Bistrian says that when you eat a healthy diet that includes a variety of vegetables, beans, fruits, whole grains, lean protein, dairy products, and unsaturated fats (like olive oil), you're likely consuming all the healthy minerals you need. And if you walk into any drugstore or look online, you'll see endless options for mineral supplements in the form of pills, powders, and chewables. Some processed foods, like breakfast cereal, may be fortified with minerals. The minerals come from rocks, soil, and water, and they're absorbed as the plants grow or by animals as the animals eat the plants.įresh foods aren't our only source of dietary minerals, however. We don't manufacture essential minerals in the body. Minerals in this category include chromium, copper, fluoride, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, and zinc. The trace minerals are just as vital to our health as the major minerals, but we don't need large amounts.
The major minerals, which are used and stored in large quantities in the body, are calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulfur. Zinc helps blood clot, helps make proteins and DNA, bolsters the immune system, and helps with wound healing and cell division.Įssential minerals - that is, those necessary for human health - are classified into two equally important groups: major minerals and trace minerals. Sodium balances fluids in the body, helps send nerve impulses, and helps make muscles contract. Potassium balances fluids in the body, helps to maintain a steady heartbeat and to make muscles contract, and may benefit bones and blood pressure. Molybdenum activates several enzymes that break down toxins and prevents the buildup of harmful sulfites in the body. Manganese helps form bones and helps metabolize amino acids, cholesterol, and carbohydrates. It also helps to regulate blood pressure and blood sugar and enables muscles to contract, nerves to send messages, blood to clot, and enzymes to work. Magnesium, like calcium, builds bones and teeth. Iron is essential for activating certain enzymes and for making amino acids, collagen, neurotransmitters, and hormones.
Iron helps make hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying chemical in the body's red blood cells) and myoglobin (a protein in muscle cells).
#Are macro minerals essential minerals free#
For example:Ĭalcium builds bones and teeth activates enzymes throughout the body helps regulate blood pressure and helps muscles to contract, nerves to send messages, and blood to clot.Ĭhromium helps maintain normal blood sugar levels and helps cells draw energy from blood sugar.Ĭopper assists with metabolizing fuel, making red blood cells, regulating neurotransmitters, and mopping up free radicals. And metals have many other essential roles as well. Instead, many essential metals are needed to activate enzymes - molecules with important jobs in the body. But they don't form such strong and durable objects in our bodies. Many metals are used to make strong and durable everyday objects, like copper pipes or iron skillets. Bruce Bistrian, chief of clinical nutrition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. It may take just a very small quantity of a particular mineral, but having too much or too little can upset a delicate balance in the body," says Dr. "Each one plays a role in hundreds of body functions. Indeed, some of them are so important that we can't live without them. Instead, other metals and minerals (metals are one type of mineral) are more important for our health (see "What essential metals do for us"). But they're more precious for the global economy than for human health. Gold, silver, and platinum get all the attention as the world's most precious metals. Make sure your diet meets the recommended mineral targets.
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