Nutrition, part 3: Water Soluble Vitamins - B-complex vitamins, vitamin C

Hi. I'm Cathy with Level Up RN. And in this video, we are going to talk about water-soluble vitamins. If you are new to our channel, welcome. We're so glad you're here. Be sure to subscribe.

So our water-soluble vitamins include our B-complex vitamins as well as vitamin C. And I would not get hung up on the individual functions of each and every B-complex vitamin because there's a lot of them.

But, in general, B-complex vitamins help with a number of functions in the body, including biochemical reactions, body growth and development, healthy skin, metabolism, heart and nerve function, and red blood cell production.

In terms of food sources that contain a lot of B-complex vitamins, you can find these vitamins in a lot of foods that have a lot of protein, so meat, poultry, eggs, fish, dairy products.

You can also find B-complex vitamins in green leafy vegetables, beans, peas, and fortified cereals, and bread.

So, in general, people are at low risk for toxicity related to B-complex vitamins because they're a water-soluble vitamin, and they leave the body very quickly and require regular replenishment.

However, deficiency can occur with certain conditions. So risk factors that can lead to deficiency include alcohol use disorder, which is definitely something I see at the hospital when we have people who come in with alcohol abuse disorder. They are often lacking in B-complex vitamins.

Malnourishment is another risk factor, as well as malabsorption syndromes. And then bariatric surgery is another risk factor that can cause a deficiency in B-complex vitamins.

So while it's not important, in my opinion, to know the individual functions of every individual B-complex vitamin, it is important to know what can occur if an individual has a deficiency in each one of these B-complex vitamins.

So if you're following along with cards, definitely pay close attention to card number 9, there's a lot of bold red text on the back, a lot of important concepts that will take some repetition to get down.

So let's review some of those key concepts. If a patient is lacking in B1, that can cause a condition called Beriberi as well as another condition called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.

If your patient is lacking in B2, that can cause a condition called cheilosis. This is where you have dry, swollen lips that are cracked, or have fissures there at the corner.

So, our little Cool Chicken hint to help you remember this is that your '2' lips will 'B' swollen if you're lacking in B2. So two lips, B2. Hopefully, that'll help you remember.

B3. If you're lacking in B3, this causes a condition called pellagra, which I'm pretty sure I've been mispronouncing forever. But I looked it up before I did this video, and it is pellagra.

Pellagra is a disorder characterized by the three Ds. These Ds include diarrhea, dermatitis, and dementia.

B6. If your patient is lacking in B6, they may have conditions such as anemia and peripheral neuropathy.

B9 is folic acid, and anybody who is considering getting pregnant or who is pregnant will definitely be put on a prenatal vitamin that includes folic acid, or B9, because it prevents fetal neural-tube defects.

So our Cool Chicken hint here for B9, or folic acid, is that folic acid prevents fetal problems. So they both start with F.

And then lastly, a lack of B12 can cause pernicious anemia.

And the leading cause of pernicious anemia isn't that someone isn't getting enough oral B12, right? They're getting sufficient B12 in their food. The problem lies with their gastric mucosa. So if their gastric mucosa doesn't contain something called intrinsic factor, then that B12 isn't absorbed. They can eat all the B12 they want, but it's not going to get into their body because it's not being absorbed because of that lack of intrinsic factor.

So when someone has pernicious anemia due to that lack of intrinsic factor, they obviously need B12, but we're not going to give it to them orally because they're not going to be able to absorb it. So we are going to have to give it to them through a different route such as intranasally in order for them to get sufficient B12 and not have this pernicious anemia.

Alright. Let's move on to vitamin C, which is another water-soluble vitamin. And I don't have to pronounce any crazy disorders, so that'll be a lot better with this vitamin. So vitamin C plays a number of functions in the body. It's an antioxidant, and it's essential for collagen growth, bone formation, wound healing, iron absorption, as well as immune function.

You can find vitamin C in a variety of food sources, including citrus fruits. So oranges and grapefruit. You can find it in tomatoes, potatoes, kiwi, broccoli, red and green peppers, as well as strawberries.

A deficiency in vitamin C can cause scurvy. So if you look at the letter C, it's curvy, right, and that will help you to remember that if you don't get enough vitamin C, it will cause scurvy, which rhymes with curvy, obviously. So, hopefully, that's helpful.

Risk factors associated with scurvy include smoking, poor nutrition, and alcohol use disorder. Also pirates, right? You always hear about pirates back in the day getting scurvy. But that's not really a thing anymore, so I didn't list it as a risk factor on this card.

Signs and symptoms of scurvy include swollen, bleeding gums, tooth loss, and poor wound healing.

Okay, you guys ready for quiz-time now?

Beriberi is caused by a lack of what vitamin? If you said B1, you're correct.

Next question: pernicious anemia is caused by a lack of what vitamin? B12 is the answer.

And last question: deficiency in vitamin C can cause what condition? Scurvy. So if you remember the C, it's curvy, to help you remember scurvy.

So, thank you so much for watching, and I'll see you in our next video, which we-- in that video, I'll be going through the fat-soluble vitamins; A, D, E, and K. See you then!

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