Loss of vitamins and minerals through the urine

By Rebecca Chidgey

Vitamins are classified into fat-soluble or water-soluble. Both these types act differently once they are inside your body and this is what determines whether the the ones that you consume is released through the urine or stays stored in your body. Vitamins passed out through the urine are in low quantities and are not known to be a toxic threat to the environment.

The fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K are stored in your fat tissues. These nutrients are absorbed by the fat globules in the small intestine's lymphatic system and allow them to circulate throughout the body. These then get stored in the fat tissues of the body.

When the body needs them, it will call on the fat tissues and liberate the vitamins from them. Unless you really have an extremely vitamin-depleted diet, its less likely you'll be deficient in these vitamins. If you take these in the form of supplements or consume foods that are too high in these, you may end up with a condition called hypervitaminosis, which can prove to be dangerous for the various organs of the body.

Mostly, people are deficient in these fat-soluble vitamins when they take too little fat or they suffer from conditions such as cystic fibrosis that can interfere with the proper absorption of fat through the intestines.

Water-soluble vitamins are quite different. These include the B vitamins such as B1, B2, B3, panthotenic acid, biotin, B9 and B12 along with vitamin C. These vitamins will travel in your bloodstream and your body will use whatever amount it requires. Anything that is not used is released out of the body.

Since these are not stored in the body, people are often deficient in these vitamins. Combine that with the processing of food in the form of canning, freezing, and packaging and you end up with food that often has low levels of these vitamins.

Vegetarians are often deficient in B12, an important B group vitamin required for the production of red blood cells. This is why this group of people may require supplements of this particular B vitamin.

It is essential that you select your supplements carefully. You should pay close attention to the other nutrients that it contains. Potassium and magnesium are important minerals that help in the absorption of vitamins and help in reducing anxiety. So, try selecting a supplement that contains these minerals along with the other essential vitamins.

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As the urine is a way for the body to get rid of chemicals and toxins it doesn't need, eating foods that allow your body to Browse > Home > > Loss of vitamins and minerals through the urine