Fat Soluble Vitamins and the Body
Humans need a number of vitamins in their body to survive. A group of the vitamins needed for vitality include the fat soluble vitamins, which includes vitamins A, D, E, and K. Deficiency in these vitamins is rare, but rather, over consumption is the problem often associated with these vitamins.
Fat soluble vitamins are vitamins that are stored in fatty tissues and in the liver. These vitamins, unlike water soluble vitamins, are stored for long periods of time in the body. As a result, consuming too many of the fat soluble vitamins can lead to toxicity problems throughout the body. According to Seager and Slabaugh, authors of Chemistry for Today: General, Organic, and Biochemistry, "Some vitamins (A, D, E, and K) have very nonpolar molecular structures and therefore dissolve only in nonpolar structures" (690). Thus, lipids in the body are the solvents, classifying the vitamins as fat soluble.
Vitamin A plays an essential role in......
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