Role Of Vitamins

Vitamins are chemical substances Whose presence is indispensable for proper growth and upkeep of the body. They are biological catalysts, which, by their presence in minute quantities, bring about a proper regulation in the building up of tissues. It has been found that animals fed on a diet consisting of a mixture of protiens, carbohydrates, fats, minerals and water alone do not thrive, but devolop symptoms of mal nutrition even though the several food constituents may be in the proportions needed for the maintenence of the body.

Pigeons, that were fed on polished rice, devoloped signs of nervous disorder, but when such pigeons wer fed on unpolished rice, disorder disappeared and growth was normal. From this experiment, it was concluded that addition to protiens, carbohydrates, fats, minerals and water, the food must contain other 'factors' which were essential for proper growth and they have been termed as vitamins.

Vitamins have no tissue-building or fuel value; they are concerned with the regulation of the process connected with metabolism. They are present in small quantities in natural foods, but are often removed by artificial process such as polishing the grains and cooking. Sof for as it is known, vitamin D are not produced in the bodies of animals. The are not produced in plants, and when the plant food is eaten by animals, the vitamins are not destroyed by the digestive enzymes, but are absorbed into the blood.

There are several kinds of vitamins which have been named Vitamins A,B,C,D etc., as their exact chemical compopsition was not known when they were discovered. But, now as their chemical structure are becoming known, the letters are being replaced by chemical names.

The absence of deficiency of vitamins in the food causes certain diseases referred to as deficiency diseases. The vitamins are also popularly known as antiberiberi vitamin, antirachitic vitamin, etc., according to the diseases caused by their absence, or deficiency.

On the basis of their solubility in fat and water, vitamins are classified into

• Fat-soluble vitamins: Vitamins A,D,E and K,


• Water-soluble vitamins: Vitmins B and C

Blood & Blood Donation

Blood:
Blood is the most cited peer-reviewed publication in the field. It provides an international forum for the publication of original articles describing basic laboratory, translational, and clinical investigations in hematology. The journal covers all aspects of hematology, including disorders of leukocytes, both benign and malignant, erythrocytes, platelets, hemostatic mechanisms, vascular biology, immunology, and hematologic oncology. All articles undergo a rigorous peer review and are selected on the basis of the originality of the findings, the superior quality of the work described, and the clarity of presentation. Blood is indexed and abstracted by Index Medicus, Excerpta Medica, Current Contents/Life Sciences, Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index, SCISEARCH, Automatic Subject Citation Alert, ISI/BIOMED, and BIOSIS.
The average adult has about five liters of blood living inside of their body, coursing through their vessels, delivering essential elements, and removing harmful wastes. Without blood, the human body would stop working.
Blood is the fluid of life, transporting oxygen from the lungs to body tissue and carbon dioxide from body tissue to the lungs. Blood is the fluid of growth, transporting nourishment from digestion and hormones from glands throughout the body. Blood is the fluid of health, transporting disease fighting substances to the tissue and waste to the kidneys.

Red Blood Cells:
Red blood cells perform the most important blood duty. A single drop of blood contains millions of red blood cells which are constantly traveling through your body delivering oxygen and removing waste. If they weren't, your body would slowly die.
Red blood cells are red only because they contain a protein chemical called hemoglobin which is bright red in color. Hemoglobin contains the element Iron, making it an excellent vehicle for transporting oxygen and carbon dioxide. As blood passes through the lungs, oxygen molecules attach to the hemoglobin. As the blood passes through the body's tissue, the hemoglobin releases the oxygen to the cells. The empty hemoglobin molecules then bond with the tissue's carbon dioxide or other waste gases, transporting it away.
Over time, the red blood cells get worn out and eventually die. The average life cycle of a red blood cell is 120 days. Your bones are continually producing new blood cells, replenishing your supply. The blood itself, however, is re-circulated throughout your body, not being remade all of the time.
Since the human body is continually making more blood, it is safe for healthy adults to donate blood. The blood is then stored for use in emergency situations. Initially after giving blood, the donor may feel some momentary lightheadedness due to the loss of oxygen-rich red blood cells and blood sugar. The body quickly stabilizes itself.

White Blood Cells: The Fighting cells

Whenever a germ or infection enters the body, the white blood cells snap to attention and race toward the scene of the crime. The white blood cells are continually on the lookout for signs of disease. When a germ does appear, the white blood cells have a variety of ways by which they can attack. Some will produce protective antibodies that will overpower the germ. Others will surround and devour the bacteria.
The white blood cells have a rather short life cycle, living from a few days to a few weeks. A drop of blood can contain anywhere from 7,000 to 25,000 white blood cells at a time. If an invading infection fights back and persists, that number will significantly increase.
A consistently high number of white blood cells is a symptom of Leukemia, a cancer of the blood. A Leukemia patient may have as many as 50,000 white blood cells in a single drop of blood.


Blood Donation:

As we see in our day to day life blood plays an important role in keeping us more active and alive. Day by day the requirements for blood are increasing as the requirement of food. We see many accidents in our day to day life day by day the rate of accidents are also increases. Many people die on the spot of accidents due to heavy loss of blood, some die on the way to the hospital, we can save the life of people by donating the blood this timely help could save the life of a person.

Think over this fact that a matter of 1 unit of blood could save the life of a person nothing you loose in donating a unit of blood. The blood you donate will be gained in a matter of the next 10 minutes.

You can start donating blood after three months since your first donation of blood. You must leave at least a 3 months gap for every donation of blood.

The another interesting fact is that the more you donate the blood the more the fresh and young blood enters your body and this would help you to keep you active. The person who donates the blood is called the donor and the one receives from the donor is called acceptor.

We see in our day to day life that many blood donation camps have been organized by many public, non-profit organizations, social welfare associations, and we see many youths and senior citizens take part in these events and donate blood. If they can do why can’t we.

Every time you donate blood to other you are saving one human being’s life. We also get a free report about our blood. We can know our blood group. So donate blood and save life.

Following are the blood groups available
Ø O+,O-
Ø A+,A-
Ø B+,B-
Ø AB+
Ø AB-

Other than O+ all the other blood groups are rare blood groups. O+ is called Universal Donor since it is accepted by any other blood group. But on the other hand it is not Universal acceptor since it matches only for O+.

So donate blood, Be Healthy, Save a Life.