The key difference between fat soluble and water soluble vitamins is that the fat soluble vitamins are soluble in fat hence, the body absorbs them when bile salts are available while the water soluble vitamins are soluble in water hence the body can easily absorb them.
Vitamins are essential food factors that require the proper utilization of the other nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, etc. Furthermore, they are important for our growth, cell differentiation, for other cellular functions. Thus, there are two main types of vitamins namely fat soluble vitamins and water soluble vitamins. Therefore, the solubility of the vitamin determines its action within the body.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What are Fat Soluble Vitamins
3. What are Water Soluble Vitamins
4. Similarities Between Fat Soluble and Water Soluble Vitamins
5. Side by Side Comparison – Fat Soluble vs Water Soluble Vitamins in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What are Fat Soluble Vitamins?
Fat soluble vitamins are a type of vitamins, which are soluble only in lipids. Vitamins A, D, E, and K are major fat soluble vitamins. These vitamins are stored primarily in the liver and adipose tissues. Due to this storing ability, the excess fat soluble vitamins can lead to toxicity condition called hypervitaminosis.
Figure 01: Fat Soluble Vitamin A
Moreover, the fat soluble vitamins do not excrete from the body. The small intestine absorbs fat soluble vitamins along with the bile salts. These vitamins are abundant in high-fat foods.
What are Water Soluble Vitamins?
Water soluble vitamins are one of the two types of vitamins, which are water soluble. Vitamin B and C are major groups of water soluble vitamins. These vitamins are not stored in our body. Hence they do not cause toxicity.
Figure 02: Vitamin B
Though we consume an excess of water soluble vitamin, they excreted from the body easily via urination keeping a low risk of overdose. Therefore, the daily consumption of water soluble vitamins is necessary in order to meet the demand of the body.
What are the Similarities Between Fat Soluble and Water Soluble Vitamins?
- Both of these are types of vitamins.
- Fat Soluble and Water Soluble Vitamins are absorbed into the body.
- Both types are very nutritious.
What is the Difference Between Fat Soluble and Water Soluble Vitamins?
Vitamins are either fat soluble or water soluble. Major fat soluble vitamins are vitamins A, D, E and K whereas major water soluble vitamins are B and C. Absorption of water soluble vitamins is very simple while fat soluble vitamin absorption occurs with bile salts. This is the main difference between fat soluble and water soluble vitamins. Furthermore, unlike the water-soluble vitamins, the fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the liver and, in excess, can cause hypervitaminosis.
The below infographic presents more details on the difference between fat soluble and water soluble vitamins in tabular form.
Summary – Fat Soluble vs Water Soluble Vitamins
Vitamins are of two categories; fat soluble and water soluble. The first type is soluble in fat while the latter is soluble in water. Major fat soluble vitamins are vitamin A, D, E, and K while major water soluble vitamins are B and C vitamins. When taking an excess of fat soluble vitamins, it can lead to hypervitaminosis which is a toxic state while water soluble vitamins do not cause such kind of toxicity. When there is an excess of water soluble vitamins, they can be excreted from the body easily. This is the difference between fat soluble and water soluble vitamins.
Reference:
1.Alma, Lori. “What Is the Difference Between Fat-Soluble and Water-Soluble Vitamins?” Verywell Health, Verywellhealth. Available here
2.Nordqvist, Christian. “Vitamins: What Are They and What Do They Do?” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 26 Sept. 2017. Available here
Image Courtesy:
1.”Vitamin A”By Bully at Croatian Wikipedia (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2.”VitaminB12″By Dissolution – Own work, (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia