Minerals: The 16 most important at a glance

minerals
The 16 most important nutrients for the body at a glance

Minerals are essential nutrients that the body cannot produce itself. Which ones are there and what do we need them for?

What are minerals?

Minerals are inorganic nutrients that are essential to the body. However, he cannot produce them himself – so they have to be ingested through food. Minerals are divided into so-called bulk elements and trace elements.

Bulk elements are essential for the functions of the heart, brain, bones and muscles and are used in large quantities. The body needs trace elements in small amounts, primarily for certain metabolic functions.

Overview of the most important minerals

The body needs the following minerals:

set elements

The concentration of these bulk elements in the body is more than 50 mg/kg body weight. However, there is one exception to the rule: The concentration of iron in the body is 60 mg/kg body weight, nevertheless, it is one of the trace elements.

trace elements

The concentration of trace elements is less than 50 mg/kg body weight. By the way: In Germany, many people suffer from an iodine deficiency, because our cattle pastures and farmland hardly contain any of the trace element. An iodine deficiency can lead, among other things, to an enlargement of the thyroid gland. However, anyone who uses iodized salt frequently and puts sea fish on their menu several times a week can prevent this.

Why do we need minerals?

Unlike vitamins, minerals have a relatively simple chemical structure. While vitamins are responsible, among other things, for supplying the body with energy, Minerals take on other tasks. These include:

It is important to know that many of the minerals have multiple functions in the body. Calcium, for example, is not only responsible for building teeth and bones, but also influences muscle function and blood clotting.

Diet: How do I get enough minerals?

In order to be optimally supplied with nutrients, you should rely on a balanced and healthy mixed diet. With the right diet, we can prevent deficiency symptoms caused by a lack of minerals (or too few vitamins). The daily requirement is defined in the so-called Recommended Dietary Allowance, or RDA for short. However, the amounts given are only for healthy people – people with a medical condition may have different appropriate amounts.

Important to know: If you take in too many or too few minerals, you risk developing a diet-related illness. Various diets, for example, can lead to insufficient intake of vitamins and minerals. But special nutritional concepts are also known to lead to a deficiency: Vegetarians, for example, often tend to have an iron deficiency, since this nutrient is increasingly absorbed through meat.

Is every mineral utilized equally?

In fact, it depends on various factors how well the body can utilize minerals. For example, the composition of the respective food or the form in which it is present in the food plays a role. Again, iron is a good example: The body can absorb the so-called trivalent iron from animal products such as meat or fish much better than the so-called bivalent iron from plant products. But: Vitamin C improves the iron absorption of the body. If you combine your food wisely, you can support your body with optimal absorption.

Reading tips: You can find out everything about iron deficiency and trace elements here. We also explain how you can recognize an underactive thyroid and an overactive thyroid. And here we have a practical calorie chart for you.

Sources

Bridget