7 Nutrients That You Can’t Get From Plants
1) Folate:
Folic acid is a B vitamin that plays an essential role in cell division and DNA synthesis. It helps prevent neural tube defects (NTDs). NTDs are birth defects where the brain does not develop properly or at all.
The most common type of NTD is spina bifida, which affects 1 out of every 500 live births. There are many other types of NTDs, but these are the most common ones.
2) Vitamin A:
Vitamin A is necessary for healthy eyesight. It is also involved in the production of retinal pigment cells, which are responsible for making color vision possible. Retinol is one of the main active ingredients in sunscreens and eye drops.
Vitamin A is required for normal growth and development. Low levels may cause rickets, a disease characterized by short stature in children and adults with low levels of retinol. It is also essential for the maintenance of healthy mucus membranes and skin.
3) Vitamin D:
Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium, and it keeps bones strong. Calciferol is the main active ingredient in common vitamin supplements. Too little can cause a bone disease called rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.
Both of these conditions cause the bones to become fragile and to not mineralize properly. This makes them prone to breaks and fractures.
4) Vitamin B12:
Vitamin B12 or Cobalamin is a water-soluble vitamin that plays a vital role in the maintenance of the nervous system. It is also required for the maintenance of normal blood cells and DNA synthesis. It is one of the eight B complex vitamins and it is normally found in animal products such as meat, fish, eggs, and dairy.
A deficiency can lead to pernicious anemia and neurological damage. It is also involved in the metabolism of every cell in the body, especially affecting DNA synthesis and regulation, but also fatty acid metabolism and the synthesis of fatty acids.
5) Vitamin K:
Vitamin K plays a vital role in blood clotting. It helps prevent excessive bleeding by helping your blood to clot. It also helps with other bodily functions that rely on coagulation.
Sources & references used in this article:
More than 400 million years of evolution and some plants still can’t make it on their own: plant stress tolerance via fungal symbiosis by R Rodriguez, R Redman – Journal of experimental botany, 2008 – academic.oup.com
Why can’t young fish eat plants? Neither digestive enzymes nor gut development preclude herbivory in the young of a stomachless marine herbivorous fish by B Flowerdew – 2012 – Simon and Schuster
Global change and response of coastal dune plants to the combined effects of increased sand accretion (burial) and nutrient availability by RD Day, DP German, IR Tibbetts – … and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry and …, 2011 – Elsevier
User’s Guide to Detoxification: Discover How Vitamins, Herbs, and Other Nutrients Help You Survive in a Toxic World by S Frosini, C Lardicci, E Balestri – PLoS One, 2012 – journals.plos.org
Hydroponics: a versatile system to study nutrient allocation and plant responses to nutrient availability and exposure to toxic elements by S Lieberman, JJ Gormley – 2005 – books.google.com
Measuring fluxes of mineral nutrients and toxicants in plants with radioactive tracers by M Nichol, WBS was Created, T BioSteel
