BA English Modern Essay The Vitamins by Dr. Kenneth Walker

The Vitamins

Dr. Kenneth Walker

Q: What do you know of Dr. Kenneth Walker?

Dr. Kenneth Walker, Medical Secretory, British Social Hygiene Council, was a consultant surgeon in London. He was a prolific writer who wrote technical as well as popular books. His writing style is quite neat, simple and straightforward which suits his purpose excellently.

This modern essay, “The Vitamins” is an extract from his, “Human Physiology”. Now it has been universally acknowledged that health cannot be maintained only on diet. Malnutrition is a major problem round the world. Human body needs some essential elements; their deficiency in body can cause certain ailments and malfunctions in body. So it becomes necessary to provide certain vitamins to body but in a balance way. The excess of vitamins in body can also cause many diseases.

Q: What are fat-soluble?

There are two major types of vitamins. Some are fat –soluble and some are water-soluble. The fat-soluble vitamins are A, D and E. Vitamin A is present in large quantity in cod liver oil and in smaller amount in butter and green vegetables. Absence of this vitamin causes in stunted growth. Its lackness also reduces natural resistance of the body against the invading organism. Second fat-soluble vitamin D is present in cod liver oil, animal fats but not found in vegetables oils.

 Its absence in the body becomes the cause of calcification of bones and of rickets in children. Sunlight is the biggest source of getting vitamin D free of cost. It can also be got from cod liver oil.

The third fat-soluble vitamin E, is also known as anti-sterility vitamin. The absence of it in diet can cause infertility. It can be found in large quantity in food stuffs, more especially in leaves, seedlings and wheat germ oil.

Q: What are water soluble?

Water –soluble vitamins are B and C. lackness of vitamin B in body causes beri-beri. The people who use polished rice, suffer from beri-beri while husked rice cure beri-beri. Vitamin B is found in yeast. Its use also reduces the risk of pellagra. The water-soluble vitamin C is anti-scorbutic vitamin that is present in fresh vegetables, germinating peas and beans and in large quantity in lemons and oranges. Its lackness causes many diseases.

Many vitamins go waste during mill process. One should be careful in this regard.