Paragraph on “Minerals and Vitamins” complete paragraph for Class 9, Class 10, Class 11 and Class 12

Minerals and Vitamins

Chemicals which help our body to stay healthy are called vitamins. These are of six types i.e. Vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K. Vitamin B can further be broken down into a number of types. Vitamins are present in our body but in very small quantities and they need to be supplemented frequently. Different types of foods contain different types of vitamins which is why a balanced diet containing all types of foods is necessary. Vitamin A is found in carrots, Vitamin C is found in oranges, lemons and in most fresh fruits and vegetables, Vitamin D is found in milk and so on. Small children and very old people have a higher requirement of vitamins compared to others. Excess of some vitamins like Vitamin A can be bad for health. Energy giving foods also contain carbohydrates and fats which are slowly burnt up by the body while producing energy. Foods which help to build the body are called proteins and these come largely from cereals, fish, eggs, meat etc. Proteins also help in the building of new tissue in the body and are required more by young children. Vitamins keep the eyes and skin healthy and the blood vessels strong. The other ingredients regularly required by the body are called minerals. These include calcium, which keeps the teeth and bones healthy, and iron, which keeps the blood healthy. Since energy is needed to keep the, body functional, lack of good food, which has adequate quantities of minerals and vitamins can lead to improper or inadequate growth, disease and starvation. Persons who suffer from vitamin deficiency are even prescribed these in the form of tablets by doctors. The energy value of food is measured in calories and a person who does manual work consumes much more calories of energy compared to a person who works in an office. Everyone should eat the food containing the right number of calories balanced with their age, weight and the type of work they do.