbone. This is usually caused by lack of calcium and /or Vitamin D. Happily, orange juice is now being permeated with Vitamin D because the Vitamin D in milk does not completely fill the daily minimum requirements that the average American needs (Tangpricha et al.,). For, some Americans are either allergic to milk products or to lactose. The orange juice vitamin D fortification experiments were done by Vin Tangpricha, Polyxeni Koutkia, Suzanne M Rieke, Tai C Chen, Alberto A Perez and Michael F Holick in their Vitamin D, Skin, and Bone Research Laboratory, Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston had shown that the fat content in milk products did not influence vitamin D bioavailability. Consequently, Vitamin D fortification of 1000 IU/240 ml for 3 months had increased by 25(OH)D3 formulation in adults. CONCLUSION. The average human body needs lots of vitamins and minerals in order to help fortify the body's wall of resistance against the onslaught of daily attacks from many viruses and bacteria and other health enemies. Hopkins and Funk concluded that a person will be generally be weak and fall from a barrage of health attackers without the shields of vitamins and minerals. The body needs a minimum of 200mg RDI of Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium plus minor amounts of copper, zinc and iron. Lack of iron causes anaemia which is characterized by dizziness. Vitamins A, C E and B -complex are the more popular vitamins that fortify the foods that an average American family devours. Vitamins help build a solid wall against many diseases like beriberi, anemia and scurvy and other vitamin deficiency diseases. Vitamin D was used to fortify foods during the 1930s in order to retaliate against the successful bone disabling rickets attacks. Vitamin D is found in milk and milk products. Vitamin D helps the body's metabolism as a vessel of absorbing calcium from milk. Thus, Vitamin D helps the calcium in the building of sturdy bones and teeth. Furthermore, Vitamin D also prevents the onset of the bone diseases osteoporosis and osteomalacia. The article here discussed that orange juice is a very good alternative to milk products because some people are allergic to milk and lactose ingredients. Finally, vitamins and minerals were discovered not as a fad that is to be forgotten but rather as a compulsory part of our daily food habits. Food fortified with the above vitamins A, C, E, D and B -complex and minerals like iron, copper and zinc plus their big brother minerals Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium should be taken without doubt or hesitation with the consumption of foods fortified with vitamins. Also, orange juice should be fortified with vitamin D in order to give the American public alternative choices of taking vitamin D. At the end of the day, fortification of orange juice with vitamin D is a perfectly novel approach for enhancing vitamin D for it will definitely increase the number of persons taking fortified vitamin D. REFERENCES: Bauernfeind, J., Arroyave, G.,. Vitamin A deficiency and its Control. New York: Academic Press, 1986. Berry, D. "Trends in Fortification." Dairy Foods (1999). Burke, M., L., Laramie, J., . Primary Care of Older Adult: A Multidisciplinary Approach. St. Louis, MO.,: Mosby, 2000. Carpenter, K.,. Beriberi, White Rice, and Vitamin B: A Disease, a Cause and a Cure. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000. Dabbah, R.,. Total R & D Management: Strategies and Tactics for 21st Century Healthcare Manufacturers. Buffalo Grove, Illinois: Interpharm Press, 1999. Ebell, M.,. "Calcium plus Vitamin D for fracture prevention." 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