Deficiency of vitamin ‘X’ causes bleeding of gums. This vitamin helps in the…
2021
Deficiency of vitamin ‘X’ causes bleeding of gums. This vitamin helps in the absorption of mineral ‘Y’ and ‘X’ is found in food ‘Z’. Identify X, Y and Z.
- A.
X-vitamin D, Y- calcium, Z-milk product
- B.
X-vitamin C, Y-iron, Z-citrus fruits
- C.
X-vitamin B, Y-calcium, Z-green leafy vegetables
- D.
X-vitamin A, Y-phosphorus, Z-poultry products
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Every vitamin has a characteristic deficiency disease, and several vitamins also help the body absorb specific minerals. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a water-soluble vitamin required for collagen synthesis in connective tissue, including the gums; its prolonged deficiency causes scurvy, whose hallmark sign is swollen, bleeding gums. Vitamin C also improves intestinal absorption of dietary iron by reducing it to a more absorbable form, and citrus fruits such as orange and lemon, along with amla (Indian gooseberry), are rich natural sources of vitamin C.
Applying this to the question: the vitamin whose deficiency causes bleeding of the gums is X = vitamin C; the mineral whose absorption vitamin C assists is Y = iron; and the food group rich in vitamin C is Z = citrus fruits. This gives the identification X-vitamin C, Y-iron, Z-citrus fruits.
Vitamin D deficiency mainly affects calcium and phosphate metabolism and bone mineralisation, producing rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults, not bleeding gums.
Vitamin B-group deficiencies cause conditions such as beriberi (B1) or pellagra (B3); B-vitamins do not have an established role as the principal regulator of calcium absorption.
Vitamin A deficiency causes night blindness and xerophthalmia, and phosphorus absorption in the body is not primarily linked to vitamin A.
Since only vitamin C deficiency produces bleeding gums while also assisting iron absorption and occurring abundantly in citrus fruits, the identification X-vitamin C, Y-iron, Z-citrus fruits is correct.